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Heart disorders or Heart disease is an umbrella term for a number of different problemss which affect the heart. As of 2007, it is the leading cause of death in the United States[1][2], England, and Wales[3], killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone[4].

"Nearly 2,400 Americans die of CVD every day" [5].

Types of heart disease[]

Coronary heart disease[]

Main article: Coronary heart disease

Over 1,200 Americans die of coronary heart disease every day. [5].

Coronary heart disease is a disease of the heart caused by the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium. Angina pectoris and myocardial infarction (heart attack) are symptoms of and conditions caused by coronary heart disease.

Cardiomyopathy[]

Main article: Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy literally means "heart muscle disease" (Myo= muscle, pathy= disease) It is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle) for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia and/or sudden cardiac death.

  • Extrinsic cardiomyopathies - cardiomyopathies where the primary pathology is outside the myocardium itself. Most cardiomyopathies are extrinsic, because by far the most common cause of a cardiomyopathy is ischemia. The World Health Organization calls these specific cardiomyopathies[How to reference and link to summary or text]:
  • Intrinsic cardiomyopathies - weakness in the muscle of the heart that is not due to an identifiable external cause.
    • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) - most common form, and one of the leading indications for heart transplantation. In DCM the heart (especially the left ventricle) is enlarged and the pumping function is diminished.
    • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM or HOCM) - genetic disorder caused by various mutations in genes encoding sarcomeric proteins. In HCM the heart muscle is thickened, which can obstruct blood flow and prevent the heart from functioning properly.
    • Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) - arises from an electrical disturbance of the heart in which heart muscle is replaced by fibrous scar tissue. The right ventricle is generally most affected.
    • Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) - least common cardiomyopathy. The walls of the ventricles are stiff, but may not be thickened, and resist the normal filling of the heart with blood. ** Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy - the left ventricle wall has failed to properly grow from birth and such has a spongy appearance when viewed during an echocardiogram.

Cardiovascular disease[]

Main article: Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease is any of a number of specific diseases that affect the heart itself and/or the blood vessel system, especially the veins and arteries leading to and from the heart. Research on disease dimorphism suggests that women who suffer with cardiovascular disease usually suffer from forms that affect the blood vessels while men usually suffer from forms that affect the heart muscle itself. Known or associated causes of cardiovascular disease include diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia and hypercholesterolemia.

Types of cardiovascular disease include:

Ischaemic heart disease[]

Heart failure[]

Main article: Heart failure

Heart failure, also called congestive heart failure (or CHF), and congestive cardiac failure (CCF), is a condition that can result from any structural or functional cardiac disorder that impairs the ability of the heart to fill with or pump a sufficient amount of blood throughout the body.

  • Cor pulmonale, a failure of the right side of the heart.

Hypertensive heart disease[]

Main article: Hypertensive heart disease

Hypertensive heart disease, heart disease caused by high blood pressure, especially localised high blood pressure. Conditions that can be caused by hypertensive heart disease include:

Inflammatory heart disease[]

Inflammatory heart disease involves inflammation of the heart muscle and/or the tissue surrounding it.

Valvular heart disease[]

Main article: Valvular heart disease

Valvular heart disease is any disease process involving one or more valves of the heart. The valves in the right side of the heart are the tricuspid valve and the pulmonic valve. The valves in the left side of the heart are the mitral valve and the aortic valve.

  • Aortic valve stenosis
  • Mitral valve prolapse
  • Valvular cardiomyopathy

See also[]

References[]

  1. Division of Vital Statistics, Arialdi M. Miniño, M.P.H., Melonie P. Heron, Ph.D., Sherry L. Murphy, B.S., Kenneth D. Kochanek, M.A. (2007-08-21). Deaths: Final data for 2004. National Vital Statistics Reports 55 (19): 7.
  2. White House News, American Heart Month, 2007, http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/02/20070201-2.html, retrieved on 2007-07-16 
  3. National Statistics Press Release 25th May 2006
  4. includeonly>Hitti, Miranda. "Heart Disease Kills Every 34 Seconds in U.S.", Fox News - WebMD, 2004-12-07. Retrieved on 2007-12-30.
  5. 5.0 5.1 American Heart Association: Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2008 Update. AHA, Dallas, Texas, 2008

External links[]

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