By Richard N. Fogoros, M.D., About.com
Created: May 15, 2007
The best way to "treat" heart disease is to avoid it altogether. Taking steps to adopt a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, and increase your odds of living a long and healthy life. Here's what you need to know.
Assessing your own risk for heart disease To a large extent, people can control most of the the factors that cause heart disease. To decide which risk factors to focus on, first you should compute YOUR personal cardiac risk. Here are resources for doing so.
What to do if your cardiac risk is high If you are at high risk for heart disease, there's a lot you can do to reduce that risk. Here are some suggestions about where and how to start.
Cardiac risk factors and how to control them Here is information on the risk factors themselves, (including cholesterol, hypertension, poor diet and obesity, smoking, diabetes or metabolic syndrome, and lack of exercise,) and what you can do about them.
Cholesterol and triglyceride disorders High cholesterol and high triglycerides, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol - they're important but confusing. We try to straighten it all out here.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Treatment of Heart Disease
By Richard N. Fogoros, M.D., About.com
Updated: December 28, 2007
Major advances have taken place over the past several decades, and continue to take place, regarding the treatment of heart disease. One of the main purposes of this website is to keep you informed of new information about treating heart disease as it becomes available. Knowing what your options are regarding therapy is an important step in learning to live with heart disease.
Treating Heart Disease
Coronary Artery Disease Surviving and thriving after you have coronary artery disease means both you and your doctor have to do the right things. Here's what you need to know about coronary artery disease, angina, and heart attacks.
Heart Failure Study after study show two things: 1) receiving appropriate treatment for heart failure makes you feel better and live longer, and 2) many doctors fail to give the appropriate therapy. Here's what you need to know.
Heart Rhythm Problems A primer on the cardiac arrhythmias - PVCs, atrial fibrillation, SVT, IST, and other heart arrhythmias - their causes, the symptoms they produce, and how they should be treated.
Miscellaneous Heart Problems Articles on miscellaneous topics including the dysautonomias, pericarditis, valvular heart disease, and others.
Updated: December 28, 2007
Major advances have taken place over the past several decades, and continue to take place, regarding the treatment of heart disease. One of the main purposes of this website is to keep you informed of new information about treating heart disease as it becomes available. Knowing what your options are regarding therapy is an important step in learning to live with heart disease.
Treating Heart Disease
Coronary Artery Disease Surviving and thriving after you have coronary artery disease means both you and your doctor have to do the right things. Here's what you need to know about coronary artery disease, angina, and heart attacks.
Heart Failure Study after study show two things: 1) receiving appropriate treatment for heart failure makes you feel better and live longer, and 2) many doctors fail to give the appropriate therapy. Here's what you need to know.
Heart Rhythm Problems A primer on the cardiac arrhythmias - PVCs, atrial fibrillation, SVT, IST, and other heart arrhythmias - their causes, the symptoms they produce, and how they should be treated.
Miscellaneous Heart Problems Articles on miscellaneous topics including the dysautonomias, pericarditis, valvular heart disease, and others.
Common Symptoms of Heart Disease
By Richard N. Fogoros, M.D., About.com
Updated: December 28, 2007
Chest Pain or Chest Discomfort
Few symptoms are more alarming than chest pain. In the minds of many people, chest pain equals heart pain. And while many other conditions can cause chest pain, cardiac disease is so common - and so dangerous - that the symptom of chest pain should never be dismissed out of hand as being insignificant.
"Chest pain" is an imprecise term. It is often used to describe any pain, pressure, squeezing, choking, numbness or any other discomfort in the chest, neck, or upper abdomen, and is often associated with pain in the jaw, head, or arms. It can last from less than a second to days or weeks, can occur frequently or rarely, and can occur sporadically or predictably. This description of chest pain is obviously very vague, and as you might expect, many medical conditions aside from heart disease can produce symptoms like this.
You can read about the many causes of chest pain here. This article discusses the major causes of chest pain, as well as some of the main characteristics that help doctors make a diagnosis of what may be causing the chest pain.
