By Stephanie Trelogan, MS

Reviewed by Christopher Friedrich, MD, PhD and Andy Avins, MD
Last updated September 6, 2000

Heart disease is a general term used to describe several different conditions, all of which are potentially fatal, but are also treatable and/or preventable.

Who Gets Heart Disease?

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How Does the Heart Work?

The heart and blood vessels are essentially a transportation system that supplies all the cells of the body, delivering essential materials and carrying away waste products. Using blood as the vehicle, the system carries nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, fats, and many other substances required for the body to function.

Oxygen-poor blood travels through the veins to the right side of the heart. The right side pumps blood to the lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen and drops off carbon dioxide (which is excreted from the body when you exhale). The newly oxygenated blood then travels back to the left side of the heart, which pumps blood out through the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, to the rest of the body. The aorta branches off into smaller arteries, which supply smaller and smaller parts of the body as the arteries themselves decrease in size.

Just like every other muscle in the body, the heart gets its blood supply through the coronary arteries.

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Types of Heart Disease

Heart disease is a general term that describes many different diseases.

• Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common form of heart disease, is caused by a narrowing or clogging of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. CAD can cause angina (chest pain), myocardial infarction (heart attack), and cardiac sudden death (caused by severely abnormal and ineffective beating of the heart)

More on Coronary Artery Disease

• A stroke occurs when blood vessels supplying the brain become narrowed or clogged. Peripheral vascular disease is similar, but occurs in the arteries that supply the legs. The same problems that can lead to CAD can also cause these diseases.
• Congestive heart failure results when the heart muscle becomes weakened and can no longer pump blood efficiently. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, and edema (swelling of the legs). Congestive heart failure can result from damage induced by heart attack or cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle).

More on Congestive Heart Failure

• Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) can be chronic and relatively harmless, but they can also be more serious, preventing the heart from pumping effectively. In the latter case, arrhythmias can contribute to congestive heart failure or cause cardiac sudden death.
• Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood. Heart rhythm may be disturbed, resulting in arrhythmias. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by coronary atherosclerosis, but often the cause is unknown. Cardiomyopathy that is unrelated to coronary atherosclerosis is fairly uncommon, affecting about 50,000 Americans. However, unlike many other forms of heart disease, cardiomyopathy often occurs in young people. The condition tends to be progressive and can worsen fairly quickly. Cardiomyopathy is a leading reason for heart transplantation.

More on Cardiomyopathy

• Less common forms of heart disease include valvular disease (problems with the valves in the heart) and aneurysm (abnormal widening of an artery).

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Related News

In order to view these articles you will need to have a MyGeneticHealth account. If you are not already a member, selecting the article will automatically take you to a page where you can sign up. Gene variant linked to higher stroke risk Fatty fish protects hearts of all ages Soy beneficial even for individuals with normal cholesterol levels High-dose vitamin E may protect arteries BMI unreliable as solo marker for cardiac risk in women Experts downplay heart benefits of wine Wine may lower stroke risk for young women Aspirin, not vitamin E, prevents heart attack Lifestyle contributes to heart disease risk

Links

If you want to learn more about heart disease, we recommend that you visit the American Heart Association, which can be found at: http://www.americanheart.org.

References

Based on data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 1987-94.

Ed. Fauci, A.S. et al. (1998). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine New York:McGraw-Hill.

Ed. Braunwald, E. (1997). Essential Atlas of Heart Disease. Philadelphia: Current Medicine.

Reference Ed. Chaterjee, K. et al. (1991). Cardiology: An Illustrated Text/ Philadelphia:Lippincott.