Diseases

• Arrhythmia can bring on an uneven heartbeat or a heartbeat that is either too slow or too fast.
• Common triggers for an arrhythmia include viral illnesses, alcohol, tobacco, changes in posture, exercise, drinks containing caffeine, certain over-the-counter and prescribed medicines, and illegal recreational drugs.
• A healthy lifestyle can lower your risk of developing a heart condition and may not always be possible to prevent an arrhythmia from developing.
• Treatment for an arrhythmia can include medicine, electrical cardioversion, catheter ablation, pace maker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
• Congenital Heart Disease is a condition where there are one or more problems with the heart's structure that exist since birth, in adults and children, which can change the way blood flows through the heart.
• Researchers are not sure what causes most types of congenital heart disease.
• Some congenital heart diseases are passed down through families (inherited).
• Prevention of congenital heart disease is possible in some cases if the disease occurs in families (inherited).
• If you or someone in your family has congenital heart disease, screening by a genetic counselor may help determine the risk of certain heart defects in future children.
• Treatment for congenital heart disease can often be successful in childhood.
• Treatment of congenital heart disease in adults depends on the severity of the heart condition.
• Relatively minor congenital heart defects might require only occasional health checkups to make sure the condition doesn't worsen.
• Other treatments for congenital heart disease in adults may include medications and surgery.
• Heart Valve Disease is a condition where one or more of the valves in the heart don't work properly.
• There are four heart valves that keep blood flowing through the heart in the correct direction.
• Sometimes a heart valve doesn't open or close all the way, changing how blood flows through the heart to the rest of the body.
• Some people are born with heart valve disease, a condition known as congenital heart valve disease.
• Adults can also get heart valve disease, with causes including infections, age-related changes and other heart conditions.
• Treatment for heart valve disease includes regular health checkups, lifestyle and diet changes, medicines, and surgery to repair or replace the valve.
• Heart Failure, also known as congestive heart failure, is a condition that develops when the heart doesn't pump enough blood for the body's needs.
• Heart failure can occur if the heart can't fill up with enough blood.
• Heart failure can also occur when the heart is too weak to pump properly.
• Heart failure can be caused by a weakened, damaged or stiff heart.
• Prevention of heart failure includes not smoking, getting plenty of exercise, eating healthy foods, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing and managing stress, and taking medicines as directed.
• Treatment of heart failure may depend on the cause.
• Treatment of heart failure often includes lifestyle changes and medicines.
• If another health condition is causing the heart to fail, treating it may reverse heart failure.
• Some people with heart failure need surgery to open blocked arteries or to place a device to help the heart work better.
• A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is severely reduced or blocked.
• The blockage in a heart attack is usually due to a buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances in the heart (coronary) arteries.
• The fatty, cholesterol-containing deposits in heart attacks are called plaques.
• Coronary artery diseases, Coronary artery spasm, Certain infections, Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) are causes of heart attacks.
• Prevention of heart attacks involves following a healthy lifestyle, managing other health conditions, and taking medications as directed.
• Treatment for heart attacks includes medications such as Aspirin, clot busters (thrombolytics or fibrinolytics), other blood-thinning medicines, nitroglycerin, morphine, blood pressure medicines called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, and statins.
• Angina is a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart.
• Angina pain is often described as squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness or pain in the chest.
• The most common cause of reduced blood flow to the heart muscle is coronary artery disease (CAD).
• The heart (coronary) arteries can become narrowed by fatty deposits called plaques.
• This is called atherosclerosis.
• Not smoking, eating a healthy diet, avoiding or limiting alcohol, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, managing other health conditions related to heart disease, reducing stress, getting recommended vaccines to avoid heart complications are ways to prevent cardiovascular diseases.