This article discusses the evaluation of chest pain, and addresses the question: When should chest pain be considered an emergency?
Palpitations
Palpitations, an unusual awareness of the heartbeat, is an extremely common symptom. Most people who complain of palpitations describe them either as "skips" in the heartbeat (that is, a pause, often followed by a particularly strong beat,) or as periods of rapid and/or irregular heartbeats.
Most people with palpitations have some type of cardiac arrhythmia. Virtually any arrhythmia can cause palpitations, but the most common causes of palpitations are premature atrial complexes (PACs), premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), episodes of atrial fibrillation, and episodes of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Unfortunately, on occasion palpitations can be a manifestation of a more dangerous heart arrhythmia, such as ventricular tachycardia. Click here for a quick and easy review of heart arrhythmias.
Click here for a review of palpitations, their causes, and how they should be evaluated.
Lightheadedness or Dizziness
Episodes of lightheadedness or dizziness can have many causes, including anemia (low blood count) and other blood disorders, dehydration, viral illnesses, deconditioning (such as prolonged bed rest), diabetes, thyroid disease, gastrointestinal disturbances, liver disease, kidney disease, vascular disease, neurological disorders, the dysautonomias, vasovagal episodes, heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. Because so many different conditions can produce these symptoms, anybody experiencing episodes of lightheadedness or dizziness ought to have a thorough and complete examination by a physician. And since disorders of so many organ systems can cause these symptoms, a good general internist or family doctor may be the best place to start.
Syncope (loss of consciousness)
Syncope is a sudden and temporary loss of consciousness, or fainting. It is a common symptom - most people pass out at least once in their lives - and often does not indicate a serious medical problem. However, sometimes syncope indicates a dangerous or even life-threatening condition, so when syncope occurs it is important to figure out the cause.
The causes of syncope can be grouped into four major categories, neurologic, metabolic, vasomotor and cardiac. Of these, only cardiac syncope commonly leads to sudden death. Here is an article on the cardiac causes of syncope, the most dangerous kind.
Fortunately, most syncope is not cardiac in nature, and thus is not life-threatening. Here is an article, that reviews the non-cardiac causes of syncope, then outlines what you should expect from your doctor when you or a loved one have had a syncopal episode.
Finally, here is an article on vasomotor (or vasovagal) syncope, by far the most common cause of this symptom.
Fatigue, lethargy or somnolence
Fatigue, lethargy or somnolence (daytime sleepiness) are very common symptoms. Fatigue or lethargy can be thought of as an inability to continue functioning at one's normal levels. Somnolence implies, in addition, that one either craves sleep - or worse, finds oneself suddenly asleep, a condition known as narcolepsy - during the daytime.
While fatigue and lethargy can be symptoms of heart disease (particularly, of heart failure), these common and non-specific symptoms can also be due to disorders of virtually any other organ system in the body. Similar to lightheadedness and dizziness, individuals with fatigue and lethargy need a good general medical evaluation in order to begin pinning down a specific cause.
Somnolence is often caused by nocturnal sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or insomnia. All these sleep disturbances, however, are more common in patients with heart disease.
Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is most often a symptom of cardiac or pulmonary (lung) disorders. Heart failure and coronary artery disease frequently produce shortness of breath. Patients with heart failure commonly experience shortness of breath with exertion, or when lying flat on their backs. They also can suddenly wake up at night gasping for breath, a condition known as paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. Coronary artery disease can manifest as shortness of breath on exertion. Other cardiac conditions such as valvular heart disease or pericardial disease can produce this symptom, as can cardiac arrhythmias.
Numerous lung conditions can produce shortness of breath including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonia, or pleural effusion (a fluid accumulation between the lung and chest wall).
Shortness of breath is almost always a sign of a significant medical problem, and should always be evaluated by a doctor.
Updated: December 28, 2007
Chest Pain or Chest Discomfort
Few symptoms are more alarming than chest pain. In the minds of many people, chest pain equals heart pain. And while many other conditions can cause chest pain, cardiac disease is so common - and so dangerous - that the symptom of chest pain should never be dismissed out of hand as being insignificant.
