WHAT IS A HEART DISEASE ?

Heart In A Body. (courtesy : blueapplehealthscans.com)

The heart is a muscular, fist-sized organ, situated at the left side of the chest cavity. Its job is to pump blood continuously and beat as many as 100,000 times a day. The blood from the heart carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body and transports carbon dioxide and other wastes to the lungs, kidneys and liver for removal.

Heart disease or cardiopathy is a general term that is used to describe a wide range of acute and chronic medical conditions affecting one or more of the components of the heart. It is found that, heart disease is one of the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, killing one person every 34 seconds in the United States alone.

There are more then 50 different types, the most common being the Coronary Heart Disease, also known as Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). It afflicts an estimated seven million Americans. Each year, approximately 500,000 Americans die from CAD-related heart attacks. Other types of heart disease include cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and stroke. Less common forms of heart disease include valvular disease (problems with the valves in the heart) and aneurysm (abnormal widening of an artery). Some heart diseases can be present at birth (congenital heart diseases).

In 2003, 37% of adults reported having two or more of the risk factors. Risk factors for heart disease are:

Heart disease earlier was thought to be a man’s disease. But not anymore. Every year since 1984, more women have died of cardiovascular disease than men.