10 Most Common Heart Conditions
Introduction:
The term “heart disease” refers to many types of varying heart conditions. Heart Disease is the number 1 killer in the united states. In fact, each year nearly 630,000 people die due to some type of heart condition.
As you know, the heart is a highly complex organ playing a huge part in keeping us alive. Therefore, many conditions can impact the heart in a multiplicity of ways. In this article, we will be discussing the 10 most common heart conditions.
1. Angina
Angina is a condition marking severe chest pain, often also spreading to the shoulders, arms, and neck. The cause of Angina is the inadequate blood supply to the heart.
2. Unstable Angina
By definition is a condition where your heart isn’t getting enough blood flow and oxygen, potentially leading to a heart attack.
It is a type of chest discomfort that is caused by poor blood flow through the coronary vessels of the heart muscle.
3. Heart Attack
A heart attack occurs when the heart muscle isn’t getting enough blood. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle. When there isn’t blood flowing, damage or death of the part may occur.
Heart Attacks should not be taken lightly as they are dangerous and sometimes deadly.
4. Heart Failure
Heart Failure happens when the heart muscle does not pump blood as well as it should. During heart failure, blood backs up and fluid can end up in your lungs, leading to shortness of breath.
5. Arrhythmia
These Heart Rhythm Problems take place when the electrical impulses coordinating your heartbeats aren’t working properly. This can cause your heart to beat slowly, fast, or irregularly.
6. Valve Disease
This takes place when one or more valves in your heart aren’t working properly. Heart Valves are important because they keep your blood flowing in the right direction.
If one or more valves aren’t opening and closing as they should, disruption in the blood flowing through your heart to your body could take place.
7. High Blood Pressure
By definition, High Blood Pressure or hypertension is a common condition where the long-term force of blood against the artery walls is so high that it could potentially cause severe health problems, like heart disease.
8. Congenital Heart Conditions
These are one or multiple problems existing within the heart’s structure existing since birth. Further, congenital means, you were born with the defect.
This can change the way that blood flows throughout your heart. Sometimes defects do not cause any issues, however, complex defects may cause life-threatening complications.
9. Coronary Heart Disease
This is the most common type of heart disease in the United States. It takes place when there is a Heart Blood Supply blockage of fatty substances or plaque in the coronary arteries.
Plaque consists of deposits of cholesterol and other substances in the artery. Further, the buildup of plaque in the arteries can cause them to narrow over time, partially or completely blocking the blood flow.
10. Inherited Heart Conditions
These are heart conditions that you have inherited, in other words, they have been passed down to you by your parents’ genes. ICC is a term covering a wide variety of rare diseases of the heart.
These conditions are also commonly referred to as genetic cardiac conditions. The cause of ICC is by mutations in one or more of our genes. If you have a mutation there is a 50/50 chance it will pass down to your children.