"Chest pain" is an imprecise term. It is often used to describe any pain, pressure, squeezing, choking, numbness or any other discomfort in the chest, neck, or upper abdomen, and is often associated with pain in the jaw, head, or arms. It can last from less than a second to days or weeks, can occur frequently or rarely, and can occur sporadically or predictably. This description of chest pain is obviously very vague, and as you might expect, many medical conditions aside from heart disease can produce symptoms like this.
You can read about the many causes of chest pain here. This article discusses the major causes of chest pain, as well as some of the main characteristics that help doctors make a diagnosis of what may be causing the chest pain.
This article discusses the evaluation of chest pain, and addresses the question: When should chest pain be considered an emergency?
Palpitations
Palpitations, an unusual awareness of the heartbeat, is an extremely common symptom. Most people who complain of palpitations describe them either as "skips" in the heartbeat (that is, a pause, often followed by a particularly strong beat,) or as periods of rapid and/or irregular heartbeats.
Most people with palpitations have some type of cardiac arrhythmia. Virtually any arrhythmia can cause palpitations, but the most common causes of palpitations are premature atrial complexes (PACs), premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), episodes of atrial fibrillation, and episodes of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). Unfortunately, on occasion palpitations can be a manifestation of a more dangerous heart arrhythmia, such as ventricular tachycardia. Click here for a quick and easy review of heart arrhythmias.
Click here for a review of palpitations, their causes, and how they should be evaluated.
Lightheadedness or Dizziness
Episodes of lightheadedness or dizziness can have many causes, including anemia (low blood count) and other blood disorders, dehydration, viral illnesses, deconditioning (such as prolonged bed rest), diabetes, thyroid disease, gastrointestinal disturbances, liver disease, kidney disease, vascular disease, neurological disorders, the dysautonomias, vasovagal episodes, heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. Because so many different conditions can produce these symptoms, anybody experiencing episodes of lightheadedness or dizziness ought to have a thorough and complete examination by a physician. And since disorders of so many organ systems can cause these symptoms, a good general internist or family doctor may be the best place to start.
Syncope (loss of consciousness)
Syncope is a sudden and temporary loss of consciousness, or fainting. It is a common symptom - most people pass out at least once in their lives - and often does not indicate a serious medical problem. However, sometimes syncope indicates a dangerous or even life-threatening condition, so when syncope occurs it is important to figure out the cause.
The causes of syncope can be grouped into four major categories, neurologic, metabolic, vasomotor and cardiac. Of these, only cardiac syncope commonly leads to sudden death. Here is an article on the cardiac causes of syncope, the most dangerous kind.
Fortunately, most syncope is not cardiac in nature, and thus is not life-threatening. Here is an article, that reviews the non-cardiac causes of syncope, then outlines what you should expect from your doctor when you or a loved one have had a syncopal episode.
Finally, here is an article on vasomotor (or vasovagal) syncope, by far the most common cause of this symptom.
Fatigue, lethargy or somnolence
Fatigue, lethargy or somnolence (daytime sleepiness) are very common symptoms. Fatigue or lethargy can be thought of as an inability to continue functioning at one's normal levels. Somnolence implies, in addition, that one either craves sleep - or worse, finds oneself suddenly asleep, a condition known as narcolepsy - during the daytime.
While fatigue and lethargy can be symptoms of heart disease (particularly, of heart failure), these common and non-specific symptoms can also be due to disorders of virtually any other organ system in the body. Similar to lightheadedness and dizziness, individuals with fatigue and lethargy need a good general medical evaluation in order to begin pinning down a specific cause.
Somnolence is often caused by nocturnal sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome or insomnia. All these sleep disturbances, however, are more common in patients with heart disease.
