Cardiovascular diseases . The term is used to refer to all kinds of diseases related to the heart or blood vessels (arteries and veins). This term describes any disease that affects the cardiovascular system (used in MeSH), it is commonly used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis (diseases of the arteries). These conditions have similar causes, mechanisms, and treatment.
In practice, cardiovascular diseases are treated by cardiologists, thoracic surgeons, vascular surgeons, neurologists, and interventional radiologists, depending on the system of the organ being treated. There is a considerable link between these specialties, and it is common for certain processes that different specialists are in the same hospital.
Summary
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- 1 Definition
- 2 Causes
- 1 Causes of a heart attack
- 3 Symptoms and frequent signs of cardiovascular disease
- 4 types
- 5 Biomarkers
- 6 Risk factors
- 7 Prevention
- 8 Treatment
- 9 Detection
- 10 Different cardiovascular diseases
- 11 Research
- 12 Sources
Definition
Cardiovascular diseases include arteriosclerosis, coronary heart disease, heart disease, valve disease, arrhythmias, heart failure, hypertension , orthostatic hypotension, shock, endocarditis, diseases of the aorta and its branches, disorders of the peripheral vascular]] system, and congenital heart disease.
Causes
Causes of a heart attack
Although the term cardiovascular disease can be used to refer to many types of heart or blood vessel problems, it is often used to talk about damage to the heart or blood vessels from atherosclerosis, a concentration of lipid substances in your arteries. .
Over time, the pressure in your arteries can cause the walls to thicken and stiffen, sometimes restricting fluid to your organs and tissues. This process is called atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries.
Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of cardiovascular disease and is caused by:
- An unhealthy diet.
- Lack of physical activity.
- Being overweight.
Symptoms and frequent signs of cardiovascular disease
- Pain or discomfort in the chest, arms, left shoulder, jaw, or back.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Vomiting .
- Dizziness
- Momentary speech loss.
- Loss of strength in any of the members.
- Loss of balance.
- Tickling somewhere in the face.
- Intense and stabbing headache.
All these symptoms or signs may seem nonspecific, therefore, in the presence of any of them, it is very important to go to the doctor. In this way, heart disease can be prevented and reversed, which can lead to a major complication.
Types
- Coronary heart disease: It is a disease that affects the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle or myocardium.
- Rheumatic heart disease: These are lesions of the myocardium and heart valves caused by rheumatic fever (disease caused by a bacteria called streptococcus)
- Congenital heart diseases: They are malformations in the heart present from birth.
- Cerebrovascular diseases: Diseases that affect the blood vessels that supply the brain .
- Peripheral arteriopathies: It is a disease of the blood vessels that supply the upper and lower limbs.
- Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolisms: Blood clots (thrombi) occur in the veins of the legs, which can detach and cover the vessels of the heart and lungs .
Biomarkers
Some biomarkers are made for the purpose of detailing the risks of cardiovascular disease. However, the clinical value of these biomarkers is questionable. Currently biomarkers that may reflect an increased risk of cardiovascular disease include:
- Increased fibrinogen and PAI-1 blood concentrations.
- High homocysteine, or even level more than half
- High blood levels of asymmetric dimethyl arginine.
- High inflammation measured by the C-reagent protein.
- High blood levels of the brain natriuretic peptide (also known as type-B) (BNP).
Risk factor’s
They can be divided into two types:
- Not modifiable
- As a person ages, his heart will, too. For this reason, the elderly are the main victims of most heart diseases.
The incidence of heart failure doubles from 40-45 years, according to the Spanish Heart Foundation
- Sex . Men are more at risk of cardiovascular disease than women. Experts attribute this to the fact that female hormones have a protective effect. In fact, with menopause there is an increase in the rate of heart disease in women.
- Genetic inheritance . In recent years, specialists have observed that there is a certain concentration of cardiovascular pathologies in some families, so it is considered that there could be an indication of a genetic cause.
- Modifiable
- Hypertension . It is a disease characterized by an increase in blood pressure figures above 140/90 mmHg and considered one of the main public health problems in developed countries.
Individuals with blood pressure between 130/80 and 139/89 have twice the risk of developing high blood pressure than individuals with lower values.
Hypertension is asymptomatic and easy to detect, however, it presents with serious and lethal complications if it is not treated in time. In 90 percent of cases, the cause is unknown, which is why it has been called ‘essential arterial hypertension’, which has a strong hereditary influence. Likewise, in ‘secondary arterial hypertension’, there are causes directly responsible for the elevation of blood pressure levels. This form of hypertension can serve as an alert to locate more serious diseases.
- Cholesterol . It is one of the important risk factors since, if its levels rise they can produce hypercholesterolemia. In fact, people with blood cholesterol levels of 240 mg / dl have twice the risk of having a heart attack than those with figures of 200.
Another important reason is that when cells are unable to absorb all of the cholesterol, it can adhere to the walls of the arteries, facilitating the narrowing and formation of atherosclerosis.
- Diabetes Mellitus . People who have diabetes mellitus have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, so the prevention of this pathology is key.
The reasons are that glucose can rise in the blood, deteriorate blood vessels, and accelerate atherosclerosis . Furthermore, diabetes mellitus also increases the risk of developing other diseases such as cerebrovascular diseases .
- Smoking . It is the most important risk factor since the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in smokers is three times higher than in other people. From the Spanish Heart Foundation they point out that the possibility of suffering a heart disease is proportional to the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the number of years in which they maintain smoking.
- Sedentary lifestyle . Lifestyle changes in western societies have led to an increase in sedentary lifestyle in the general population, although sedentary lifestyle has been linked to cardiovascular mortality.
People who do not carry out any physical activity are more at risk of hypertension , atherosclerosis and respiratory diseases .
- Obesity . It intervenes in the development of many pathologies. In the case of cardiovascular diseases , if the fat accumulates in the abdomen it will affect more cardiovascular risk.
Prevention
Despite the success of Dean Ornish’s research in the 1980s and 1990s, most people and doctors do not believe the research done, showing that stress reduction and diet can prevent, eliminate, and reduce almost all the types of heart disease. At the same time, many people rely on medications (such as aspirin) that can decrease risk factors such as heart attacks, but increase others such as bleeding, and often have no impact on long-term morbidity.
Treatment
Unlike other chronic medical conditions, cardiovascular disease is treatable and reversible, even after a long time with the disease. Treatment is focused on diet and stress reduction.
Detection
Fibrin and platelet complexes can be seen with the dark field microscopy technique. They are much larger than red blood cells and can easily block capillaries. These complexes are clearly visible in a dark field, but not in bright stained field samples because the different staining methods overshadow them. This early detection method allows people at risk to be identified and appropriate measures to be taken.
Different cardiovascular diseases
- Aneurism .
- Angina .
- Atherosclerosis .
- Cerebrovascular diseases .
- Congestive heart failure .
- Coronary artery disease .
- Acute myocardial infarction (Heart Attack).
Investigation
The causes, prevention and / or treatment of all types of cardiovascular diseases are active fields of biomedical research, with hundreds of scientific articles published weekly. A recent emphasis is a link between low-grade inflammation and its possible interventions. Reagent-C protein (CRP) is a flammable marker that may be present in patients at risk for cardiovascular disease with high blood levels.
