by Raphy Mendoza

Created on: February 06, 2007   Last Updated: February 29, 2008

Heart disease (Coronary Heart Disease)

There are many types of "Heart Disease" which affect different parts of the heart and the blood vessels around it. Heart disease can be caused by high levels of cholesterol in the blood, active or passive smoking, obesity and even already existing conditions such as diabetes. Heart disease is also often hereditary and cannot be avoided as the problem lies in the patient's genes. Some of the most common types of heart disease are: Coronary Heart Disease, Ischemic Heart Disease which is related to Coronary Disease, Cardiovascular Heart problems, Pulmonary Heart Disease and Hypertensive Heart Disease.

Coronary Heart Disease is caused by swelling of cells, cholesterol and fatty substances and calcium minerals on the walls of the arteries. This is known as atheromatous plaques. These accumulate over years and eventually affect the main heart muscle called myocardium by blocking the arteries and triggering blood clot which limits the blood flow. There are often no visible symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease until the most advanced stages of the disease. This is why often, people who suffer from Coronary disease will experience a "sudden" heart attack before realising they have heart disease. This is the most common cause of sudden deaths, especially in people ages 65 year or over.

Coronary Heart Disease has various stages, and as these change so do the symptoms and side effects of the condition. The early stages of Coronary Disease are "asymptomatic", which means that the patient shows no visible symptoms unless put under X-rays and other more specific tests. At this stage, there are only some accumulation of abnormal cells and fatty acids in the walls of the arteries, but they do not obstruct the natural blood flow of the body. Over years and even decades, these abnormal swelling and build up of fatty acids etc. increase and become thicker. This is when it begins to affect the blood flow and the patient can be easily diagnosed with Ischemic Heart Disease (lack of oxygen-rich blood going through the body). Symptoms of this disease are often increased workload of the heart, and a decreased tolerance for cardiovascular exercise. Further into the progress of Coronary Heart Disease, the accumulated atheromatous plaques increase in thickness and causes almost total obstruction of the coronary artery causing severe restriction of blood flow, hence oxygen. Before the disease gets to this stage, it is common for the patient to have

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