Shortness of breath
Shortness of breath is most often a symptom of cardiac or pulmonary (lung) disorders. Heart failure and coronary artery disease frequently produce shortness of breath. Patients with heart failure commonly experience shortness of breath with exertion, or when lying flat on their backs. They also can suddenly wake up at night gasping for breath, a condition known as paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea. Coronary artery disease can manifest as shortness of breath on exertion. Other cardiac conditions such as valvular heart disease or pericardial disease can produce this symptom, as can cardiac arrhythmias.
Numerous lung conditions can produce shortness of breath including asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonia, or pleural effusion (a fluid accumulation between the lung and chest wall).
Shortness of breath is almost always a sign of a significant medical problem, and should always be evaluated by a doctor.
What is Heart Disease?
By Richard N. Fogoros, M.D., About.com
Updated: September 27, 2007
The heart is the organ that pumps blood, with its life-giving oxygen and nutrients, to all tissues of the body. If the pumping action of the heart becomes inefficient, vital organs like the brain and kidneys suffer.And if the heart stops working altogether, death occurs within minutes. Life itself is completely dependent on the efficient operation of the heart.
There are many kinds of heart disease, and they can affect the heart in several ways. But the ultimate problem with all varieties of heart disease is that, in one way or another, they can disrupt the vital pumping action of the heart.
Heart Disease - A Quick Primer
How the heart works - a 15 minute primer A quick review of the heart and how it works
A brief survey of common heart problems A survey of the common heart problems: valvular heart disease, heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), coronary artery disease, and heart arrhythmias.
Heart Disease in Depth
Coronary Artery Disease Surviving and thriving after you have coronary artery disease means both you and your doctor have to do the right things. Here's what you need to know about coronary artery disease, angina, and heart attacks.
Heart Failure Study after study show two things: 1) receiving appropriate treatment for heart failure makes you feel better and live longer, and 2) many doctors fail to give the appropriate therapy. Here's what you need to know.
Heart Rhythm Problems A primer on the cardiac arrhythmias - PVCs, atrial fibrillation, SVT, IST, and other heart arrhythmias - their causes, the symptoms they produce, and how they should be treated.
Cholesterol and Triglyceride Disorders High cholesterol and high triglycerides, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol -they're important but confusing. We try to straighten it all out here.
Women and Heart Disease Heart disease is the number one killer of women. Worse, the kind of heart disease women get, and the ways in which the womens' heart disease behaves, is often different than in men. You can find what you should know about heart disease in women here.
Miscellaneous Heart Problems Articles on miscellaneous topics including the dysautonomias, pericarditis, valvular heart disease, and others.
Updated: September 27, 2007
The heart is the organ that pumps blood, with its life-giving oxygen and nutrients, to all tissues of the body. If the pumping action of the heart becomes inefficient, vital organs like the brain and kidneys suffer.And if the heart stops working altogether, death occurs within minutes. Life itself is completely dependent on the efficient operation of the heart.
There are many kinds of heart disease, and they can affect the heart in several ways. But the ultimate problem with all varieties of heart disease is that, in one way or another, they can disrupt the vital pumping action of the heart.
Heart Disease - A Quick Primer
How the heart works - a 15 minute primer A quick review of the heart and how it works
A brief survey of common heart problems A survey of the common heart problems: valvular heart disease, heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy), coronary artery disease, and heart arrhythmias.
Heart Disease in Depth
Coronary Artery Disease Surviving and thriving after you have coronary artery disease means both you and your doctor have to do the right things. Here's what you need to know about coronary artery disease, angina, and heart attacks.
Heart Failure Study after study show two things: 1) receiving appropriate treatment for heart failure makes you feel better and live longer, and 2) many doctors fail to give the appropriate therapy. Here's what you need to know.
Heart Rhythm Problems A primer on the cardiac arrhythmias - PVCs, atrial fibrillation, SVT, IST, and other heart arrhythmias - their causes, the symptoms they produce, and how they should be treated.
Cholesterol and Triglyceride Disorders High cholesterol and high triglycerides, good cholesterol and bad cholesterol -they're important but confusing. We try to straighten it all out here.
Women and Heart Disease Heart disease is the number one killer of women. Worse, the kind of heart disease women get, and the ways in which the womens' heart disease behaves, is often different than in men. You can find what you should know about heart disease in women here.
