Cardiovascular Diseases List

8/2/2019 Cardiovascular Diseases List

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Cardiovascular Diseases ListHave you been on the lookout for all the different types of cardiovascular diseases? Well then, here isa comprehensive cardiovascular diseases list that talks about the different cardiovascular diseases,their causes, symptoms and treatment.

Of all the various diseases and disorders, cardiovascular diseases and disorders are a leading cause ofdeath, not only in the United States, but the world over, including third world countries.Cardiovascular diseases are becoming alarmingly frequent nowadays. This rise in the incidence of

cardiovascular diseases can be attributed to an unhealthy lifestyle, which includes lack of exercise andgorging on fast food. So, in case you feel that you are leading an unhealthy lifestyle, then it is time to

take a look at this cardiovascular diseases list to see all the cardiovascular diseases types, causes,symptoms and their treatment.

Cardiovascular Diseases List

Congestive Heart Failure Coronary Artery Disease Acute Myocardial Infarction Hypertension Cardiac Arrhythmia Cardiomegaly Miscellaneous Cardiovascular Diseases

Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure is one of the most common conditions affecting the heart, thus, cementing itsplace in one of the top slots of cardiovascular diseases list. It is the failure of the heart to meet thebody demands of adequate circulation for its metabolizing tissues. The different types of congestiveheart failure are acute or chronic heart failure, high output or low output heart failure and left sided orright sided biventricular failure. There can also be compensated or decompensated heart failure.
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Causes:

Myocardial causes, where there is myocardial dysfunction leadingto reduced contractile force of the heart. The causes of this includeviral infections like viral pneumonia, rheumatic fever, beri-beri,coronary heart disease, hypertension, diphtheria, amyloidosis, anddegenerative diseases involving the heart.

Mechanical lesions of the heart where there is a volume overload,as seen in valvular heart disease (aortic and mitral disease),syphilitic heart disease, as seen in the third stage of syphilis.

Diseases interfering with diastolic filling of the heart, likeconstrictive pericarditis, pericardial effusion restrictive

cardiomyopathy.

Rhythm disturbances, especially in a compromised heart, sincethey reduce the end diastolic volume due to reduction in diastolicinterval. These include atrial tachycardias, atrial flutter, atrial

fibrillation and heart block.

Conditions where there is an increased pressure on the heart topump out more blood, like high fever, pregnancy or thyrotoxicosis.

Symptoms:

Left Heart Failure Symptoms

Progressive breathlessness, that is more marked on exertion. Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea attacks. Weakness, fatigue, palpitation and pain in the chest. Acute left heart failure is characterized by basal crepitations,

tachycardia, cold extremities, facial pallor, hypertension and agalloping rhythm.

Right Heart Failure Symptoms

Generalized fatigue and weakness including cough, breathlessness,anorexia, abdominal distension, pain and dragging sensation in theright hypochondrium.

Headache, restlessness, insomnia, weight gain, swelling of legs andfeet, oliguria and nocturia.

Physical signs include cyanosis, warm extremities, engorged neckveins, elevated jugular venous pressure, enlarged liver and edemaover legs and feet.

The size of the heart is generally within normal limits. Pulmonarydiastolic murmur is seen due to pulmonary hypertension. Signs ofpleural effusion maybe present.

Treatment:

Take adequate rest but maintain a certain minimum level ofphysical activity.

A nutritious diet that is well-balanced and is low in calories and saltis very important. Frequent but small meals should be consumed.Evening meals should be light and adequate time interval should bemaintained between the evening meals and the time of sleep.


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Often after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure, thepatient is confined to bed and the diet is either light and semi-solidor liquid. So a daily movement of bowels is desirable. Straining atstools must be avoided.

In most cases there is need to take to drug therapy. They aremostly inotropic drugs that have a direct effect on the myocardium,by increasing the systolic contraction of the heart and thusincreasing the cardiac output. Other drugs that are also usedinclude diuretics and vasodilators.

Coronary Artery Disease

Coronary artery disease, along with congestive heart failure, is one of the most common causes ofdeath. Of all the diseases in this cardiovascular diseases list, coronary artery disease, or ischemicheart disease as it is commonly called, is the leading cause of morbidity in middle and elderly aged

men.

Causes:

High levels of cholesterol in the blood is a high risk factor and oneof the main causes of coronary artery disease.

