What Is Heart Disease? 8 Types Of Heart And Cardiovascular Diseases

When people think heart disease, their mind immediately goes straight to heart attacks, which are the result of coronary artery disease. However, that's not the only thing that can happen. While coronary artery disease is fairly common, there are several different diseases that affect the heart, many of which are just as dangerous and can have fatal consequences. As heart disease is one the leading causes of death worldwide, it is important to be aware of the different types of heart disease so you can identify them early on.

1. Arrhythmia

The heart beats all day, every day. It stays in a steady and even rhythm and depending on the individual, it beats around 60 to 100 times each minute at rest (i.e. when you are not exercising). In fact, your heart beats around 100,000 times every day. However, some people develop a disease called arrhythmia, which means that your heartbeat is irregular or abnormal. Arrhythmias can be both very fast or very slow and could signal an underlying heart condition.

2. Coronary artery disease

The heart is one of the most important organs of the body as it supplies the body with oxygen so that we can keep living. Interestingly, the heart itself has blood vessels that supply the muscles of the heart, which allow it to contract and pump blood to the rest of the body. Thus, in essence, the heart pumps blood not just to the rest of the body but also to itself.

This is especially likely to happen during exercise, when your heart is pumping more quickly to get oxygen to parts of your body. In this situation, similar to other muscles in your body, your heart muscles will ache and you may experience chest pain. If the arteries continue to become smaller, you may suffer from classic symptoms associated with heart disease, including chest pain and shortness of breath.

If any of the coronary arteries become completely blocked, you can develop a heart attack (also known as myocardial infarction), which is often fatal.

3. Heart failure

While the term is a little dramatic, heart failure does not mean that your heart has actually failed or no longer works. What it does means is that your heart isn’t pumping as well as it should, which causes you to:

• Retain salt and water
• Make you swell
• Experience shortness of breath

While heart failure is not as serious as it sounds, it can still have detrimental consequences and is the leading reason of hospitalization in people older than 65 in the United States. Additionally, researchers estimate the amount of people diagnosed with heart failure will increase by 46 percent by 2030.

4. Heart valve disease

Your heart is a very complex organ composed of four valves that are located at the exit of each of the four chambers of the heart. Thus, they are able to ensure blood flows through the heart in only one direction. Unfortunately, there are diseases that affect the functioning of these valves, and therefore, also the functioning of the heart.

These include:

• Mitral valve prolapse, in which the valve that is located between the lower and upper chambers on the right side of your heart doesn’t close properly.
• Aortic stenosis, in which your aortic valve is narrowed as it affects the blood flow from your heart to the other parts of your body.
• Mitral valve insufficiency. This is when your mitral valve doesn’t closer properly and causes the blood to go backwards, causing a backup of fluid in the lungs.

5. Congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease can refer to both issues with the structure of the heart or the structure of the blood vessels, which usually happens before you are born. These are fairly common as studies estimate that eight in every 1000 children have this disease. Often, children don’t display symptoms at birth or during childhood and wait till adulthood to exhibit symptoms.

In most cases, scientists are unsure why some people have congenital heart disease and others don’t. However, studies have shown that if the fetus is exposed to viral infections, alcohol or drugs in the uterus, they are more likely to have congenital heart disease. Genetics can also play a role.

6. Cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathies are diseases that affect the muscles of the heart. Cardiomyopathies can sometimes lead to an enlarged heart, which means that the heart becomes unusually large, thick and stiff. This causes the heart to not be able to pump blood adequately and it gets worse without treatment. Patients with cardiomyopathies can experience heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia).

Cardiomyopathies can be caused by a variety of issues, including:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Metabolic diseases
• Infections

7. Pericarditis

Pericarditis is a rare disease in which the lining of your heart becomes inflamed due to an infection. Symptoms usually include a sudden onset of sharp chest pain that can also be felt in the shoulders, neck, or back. The pain is usually better when you are sitting up and worse when lying down.

8. Aorta disease

The aorta is the large artery that exits your heart and takes blood to the rest of your body. In some cases, your aorta can widen or tear. This raises the risk of things like:

• Atherosclerosis
• High blood pressure
• Connective tissue disorders affect your blood vessel walls.

Aorta disease is serious and patients need to be treated by a team of cardiovascular specialists and surgeons.