Miscellaneous Heart Problems Articles on miscellaneous topics including the dysautonomias, pericarditis, valvular heart disease, and others.
Types of heart disease
Coronary heart disease
Main article: Coronary heart disease
Coronary artery disease is a disease of the artery caused by the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium. Angina pectoris (chest pain) and myocardial infarction (heart attack) are symptoms of and conditions caused by coronary heart disease.
Over 459,000 Americans die of coronary heart disease every year[5]. In the United Kingdom, 101,000 deaths annually are due to coronary heart disease.[6]
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[citation needed]:
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
Coronary artery disease
Congenital heart disease - see below
Nutritional diseases affecting the heart
Ischemic (or ischaemic) cardiomyopathy
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy
Valvular cardiomyopathy - see also Valvular heart disease below
Inflammatory cardiomyopathy - see also Inflammatory heart disease below
Cardiomyopathy secondary to a systemic metabolic disease
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:
Atherosclerosis
Ischaemic heart disease
Ischaemic heart disease - another disease of the heart itself, characterized by reduced blood supply to the organs.
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. Therefore leading to the heart and body's failure.
Cor pulmonale, a failure of the right side of the heart.
Hypertensive heart disease
Main article: Hypertensive heart disease
Hypertensive heart disease is heart disease caused by high blood pressure, especially localised high blood pressure. Conditions that can be caused by hypertensive heart disease include:
Left ventricular hypertrophy
Coronary heart disease
(Congestive) heart failure
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy
Cardiac arrhythmias
Inflammatory heart disease
Inflammatory heart disease involves inflammation of the heart muscle and/or the tissue surrounding it.
Endocarditis - inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. The most common structures involved are the heart valves.
Inflammatory cardiomegaly
Myocarditis - inflammation of the myocardium, the muscular part of the heart.
Valvular heart disease
Main article: Valvular heart disease
Valvular heart disease is disease process that affects 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
Main article: Coronary heart disease
Coronary artery disease is a disease of the artery caused by the accumulation of atheromatous plaques within the walls of the arteries that supply the myocardium. Angina pectoris (chest pain) and myocardial infarction (heart attack) are symptoms of and conditions caused by coronary heart disease.
Over 459,000 Americans die of coronary heart disease every year[5]. In the United Kingdom, 101,000 deaths annually are due to coronary heart disease.[6]
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[citation needed]:
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
Coronary artery disease
Congenital heart disease - see below
Nutritional diseases affecting the heart
Ischemic (or ischaemic) cardiomyopathy
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy
Valvular cardiomyopathy - see also Valvular heart disease below
Inflammatory cardiomyopathy - see also Inflammatory heart disease below
Cardiomyopathy secondary to a systemic metabolic disease
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:
Atherosclerosis
Ischaemic heart disease
Ischaemic heart disease - another disease of the heart itself, characterized by reduced blood supply to the organs.
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. Therefore leading to the heart and body's failure.
Cor pulmonale, a failure of the right side of the heart.
Hypertensive heart disease
Main article: Hypertensive heart disease
Hypertensive heart disease is heart disease caused by high blood pressure, especially localised high blood pressure. Conditions that can be caused by hypertensive heart disease include:
Left ventricular hypertrophy
Coronary heart disease
(Congestive) heart failure
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy
Cardiac arrhythmias
Inflammatory heart disease
Inflammatory heart disease involves inflammation of the heart muscle and/or the tissue surrounding it.
Endocarditis - inflammation of the inner layer of the heart, the endocardium. The most common structures involved are the heart valves.
Inflammatory cardiomegaly
Myocarditis - inflammation of the myocardium, the muscular part of the heart.
Valvular heart disease
Main article: Valvular heart disease
Valvular heart disease is disease process that affects 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
Friday, January 2, 2009
ABOUT HEART
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the organ.
Human heart with coronary arteries.
The heart is a muscular organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods. The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδιά, kardia, for "heart."
