 I am 48 years of age; I am hypertensive with a family history of cardiac diseases. Am I at the risk of developing a heart disease? How can I avoid it?
Cardiopathy or heart disease is a broad term that encompasses various diseases affecting the heart.
It includes coronary artery disease (CAD), cardiomyopathy, hypertensive heart disease, valvular heart disease, arrhythmia, cardio-vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, heart failure and inflammatory heart disease.
CAD the most common heart problem is caused when arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle become narrow and harden due to old age, or accumulation of plaque on their inner walls. This is also called atherosclerosis. Plaque builds from fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances present in blood. This can cause arteries to narrow, block them or even cause blood clots that eventually result in reduced blood supply to the heart muscle.
Chest pain called angina, shortness of breath and myocardial infarction are symptoms of coronary artery disease that commonly affects most. Sometimes symptoms may be silent (silent ischemia) and evade detection.
Treatment may require angioplasty or bypass surgery
High blood pressure can cause hypertensive heart disease, because of hypertension the heart has to work harder to pump blood. When it cannot put up with the strain it begins to fail.
Cardio vascular diseases are diseases like atherosclerosis that affect the heart or its system of veins and arteries. Some of the associated causes are diabetes and hypertension.
Heart failure results when the heart is unable to pump blood to the body parts. Body tissues get deprived of oxygen, resulting in edema from kidney failure.
Heart failure can occur from CAD, hypertension.
ECG, echocardiogram, angiography and stress tests, are some of the common tests to detect heart problems.
Though some heart diseases are congenital or degenerative in nature, those like CAD and hypertension can be effectively handled by proper diet, lifestyle changes, regular exercise and a stress-free life. |
