Coronary heart disease is one of the highest causes of death in Indonesia. Besides that, there are various other heart diseases that are also dangerous. Let's identify what types of heart disease are, following symptoms and causes.
The heart is a vital organ that functions to pump and circulate blood throughout the body, so that the organs and tissues of the body can carry out their functions properly. However, several things can cause problems with the heart and make this organ not function normally. now, let's look at the discussion of the following types of heart disease.
Various Mheart disease
There are many kinds of heart disease that can happen to a person. Types of heart disease include:
1. Coronary heart disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD) occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart harden and narrow. This condition is triggered by a buildup of cholesterol and blood clots in the arteries (atherosclerosis).
This narrowing of the arteries causes the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart to be reduced, as a result the organ cannot function normally.
Symptoms that arise from this disease include chest pain, shortness of breath, cold sweats, chest palpitations, and nausea. Chest pain due to CHD can be felt radiating to the neck, jaw, throat, back, and arms. If left untreated, this condition can lead to complications in the form of a heart attack.
2. Heart attack
A heart attack is an emergency condition that occurs when the blood supply to the heart is completely blocked, so that the heart muscle cells are damaged. Heart attacks are usually caused by coronary heart disease.
Symptoms usually include chest pain, shortness of breath, and cold sweats. If not treated immediately, a heart attack can cause permanent damage to these organs. If the damage is widespread, people with a heart attack can experience sudden cardiac arrest.
3. Arrhythmia
Arrhythmias are disorders of the heart rhythm. The heart rhythm in people with arrhythmias can be too fast, too slow, or irregular. Arrhythmias occur when the electrical stimulation that regulates the heartbeat is interrupted, so the heart does not work properly.
These disorders can be caused by coronary heart disease, heart attack, cardiomyopathy, and electrolyte disturbances, such as excess potassium in the blood (hyperkalemia) or potassium deficiency (hypokalemia).
This disease may have no symptoms. However, some patients with heart disease may experience complaints of fatigue, dizziness, chest pain, chest palpitations, and feeling like passing out.
4. Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a disorder of the heart muscle. This condition causes abnormalities in the shape and strength of the heart muscle (for example, the heart muscle becomes larger and stiffer), so it cannot pump blood throughout the body properly.
This disease can be caused by genetic disorders or hereditary factors, so the sufferer is born with this condition. Apart from genetic disorders, cardiomyopathy can also occur due to coronary heart disease, heart failure, hypertension, or aging.
In its early stages, cardiomyopathy often causes no symptoms. Usually new signs and symptoms will appear when this condition has entered a severe stage or there are other accompanying diseases.
Symptoms that can appear in cardiomyopathy are swelling of the legs, chest pain, shortness of breath that is more severe after activities, easily tired, and coughing.
5. Heart failure
Heart failure is a condition where the heart is too weak to pump blood throughout the body. If it lasts in the long term, heart failure can lead to serious complications, namely cardiac arrest, pulmonary edema, liver failure, and kidney failure.
Heart failure is a heart disease that develops slowly gradually. This condition is usually preceded by the presence of other comorbidities, such as high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and congenital heart disease.
The main symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath and coughing, especially when lying down, chest pain after physical activity, fatigue, and swelling of the legs and ankles.
6. Congenital heart disease
Congenital heart disease is a deformity of the heart that occurs from birth. These abnormalities can occur in the walls of the heart, heart valves, blood vessels near the heart, or a combination of these abnormalities (tetralogy of Fallot).
Symptoms that appear vary, depending on the type and severity. Some examples of symptoms are short and rapid breathing, chest pain, blue skin, weight loss, and delayed child development. These symptoms can be seen since the baby is born. However, in some cases, the symptoms are only detected when the patient has reached adolescence or approaching adulthood.
Congenital heart disease occurs due to disturbances in the process of heart development in the fetus. It is not known what causes the disorder, but it is suspected that it is related to heredity, alcohol consumption, use of certain drugs during pregnancy, or infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.
7. Heart valve disease
Heart valve disease occurs when the heart valves cannot open or close properly, resulting in a blockage or obstruction to blood flow. As a result, blood flow throughout the body will be disrupted.
Patients with this disease may not feel any symptoms for a long time. When symptoms appear, sufferers will experience shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, irregular heartbeat, and swelling in certain body parts, such as the legs and abdomen.
Heart valve disease can occur from birth due to hereditary factors or only occurs when the age of children and adults due to other diseases, such as rheumatic fever or endocarditis. Some other conditions that can cause valvular heart disease are Kawasaki disease, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and cardiomyopathy.
8. Endocarditis
Endocarditis is an infection of the connective tissue that lines the walls and valves of the heart. This infection occurs when germs from other parts of the body, such as the mouth and skin, enter the walls of the heart through the bloodstream.
Bacteria or fungi that cause endocarditis can enter through cuts to the body or sores in the mouth, insertion of catheters, use of unsterilized needles for tattoos or piercings, and injection of drug use.
Symptoms of endocarditis that often appear are fever and chills, shortness of breath, and chest pain when breathing in, excessive sweating at night, swelling of the legs or abdomen, and audible heart sounds or abnormal heart sounds.
9. Heart tumor
Cardiac tumors are abnormal tissue growths in the walls of the heart. Tumors can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). These tumors can grow in the wall of the heart muscle or the protective lining of the heart (pericardium).
If the size gets bigger, this muscle can push against the walls of the heart and make it difficult for the heart to pump blood. Often heart tumors are asymptomatic. Even so, some people with heart tumors can show mild to severe symptoms.
Symptoms can include shortness of breath, swelling in the legs, irregular heartbeat, fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, and weight loss.
Is there anything else that increases the risk of heart disease?
The answer is, there is. A person is said to be at high risk of experiencing some of the above types of heart disease if he has one or more of the following conditions:
- Hypertension.
- Diabetes.
- High cholesterol.
- Family history of heart disease.
- Overweight or obesity.
- An unhealthy lifestyle, such as frequent smoking, rarely exercising.
- Have a weakened immune system, such as HIV infection, are taking drugs that suppress the immune system, or are undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
Most heart diseases cannot be cured, so sufferers need to undergo lifelong treatment. However, heart disease can be controlled so that it doesn't get worse by living a healthy lifestyle and taking medication.
If the heart problem is severe enough, heart surgery may be required. Therefore, do regular heart checks with a cardiologist, especially if you have risk factors for heart disease. The goal is that doctors can detect early if there are abnormalities in your heart.