Heart Disease

Heart Disease is a hot health topic today. With all of the information about heart disease on both TV and the Internet, do
you really know which information is advice that you can trust on heart disease? How about information that is not accurate
on heart disease?
There are many different kinds of "heart disease" and we will briefly touch on those in this article, as well.
Are you ready to learn more about what heart disease is and the different types of heart disease? Good, then keep reading!
What Is Heart Disease?
What exactly is heart disease? The latest definition of heart disease is any disease that affects how the heart normally
works. Narrowing or hardening of the arteries that lead to the heart is the most common type of cardiac disease, today.
Of course this can encompass quite a few types or variations of heart disease.
Various types of heart disease include:
* Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
* Aortic regurgitation
* Aortic stenosis
* Arrhythmias
* Cardiogenic shock
* Congenital heart disease
* Coronary artery disease (CAD)
* Dilated cardiomyopathy
* Endocarditis
* Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
* Heart failure
* Heart tumor
* Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
* Idiopathic cardiomyopathy
* Ischemic cardiomyopathy
* Acute mitral regurgitation
* Chronic mitral regurgitation
* Mitral stenosis
* Mitral valve prolapse
* Peripartum cardiomyopathy
* Pulmonary stenosis
* Stable angina
* Unstable angina
* Tricuspid regurgitation
As you can see, there are many categories of what actually constitutes heart disease. Now that we have identified different
types of cardiac disease, let's explore some of the underlying causes of these diseases.
Causes Of Heart Disease
Just as many different names for cardiac disease can be confusing and complicated, so can the causes of heart disease. And we
will cover the most common causes below.
Briefly, here are some causes:
* Hypertension ("high blood pressure")
* Heart valves that do not function normally
* Electrical conduction of the heart that causes an abnormal rhythm.
* Heart's pumping function that is affected by toxins or infections.
* Congenital or "birth defects" of the heart.
How Many People Are Affected By Heart Disease?
According to the National Institute of Health, there are approximately 70.1 million people affected by some type of cardiac
disorder! Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the US.
Among minorities, cardiac disease or heart disease, ranks first as leading cause of death. The rates of deaths declined for
those groups with the exception of one group, American Indian females. The time frame for this study was between 1985 and
2002.
Between 1992 and 2002, the percentage of decline of death rates for CHD (Cardiac Heart Diseas) was the highest among white
males and the least decline was in the black female population.
Financial Impact Of Cardiac Heart Disease
Besides the horrific costs of CHD in terms of personal tragedy, society also bears the brunt of the effects of this disease.
According to the study, 2005 costs for CVD(Cardiovascular Disease) were staggering. Overall, costing 393 Billion Dollars!
Costs broke down like this:
* 242 Billion Dollars for direct health care costs.
* 35 Billion Dollars for indirect costs of morbidity.
* 117 Billion Dollars in DIRECT costs of mortality.
As you can see, cardiovascular disease is one that while complicated and intricate in name and causes, is simply devastating
to both the individual and to the society that the affected comes from. It should be taken very seriously and not ignored, so
education and prevention are essential in decreasing the effects of these diseases, commonly know as cardiac disease.
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This article was written and screened by a license medical professional. This article is for informational purposes only.
This material is in no way a substitute for the medical advice of your own physician. The National Institutes of Health
served as the basis for this medical article. © 2006 www.medicalcontentsolutions.com . All rights reserved. Want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the following: