HEART DIESAES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HEART DIESAES - Essay Example Types of heart diseases Coronary heart disease is a condition in which the coronary blood vessels increasingly become unable to supply sufficient blood and oxygen due to a blockage caused by plague deposits (Gregson 2001, p.16); eventually, this results in a reduced supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. In addition to that, the Coronary heart disease results in intense chest pains, angina, and could eventually trigger a heart attack or devastating injury to the heart muscle. In this regard, common symptoms for coronary heart diseases include angina, pressure on the chest and other places such as arms, neck, back and jaws, in addition to a fatalistic shortness of breath (Chenzbraun 2010, p.9). Well-determined risk factors for the Coronary heart disease include cigarette smoking, hypertension, alcoholism, diabetes, and obesity, in addition to family history, stress, lack of adequate exercise, and hyperlipidemia. The treatments for Coronary heart disease include lifestyle changes suc h as smoking and alcohol cessation, medications such as statins, nitroglycerin, and aspirin, which lowers risk of recurrence (Pampel and Pauley 2004, p.57); in addition, other treatments available are surgical operations such as the coronary artery bypass or heart transplant and non-surgical operations such as the coronary angioplasty using stents. Angina pectoris is a warning sign for heart attack; also known as angina, it is a medical term for the chest pain that follows insufficient supply of blood to the heart. There are different types of angina, with different intervals of pain ranging from just a few seconds to several minutes, and each one of them has different causes and risk factors as well. For instance, stable angina presents with chest discomfort and allied symptoms triggered by some activity such as running but minimal or non-existent at rest or with medication, while unstable angina is very severe and occurs with minimal exertion, with a crescendo pattern, Micro-vascu lar angina presents with chest pains too, but unlike the other two, its causes are unknown. Common symptoms of angina pectoris include chest discomfort, a sort of pressure or heaviness sensation, in addition to referred pains in such areas as the upper central abdomen section, including the back, neck, jaws, or shoulders; some people may also present with autonomic symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and pallor. Major risk factors for angina pectoris include cigarette smoking, diabetes, hypertension, and an inactive lifestyle, in addition to family history of premature heart disease; the most common treatment for angina is nitro-glycerine, a potent vasodilator that supplies more oxygen to the heart muscle. Congestive heart failure denotes the condition whereby the heart becomes unable to supply a sufficient amount of blood to the rest of the body due to fatty plaques (Caldwell 2007, p.6), resulting in a reduced oxygen supply to the body tissues. Symptoms for heart failure include shor tness of breath, a swelling of the legs, and intolerance of exertion or exercise, while common causes of the condition include coronary artery disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, in addition to all other conditions that overwork the heart such as hypertension, valve, kidney and thyroid diseases, and diabetes.