Heart disease

Heart disease includes a range of condition that affects the heart. Heart disease included

• Blood vessel disease such as Coronary artery disease
• Irregular heartbeats (Arrhythmia)
• Heart problem you born with
• Disease of the heart muscle
• Heart valve disease

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is due to lack of blood supply to heart blood vessels due to narrowing of blood vessels. A heart attack occurs when the flow of blood to heart is severely reduced or blocked. The blockage is usually due to build-up of fat, cholesterol and other substance in the heart arteries. The fatty cholesterol containing deposits are called plaques. The process of plaque build-up is called atherosclerosis.

Sometime a plaque can rupture and form a clot that blocks blood flow. A lack of blood flow can damage or destroy part of heart muscle.

A heart attack is also called a myocardial infarction. Prompt immediate treatment is needed for a heart attack to prevent death.

Symptoms – Symptoms of heart attack vary, some people have mild symptoms, others have severe symptoms. Some people have no symptoms.

Common heart attack symptoms

• Chest pain may feel like pressure, tightness, pain, squeezing or aching
• Pain or discomfort that spreads to the shoulder, arm back, neck, jaw, teeth or sometime the upper belly
• Cold sweat
• Fatigue
• Heart burn or indigestion
• Light headedness or sudden dizziness
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath
• Women may have typical symptoms such as brief of sharp pain felt in the neck, arm or back. Sometimes the first symptom sign of heart attack is sudden cardiac arrest
• Seek medical help immediately
• Take aspirin, if available

Diagnosis of Heart disease

Coronary Artery Disease – It is diagnosed through various test includes ECG, Electrocardiogram, Blood Test, Coronary audiography either invasive or CT Coronary Angiogram.

Arrhythmia – They present with palpitations, loss of consciousness near fainting, difficulty in breathing. It requires further testing like EKG, 24 hrs Holter, Event recorder and Diagnostic Electro Physiology Study to pin point, what type of arrhythmia.

Congenital Heart Disease – The test to diagnosis this condition varies depending on clinical examination. The basic test are ECG, Echocardiogram, Transesophageal Echocardiogram, Cardiac MRI and Genetic testing.

Disease of the Heart muscle – The diagnosis of cardiomyopathy is depends on symptoms and clinical examinations of each patient.

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump the blood to the rest of the body, cardiomyopathy can leads to heart failure. The main types of Cardiomyopathy includes Dilated, Hypertrophic and restrictive Cardiomyopathy.

Often the cause of the Cardiomyopathy is uniform. In some people, however it is the result of another condition (acquired) or passed in from a parent (inherited).

Certain health condition or behaviour that can lead to acquired Cardiomyopathy includes

• Long term high Blood pressure
• Heart tissue damage from a heart attack
• Long term rapid heart rate
• Heart valve problem
• Covid 19 infections
• Certain infections, especially those that cause inflammation of heart
• Metabolic disorders, such as obesity, thyroid disease or Diabetes
• Lack of essential Vitamins or minerals in the diet such as Thiamin (Vitamin B1)
• Pregnancy complications
• Iron build-up in the heart muscle
• Inflammatory granulus – Sarcoidosis / Tuberclosis
• The build up of abnormal protein in the organs (Amyloidosis)
• Connection tissue disorder
• Drinking too much alcohol over many years
• Use of some chemotherapy drug and radiation to treat cancer

Types of Cardiomyopathy

Dilated Cardiomyopathy – Due to enlarged left ventricle can't effectively pump blood act of the heart

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – This type involves abnormal thickening of heart muscle

Restrictive Cardiomyopathy – In this type heart muscle becomes stiff and less flexible, so it can't expand and fill with blood between heartbeats

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia – In this rare type of Cardiomyopathy, the muscle in the lower right heart chamber is replaced by scar tissue, which can lead to heart

rhythmic problem. It is often caused by genetic change

Unclassified Cradiomyopathy – Other types of cardiomyopathy fall into this category.

Cardiomyopathy diagnosis needs following test depend on each patient symptoms and diseases. This includes ECG, 2DElectroCardioGram, 24 Hrs Holter, Cardiac MRI and Cardiac PET Scan.

Treatment – which might include medications, surgically implanted device, heart surgery or in severe cases, a heart transplant – depends on the type of cardiomyopathy and how serious it is.