Smoking is also one of the main causes for instigating coronaryartery disease. Smoking leads to an increased level of nicotine andcarbon monoxide in the blood, which significantly increases the riskof coronary heart disease.

If hypertension reaches a crisis level, then there are high chancesof it precipitating into a coronary artery disease.

There are certain risk factors which have been implicated incoronary heart disease, like obesity, a high fat diet, diabetesmellitus, lack of physical activity etc.

Symptoms:

The most important coronary artery disease symptom seen isangina. Angina is a complex symptom that is characterized byacute substernal pain that is often produced by reversiblemyocardial ischemia. Classically the patient has pain in theretrosternal region, radiating to precordium inner side of left arm,shoulder and back. The pain maybe severely crushing or choking innature and is often brought about by exertion or after a heavymeal and by walking in cold weather. It is accompanied bysweating, uneasiness and fear. This is the most vital symptom ofarterial blockage in the heart and is also the main cardiovasculardisease symptoms in women.

Acute myocardial infarction. Chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy. Coronary heart disease present complications like acute left heart

failure, cardiac arrhythmias and congestive failure.

Treatment:

Certain general measures like a change in lifestyle, reduction ofsmoking, resorting to a healthy diet by cutting down on high fatfoods, regular exercise etc.

For the treatment of angina, instant administration of sublingualnitrate in the form of nitroglycerine is done. This is the main line of


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therapy. Other drugs that are used include beta blockers andcalcium channel blockers.

Acute Myocardial Infarction

Of all the differenttypes of heart diseasesin this cardiovascular diseases list, acute myocardialinfarction, which is commonly known as a heart attack, is one of the most common medical

emergency conditions, which comes with a high mortality rate. A large number of myocardialinfarction cases occur at rest, during sleep or sometimes after heavy exertion.

Causes:

Coronary artery blockage is by far the most common cause ofacute myocardial infarction. Partial or complete blockage of one ormore coronary arteries leads to an attack of myocardial infarctionwhich may even culminate in sudden cardiac arrest and death.

Other factors that may lead to an acute myocardial infarctionattack include unstable angina, variant angina and hypoglycemia.

Symptoms:

Chest pain, which is severe, constricting and resembles an anginaattack. Also, the patient may seem restless, profusely sweating and

be in a state of panic. These also sometimes manifest as heartattack warning signs.

There may be symptoms of left heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias,ventricular tachycardia, fibrillation or supraventricular tachycardia.

Weak peripheral pulse, with cold and sweating extremities andvisible pallor, accompanied by hypotension. The heart soundmaybe muffled.

Treatment:

The first line of action in heart attack treatment is pain relief. Asubcutaneous injection of pain reliever is given. If that fails to act,then a slow intravenous or subcutaneous injection of morphine isgiven.

Oxygen is given via a mask. Continuous oxygen administrationprovides relief by improving myocardial oxygen supply.

Certain drugs are used for the cure and treatment of heart attack.This includes low dose aspirin, certain sedative drugs, and evenanti anxiety drugs.

Fibrinolytic therapy is given to patients so as reduce the infarctsize. These agents reduce the infarct size and the ventriculardamage. They help restore coronary blood flow, thus, salvaging themyocardium. Streptokinase is the most commonly used fibrinolytic

agent. Complete bed rest is enforced for the first 48 hours after an attack.

Also, the patient should be preferably on a low fat diet, whichshould be a liquid diet for the first few days, and then should beslowly shifted to a semi-solid diet.

If all these measures fail, then the only option left for a patient ofmyocardial infarction is surgery. The various surgery optionsinclude angioplasty and coronary artery bypass surgery.
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Hypertension

Hypertension is one of the most common conditions of all the conditions in most cardiovasculardiseases list. Hypertension is a condition wherein the blood pressure of an individual is higher thannormal blood pressure levels. Blood pressure is the product of the amount of blood pumped by theheart and the resistance to the flow of this blood by the vessels. It is mostly agreed upon that systolicabove 160mm of Hg and diastolic above 95mm of Hg is what is considered high blood pressure.

Causes:

Acute or transient hypertension can be caused by acuteglomerulonephritis, toxemia of pregnancy, acute intermittentporphyria, pheochromocytoma

Certain kidney diseases like chronic nephritis, chronicpyelonephritis, congenital polycystic kidney, diabetic kimmelstiel

wilson disease, post toxemic hypertension, kidney cancer.

Endocrine disorders like Cushing's syndrome, acromegaly,adrenocortical tumors, thyrotoxicosis, hyperparathyroidism etc.

