What Is Heart Disease?
Heart disease isn't just one thing. It's a number of conditions that can affect how your heart works. Heart disease can also be called cardiovascular disease, though that term covers blood vessels problems as well.
Heart disease is a major killer in the U.S., causing about 1 in 5 deaths, or about 700,000 a year.
Each type of heart disease has its own symptoms and treatment. If you have some kinds, lifestyle changes and medicine can make a huge difference in your health. For others, you may need surgery to make your ticker work well again.
Here are some of the common types of heart disease and how to prevent, recognize, and treat them.
Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
CAD is the most common heart problem and the biggest killer.
With CAD, you get blockages in your coronary arteries — the vessels that supply blood to your heart. That can reduce the flow of blood to your heart muscle, keeping it from getting the oxygen it needs. The disease usually starts as a result of atherosclerosis, sometimes called hardening of the arteries. When you have that condition, deposits called plaque build up in your arteries, often over many years.
Coronary heart disease can give you pain in your chest, called angina, or lead to a heart attack. It can also contribute to other heart problems, such as abnormal heart rhythms or heart failure.
Some things that may put you at a higher risk of CAD are:
- Age (For men, the risk of heart disease goes up after age 55; for women, the risk rises sharply after menopause.)
- Being inactive
- Having diabetes or metabolic syndrome
- Family history of coronary heart disease
- Genetics
- High blood pressure
- High levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol or low levels of HDL "good" cholesterol
- Obesity
- Smoking
- Stress
Heart Arrhythmias
When you have an arrhythmia, your heart beats too fast, too slow, or in an irregular, uneven pattern.
Some arrhythmias are harmless. But others can put you at a serious risk of problems such as cardiac arrest and stroke. They may also cause symptoms like dizziness and fainting.
Serious arrhythmias often develop from other heart problems but may also happen on their own. You're at higher risk if you smoke, drink alcohol, or have health problems such as obesity, high blood sugar, or sleep apnea.
Heart Failure
With heart failure, your heart doesn't pump blood as well as it should to meet your body's needs. It is usually caused by CAD, but it can also happen because you have thyroid disease, high blood pressure, heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), or certain other conditions.
Heart Valve Disease
Your heart has four valves that open and close to direct blood flow between your heart's four chambers, the lungs, and blood vessels. An abnormality could make it hard for a valve to open and close the right way. When that happens, your blood flow could be blocked or blood can leak.
The causes of heart valve problems include infections such as rheumatic fever, congenital heart disease, high blood pressure, CAD, and damage from a heart attack.
Diseases of the heart valves include:
Endocarditis. This is an infection that's usually caused by bacteria, which may enter the blood and take root in your heart during illness, after surgery, or after using IV drugs. It often happens if you already have valve problems. Antibiotics can usually cure it, but the disease is life threatening without treatment. If your heart valves are seriously damaged as a result of endocarditis, you may need valve replacement surgery.
Rheumatic heart disease. This condition develops when your heart muscle and valves are damaged by rheumatic fever, which is linked to strep throat and scarlet fever. Rheumatic heart disease was more common in the past. But doctors are now able to prevent it by using antibiotics to treat the diseases that lead to it. If you do get it, the symptoms usually show up many years after the infection.
Pericardial Disease
Any disease of the pericardium, the sac that surrounds your heart, is called a pericardial disease. One of the more common diseases is pericarditis or inflammation of the pericardium.
It's usually caused by an infection with a virus, inflammatory diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis, or injury to your pericardium. Pericarditis often follows open heart surgery.
Cardiomyopathy (Heart Muscle Disease)
Cardiomyopathy is a disease of your heart muscle, or myocardium. It gets stretched, thickened, or stiff. Your heart may get too weak to pump well.
There are many possible causes of the disease, including genetic heart conditions, reactions to certain drugs or toxins (such as alcohol), and viral infections. Sometimes, chemotherapy for cancer causes cardiomyopathy. Many times, doctors can't find the exact cause.
Congenital Heart Disease
Congenital heart disease happens when something goes wrong while the heart is forming before birth. The heart abnormality sometimes leads to problems right after birth, but other times, there aren't any symptoms until adulthood.
Septal abnormalities are among the most common congenital heart problems. These are holes in the wall that separates the left and right sides of your heart. You can get a procedure to patch the hole.
Another type of abnormality is called pulmonary stenosis. A narrow valve reduces the flow of blood to your lungs. A procedure or surgery can open or replace the valve.
In some babies, a small blood vessel known as the ductus arteriosus doesn't close up at birth as it should. When this happens, some blood leaks back into the pulmonary artery, which puts strain on the heart. Doctors can treat this with surgery or a procedure or sometimes with medication.
