What Causes Heart Disease?

Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease, is a collective term for medical conditions that affect the heart and the blood vessels. It is a major cause of disability and the leading cause of death for Americans. There are several different causes for heart disease. 

The most prevalent factor is blockage or narrowing of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply the heart. It is a chronic condition caused by atherosclerosis, the accumulation of cholesterol in the coronary artery walls. Atherosclerosis restricts blood flow and circulation. It can cause angina, stroke, heart attack, sudden death, heart failure and arrhythmia, an abnormal heart rhythm. Helpful lifestyle changes include lower cholesterol levels, exercising, reducing stress and high blood pressure. 

Atrial flutter is an arrhythmia that happens in the atria, the chamber where the blood enters the heart. This rhythm usually deteriorates into atrial fibrillation (A-fib), the most prevalent abnormal cardiac rhythm. A-fib is usually asymptomatic and not life-threatening, but can cause an abnormal heart beat, chest pain, loss of consciousness and heart failure. Parasystole is an arrhythmia that causes a second rhythm in the heart. Arrhythmias are managed with medicine and pacemakers. 

Angina pectoris, or angina, is an intense chest pain due to a blockage or a spasm. Stable angina occurs during physical activity and unstable angina occurs sporadically. Coronary vasospasm is a type of angina in which the vessels spasm. Severe angina can cause a heart attack. 

Angioplasty is the surgical widening of obstructed or constricted blood vessels. During bypass surgery, surgeons graft blood vessels to the coronary arteries to increase circulation and blood flow. It relieves angina, improves exercise tolerance and reduces the risk of heart attack. 

Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that weakens the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular warning signs include shortness of breath, angina, heart murmurs, rapid heart beat and palpitations. The most serious complications are a dilated aorta or an aortic dissection, a surgical emergency. 

Rheumatic fever is a heart valve disease that occurs after a streptococcal infection. Patients are treated with an antibiotic, such as penicillin, to prevent recurrence. Some patients develop pericarditis, inflammation of the heart lining, which damages the valves and causes heart failure and arrhythmia. 

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease characterized by stiff heart chamber walls that prevent the normal expansion and filling of the heart. In the later stages of the disease, the heart doesn’t pump efficiently and can adversely affect the other major body systems. Patients with cardiomyopathy can have bradycardia, a slow heart rhythm or tachycardia, a fast heart rhythm.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a genetic disease that thickens the heart muscles and makes it more difficult to pump blood out of the chambers. Some patients can flat-line, asystole, due to severe abnormal heart rhythms or restricted blood flow. 

Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common heart muscle disease. In these patients, the heart’s pumping chamber is dilated, weak and enlarged. Possible risk factors include viral illness, thyroid disease, diabetes, alcoholism, drug toxicities and childbirth.