Heart Disease
· Definition 
· Heart disease (Coronary artery disease) is the disease of cholesterol plaque in the arteries around the heart. Cholesterol plaque in the arteries around the heart can become unstable, brake and ultimately obstruct the blood flow through the artery causing a heart attack.
· Overview
· Heart disease (Coronary artery disease) is the leading cause of death in the United States.
· Heart disease (Coronary artery disease) is common and every year about 600,000 people die from a heart attack in the United States.
· Risk of heart disease increases with age and is strongly associated with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and smoking
· Symptoms
· Symptoms of heart disease can very greatly. Chest pain is the most common symptom of heart disease. Chest pain is usually described as chest pressure, tightness, squeezing, or an aching discomfort.
· Symptoms of heart disease can also include:
· Fatigue or a change in exercise tolerance can be a symptom of heart disease.
· Shortness of breath can also be a symptom of heart disease.
· Change in exercise tolerance may also be a sign of heart disease.
· Indigestion, heart burn and nausea can also be symptoms of heart disease which results from the fact that the same nerve that innervates the heart also goes to the stomach.
· Fainting may be a sign of heart disease.
· Palpitations: the sensation that your heart is beating forcefully or irregularly
· Left arm discomfort or jaw pain can also be symptoms of heart disease due to nerves that enter the spine at the same location.
· Yawning is an infrequent sign of heart disease affecting the bottom of the heart.
Symptoms of heart disease may worsen with exercise.
· Complications:
· Heart Attack.
· Heart disease can lead to a heart attack, an obstruction of blood flow to part of the heart muscle. Heart muscle cells die and depending of the amount of heart muscle damaged, the heart may fail.
· Arrhythmia
· Sudden Death
· Treatment
· Treatment of heart disease is really treatment of the different causes that lead to the development of the heart disease.
· High blood pressure should be controlled as well as diabetes.
· Smoking should be stopped and cholesterol should be treated to a safe level.
References
Inflammation and atherosclerosis. Circulation. 2002 Mar 5;105(9):1135-43. [PMID: 11877368]
Posted on June 12, 2009