The heart of a vertebrate is composed of cardiac muscle, an involuntary muscle tissue which is found only within this organ. The average human heart, beating at 72 beats per minute, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during a lifetime (about 66 years).
Early development
Main article: Heart development
The mammalian heart is derived from embryonic mesoderm germ-layer cells that differentiate after gastrulation into mesothelium, endothelium, and myocardium. Mesothelial pericardium forms the inner lining of the heart. The outer lining of the heart, lymphatic and blood vessels develop from endothelium. Myocardium develops into heart muscle.[1]
From splachnopleuric mesoderm tissue, the cardiogenic plate develops cranially and laterally to the neural plate. In the cardiogenic plate, two separate angiogenic cell clusters form on either side of the embryo. Each cell cluster coalesces to form an endocardial tube continuous with a dorsal aorta and a vitteloumbilical vein. As embryonic tissue continues to fold, the two endocardial tubes are pushed into the thoracic cavity and begin to fuse together and are completely fused at approximately 21 days.[2]
At 21 days after conception, the human heart begins beating at 70 to 80 beats per minute and accelerates linearly for the first month of beating.
The human embryonic heart begins beating around 23 days after conception, or five weeks after the last normal menstrual period (LMP), which is the date normally used to date pregnancy. It is unknown how blood in the human embryo circulates for the first 21 days in the absence of a functioning heart. The human heart begins beating at a rate near the mother’s, about 75-80 beats per minute (BPM).
The embryonic heart rate (EHR) then accelerates linearly for the first month of beating, peaking at 165-185 BPM during the early 7th week, (early 9th week after the LMP). This acceleration is approximately 3.3 BPM per day, or about 10 BPM every three days, an increase of 100 BPM in the first month.[3] At about 9.1 weeks after the LMP, it decelerates to about 152 BPM (+/-25 BPM) during the 15th week after the LMP. After the 15th week the deceleration slows reaching an average rate of about 145 (+/-25 BPM) BPM at term. The regression formula which describes this acceleration before the embryo reaches 25 mm in crown-rump length or 9.2 LMP weeks is Age in days = EHR(0.3)+6
There is no difference in male and female heart rates before birth.[4]
Structure
The structure of the heart varies among the different branches of the animal kingdom. (See Circulatory system.) Cephalopods have two "gill hearts" and one "systemic heart". Fish have a two-chambered heart that pumps the blood to the gills and from there it goes on to the rest of the body. In amphibians and most reptiles, a double circulatory system is used, but the heart is not always completely separated into two pumps. Amphibians have a three-chambered heart.
Birds and mammals show complete separation of the heart into two pumps, for a total of four heart chambers; it is thought that the four-chambered heart of birds evolved independently from that of mammals.
In the human body, the heart is usually situated in the middle of the thorax with the largest part of the heart slightly offset to the left (although sometimes it is on the right, see dextrocardia), underneath the breastbone (see diagrams). The heart is usually felt to be on the left side because the left heart (left ventricle) is stronger (it pumps to all body parts). The left lung is smaller than the right lung because the heart occupies more of the left hemithorax. The heart is fed by the coronary circulation and enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The pericardium comprises two parts: the fibrous pericardium, made of dense fibrous connective tissue; and a double membrane structure containing a serous fluid to reduce friction during heart contractions (the serous pericardium). The heart is located in the mediastinum, the central subdivision of the thoracic cavity. The mediastinum also contains other structures, such as the esophagus and trachea, and is flanked on either side by the right and left pulmonary cavities, which house the lungs. [5]
The apex is the blunt point situated in an inferior (pointing down and left) direction. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex so that the beats can be counted. It is located posterior to the 5th intercostal space in the left mid-clavicular line. In normal adults, the mass of the heart is 250-350 g (9-12 oz), or about three quarters the size of a clenched fist, but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g (2 lb) in mass due to hypertrophy. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium ) and the two lower ventricles.
This article is about the organ.
Human heart with coronary arteries.
The heart is a muscular organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in annelids, mollusks, and arthropods. The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek καρδιά, kardia, for "heart."