Symptoms:

General symptoms include headache, palpitations, tinnitus,giddiness etc.

If left untreated, it could lead to brain stem stroke, myocardialinfarction. In later stages, the heart might also enlarge, leading toforceful heaving, apical impulse, second aortic sound is loud andaccentuated. There may be mitral systolic murmur due tofunctional mitral insufficiency.

Treatment:

General measures for treatment for high blood pressure include achange in lifestyle like exercising more, switching to a diet to lower

high blood pressure, reduce the salt intake, adequate rest andsleep, reduce intake of alcohol etc. These are basic steps that needto be taken for lowering high blood pressure.

Drug therapy for hypertension includes the use of hypertensionmedications. These medicines include diuretics for high bloodpressure. Use of beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, alphablockers, ACE inhibitors etc.

Cardiac Arrhythmia

Any kind of irregularity in the heartbeat is known as cardiac arrhythmia. Heart rate is controlled by anumber of factors. These include the sympathetic and parasympathetic impulses. Cardiac arrhythmiascan be very benign or can even be life-threatening. They can manifest as rapid or irregular heartbeats

such as premature beats or as ventricular tachycardias or fibrillation. Many a time, cardiacarrhythmias may be the first manifestation of an underlying cardiac ailment.

Causes:

Harmless arrhythmias maybe produced due to severe anxiety andstress.

Excessive intake of tea, coffee, alcohol or tobacco and nicotine canspur on arryhtmias.


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Certain metabolic factors such as diabetic ketoacidosis,hypoglycemia, hypercalcemia etc.

Endocrinal disorders like hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma,hypothyroidism, hyperaldosteronism etc.

Electrolyte disturbances like hypokalemia, alterations inmagnesium levels, hyperkalemia, hypernatremia etc.

Drug toxicity caused by drugs like digitalis, diuretics,antidepressants, phenothiazone etc.

Other heart ailments like ischemic heart disease, valvular heartdisease, congenital heart disease etc.

Symptoms:

There are various types of arrhythmias that may manifest themselves as irregular heartbeats in theform of occasional premature heartbeats, ventricular tachycardias and ventricular fibrillation. They canalso manifest as extra systoles or ectopic beats, supraventricular ectopic beats, ventricular prematurebeats etc.

Treatment:

The basic approach of management of arrhythmias is to make anaccurate diagnosis of the underlying cardiac condition. This can bedone by taking a detailed history so as to look out for signs thatsuggest a specific disease or condition.

Depending on the type of condition that is causing the arrhythmia,specific drugs will be administered. These include beta blockers likepropranolol, acebutalol and atenolol. Other drugs areprocainamide, diazepam, lignocaine etc.

Some cases may require surgical placement of automated externaldefibrillators.

Cardiomegaly

The word 'cardiomegaly' literally means 'enlarged heart'. This is a condition where the size of the heartincreases, which may occur due to various reasons. Of all the conditions present in this cardiovasculardiseases list, this is a relatively rare condition.

Causes:

In certain cases, the myocardium, which is the heart wall getsthickened, which is known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Unfortunately, it is an inherited disorder that occurs due to geneticmutation.

In other heart diseases, the heart muscles may becomehypertrophic due to overload on the heart, especially the ventriclesin certain cases where the demand is more, like high bloodpressure during pregnancy, constant stress etc.

Symptoms:

Symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include fatigue, heaviness in chest, shortness of breath,palpitations, sweating, high blood pressure etc. However, the severity of the symptoms vary fromperson to person.

Treatment:
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The treatment of cardiomegaly involves treating the root cause of the condition. In case ofhypertensives, the blood pressure should be brought down immediately by the use of anti-hypertensive drugs. Unfortunately, for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, there is no cure.

Miscellaneous Cardiovascular DiseasesThere are certain other circulatory system diseases and disorders that deserve to make it to thecardiovascular diseases list. These are given below:

Fluid around the heart (Pericardial effusion) Atherosclerosis Infective endocarditis Valvular heart disease Congenital heart disease

So this was all about heart diseases that are included in cardiovascular diseases list. Cardiovasculardisease statistics show that these diseases are on the rise and hence, there are more and moreyounger people being afflicted by these diseases. Thus, it is of paramount importance that we take ourheart health seriously, and earnestly switch to a more healthy lifestyle, because after all healthy livingis the key to a long and healthy life!

Cardiovascular Diseases List

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