Heart Disease Symptoms
Heart disease symptoms vary, depending on the kind of heart disease you have. In some cases, symptoms of different conditions overlap; in others, they don't. Here are some symptoms you might see with common types.
CAD
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Pain in your neck and jaw
Arrythmias
- Chest pain
- Dizziness
- A racing or slow heartbeat
Heart failure
- Shortness of breath, even when lying down
- Fatigue and weakness
- Swelling in ankles, feet, and legs
- A persistent cough
Heart valve disease
- Chest pain
- Fainting
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
Cardiomyopathy
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Rapid heartbeats
- Swollen ankles, feet, or legs
Congenital heart disease
- Blue or gray skin, due to low oxygen levels
- Swelling in the legs, belly, or around the eyes
- Shortness of breath
Heart Disease Diagnosis
If you have symptoms of heart disease, your doctor will start with the basics: examining you and listening to your heart with a stethoscope. They'll also want to know about your family and medical history.
From there, you might get some tests, depending on your symptoms and history. They might include:
Blood tests. These include the routine tests you get for cholesterol and blood sugar levels. In some cases, you might get tests for proteins linked to inflamed arteries and heart attacks.
Chest X-ray. This can show if your heart is enlarged.
EKG. This test records the electrical signals in your heart and shows the rate and rhythm of your heartbeats.
Echocardiogram. This test uses sound waves to make detailed images of your heart in motion. It can show how blood moves through the heart and heart valves.
Exercise tests or stress tests. You might use a treadmill or stationary bike while your heart is checked.
Cardiac catheterization. If you might have blockages in your heart arteries, you can get this test, in which a long, thin flexible tube called a catheter is inserted in a blood vessel and guided to your heart. Dye can then be injected to help the arteries show up on X-rays.
Heart Disease Treatments
Depending on your type of heart disease, your treatment might start with lifestyle changes and include medications, procedures, and rehabilitation.
Medications for heart disease
These include medications to:
- Manage your blood pressure, like diuretics (water pills) and beta-blockers
- Improve your blood cholesterol levels, like statins
- Prevent blood clots, like prescription blood thinners and aspirin
Procedures for heart disease
These include:
- Coronary angioplasty to widen blocked arteries and place stents
- Heart valve surgery to repair or replace faulty valves
- Bypass surgery to reroute blood flow around a blocked artery
- Heart transplant to replace a badly damaged heart with one from a deceased donor
Cardiac rehabilitation
If you've had a heart attack, angioplasty, or heart surgery or if you have heart failure, you can benefit from this kind of program. Cardiac rehab includes:
- Exercise supervised by medical professionals
- Education on heart-healthy living
- Counseling to reduce stress
Tips to Protect Heart Health
Because heart disease is the leading cause of death, taking steps to protect your heart is important, whether you've been diagnosed with heart disease or not.
Here are some ways to keep your heart in the best shape possible:
Don't smoke. Smoking isn't just bad for your lungs. It harms your heart and blood vessels, too. Quitting can quickly improve your heart health.
Get or stay active. Try to get your heart pumping with 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, like brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, like running.
Eat heart-healthy foods. That means lots of fruits and veggies, lean proteins, whole grains, and healthy fats like those found in olive oil and avocados. Limit salt, sugar, alcohol, and highly processed foods.
Get enough sleep. Most adults need at least seven hours a night.
Reduce stress. If you're constantly on edge, try relaxation exercises or meditation. Getting more physical activity can help, too.
Get regular checkups. Make sure you know your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels and take steps to improve them if needed.
Takeaways
Having heart disease can have a big impact on your life and keep you from doing the things you'd like to do. The most common form of heart disease, CAD, is a major killer. But you can prevent or limit the damage from most forms of heart diseases. Living a heart-healthy lifestyle and working with your doctor to recognize and treat heart problems can make a big difference.
Heart Disease FAQs
Can you live a long life with heart disease?
In many cases, the answer is yes. Of course, it depends on the type of heart disease you have and how effectively it's treated, as well as your health habits. For example, people who get treated for CAD can stop artery buildup from getting worse and prevent heart attacks, potentially adding years to their lives. And people with some conditions, including heart failure, are living longer than they did in the past, thanks to advances in medicine.
What are the two warning signs of heart disease?
Heart disease can have many warning signs. For the most common type, CAD, the two most common symptoms are chest pain and shortness of breath.
What happens after you get diagnosed with heart disease?
After the diagnosis, it's important to work with your doctor to get the best care and understand what's going on with your heart. So ask lots of questions — like whether you'll need more tests and treatments and what you should do if you have new symptoms. You may need to have regular visits with a heart doctor and make changes to your diet or other habits. In many cases, you'll need to take medicine for the rest of your life.