The heart of a vertebrate is composed of cardiac muscle, an involuntary muscle tissue which is found only within this organ. The average human heart, beating at 72 beats per minute, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during a lifetime (about 66 years).
Early development
Main article: Heart development
The mammalian heart is derived from embryonic mesoderm germ-layer cells that differentiate after gastrulation into mesothelium, endothelium, and myocardium. Mesothelial pericardium forms the inner lining of the heart. The outer lining of the heart, lymphatic and blood vessels develop from endothelium. Myocardium develops into heart muscle.[1]
From splachnopleuric mesoderm tissue, the cardiogenic plate develops cranially and laterally to the neural plate. In the cardiogenic plate, two separate angiogenic cell clusters form on either side of the embryo. Each cell cluster coalesces to form an endocardial tube continuous with a dorsal aorta and a vitteloumbilical vein. As embryonic tissue continues to fold, the two endocardial tubes are pushed into the thoracic cavity and begin to fuse together and are completely fused at approximately 21 days.[2]
At 21 days after conception, the human heart begins beating at 70 to 80 beats per minute and accelerates linearly for the first month of beating.
The human embryonic heart begins beating around 23 days after conception, or five weeks after the last normal menstrual period (LMP), which is the date normally used to date pregnancy. It is unknown how blood in the human embryo circulates for the first 21 days in the absence of a functioning heart. The human heart begins beating at a rate near the mother’s, about 75-80 beats per minute (BPM).
The embryonic heart rate (EHR) then accelerates linearly for the first month of beating, peaking at 165-185 BPM during the early 7th week, (early 9th week after the LMP). This acceleration is approximately 3.3 BPM per day, or about 10 BPM every three days, an increase of 100 BPM in the first month.[3] At about 9.1 weeks after the LMP, it decelerates to about 152 BPM (+/-25 BPM) during the 15th week after the LMP. After the 15th week the deceleration slows reaching an average rate of about 145 (+/-25 BPM) BPM at term. The regression formula which describes this acceleration before the embryo reaches 25 mm in crown-rump length or 9.2 LMP weeks is Age in days = EHR(0.3)+6
There is no difference in male and female heart rates before birth.[4]
Structure
The structure of the heart varies among the different branches of the animal kingdom. (See Circulatory system.) Cephalopods have two "gill hearts" and one "systemic heart". Fish have a two-chambered heart that pumps the blood to the gills and from there it goes on to the rest of the body. In amphibians and most reptiles, a double circulatory system is used, but the heart is not always completely separated into two pumps. Amphibians have a three-chambered heart.
Birds and mammals show complete separation of the heart into two pumps, for a total of four heart chambers; it is thought that the four-chambered heart of birds evolved independently from that of mammals.
In the human body, the heart is usually situated in the middle of the thorax with the largest part of the heart slightly offset to the left (although sometimes it is on the right, see dextrocardia), underneath the breastbone (see diagrams). The heart is usually felt to be on the left side because the left heart (left ventricle) is stronger (it pumps to all body parts). The left lung is smaller than the right lung because the heart occupies more of the left hemithorax. The heart is fed by the coronary circulation and enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The pericardium comprises two parts: the fibrous pericardium, made of dense fibrous connective tissue; and a double membrane structure containing a serous fluid to reduce friction during heart contractions (the serous pericardium). The heart is located in the mediastinum, the central subdivision of the thoracic cavity. The mediastinum also contains other structures, such as the esophagus and trachea, and is flanked on either side by the right and left pulmonary cavities, which house the lungs. [5]
The apex is the blunt point situated in an inferior (pointing down and left) direction. A stethoscope can be placed directly over the apex so that the beats can be counted. It is located posterior to the 5th intercostal space in the left mid-clavicular line. In normal adults, the mass of the heart is 250-350 g (9-12 oz), or about three quarters the size of a clenched fist, but extremely diseased hearts can be up to 1000 g (2 lb) in mass due to hypertrophy. It consists of four chambers, the two upper atria (singular: atrium ) and the two lower ventricles.
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