What is heart disease?

What is heart disease?

Cardiovascular disease is a category of diseases that comprise the heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease comprises coronary artery diseases such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other cardiovascular diseases comprise stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, pericarditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thrombolytic disease, and venous thrombosis.The underlying mechanisms change depending on the disease. Coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease include atherosclerosis. This may be originated by high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes type 2, lack of exercise, obesity, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, and excessive alcohol consumption, among others. High blood pressure is judged to account for approximately 13% of cardiovascular disease deaths, while tobacco accounts for 9%, diabetes 6%, lack of exercise 6% and obesity 5%. Rheumatic heart disease may follow unrefined strep throat.

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading source of death globally. This is true in all regions of the world except Africa. Together  resulted in 17.9 million deaths (32.2%) in 2015, up from 12.4 million (25.9%) in 1990. Deaths, at a given age, from  cardiovascular disease, are more common and have been rising in much of the developing world, while rates have refused in most of the developed world since 1970. Coronary artery disease and stroke account for 80% of cardiovascular diseases deaths in males and 75% of  cardiovascular disease deaths in females. Most  cardiovascular disease affects older adults. The average age of death from coronary artery disease in the developed world is around eighty (80) while it is around sixty-eight (68) in the developing world. Diagnosis of the disease typically happens seven to ten years earlier in men as compared to women.

 It is judged that up to 90% of cardiovascular disease may be preventable

Prevention of  cardiovascular disease includes improving risk factors through healthy eating, exercise, avoidance of tobacco smoke and limiting alcohol intake. Treating risk factors, such as high blood pressure, blood lipids and diabetes is also advantageous. Treating people who have strep throat with antibiotics can reduce the risk of rheumatic heart disease. The use of aspirin in people, who are otherwise healthy, is of unclear advantage.