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Incidents of Heart Disease

The heart is one of the most important organs in the body. It is a muscle that acts like a pump to circulate life-sustaining blood throughout your body. When the heart becomes diseased, your overall health is put at risk because the heart works improperly making it harder to carry blood to portions of your body. Diseases that affect the heart range from coronary artery disease, heart attack, arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation.

  1. Heart Disease: Coronary Artery Disease

    • In the case of coronary artery disease (CAD), excessive amounts of plaque accumulate inside the coronary arteries. According Robert J. Bryg, M.D., "the most common symptom of coronary artery disease is angina, or chest pain. Angina can be described as a discomfort, heaviness, pressure, aching, burning, fullness, squeezing, or painful feeling in your chest." Other common symptoms include irregular heart beat, nausea, sweating, shortness of breath and feeling weak or dizzy.

    Heart Disease: Heart Attack

    • A heart attack occurs when blood supply to the heart is suddenly stopped or becomes insufficient. This may be caused by an obstruction and often results in chest pain that is very severe. The uncomfortable pressure and pain from a heart attack can radiate through the chest and into the arm. People often report feelings of indigestion or choking. You may feel weak, dizzy, sweaty, short of breath, anxious and experience irregular heart beats.

    Heart Disease: Arrhythmia

    • Arrhythmia is a result of irregular rhythms of the heart. Symptoms of arrhythmia include heart palpitation (skipped or fluttering beats), feeling light-headed, discomforting feeling in the chest, feeling weak and excessively tired, a pounding sensation in your chest and possibly fainting. Although most cases of arrhythmia are usually harmless, some instances can prove to be life threatening.

    Heart Disease: Atrial Fibrillation

    • Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a form of arrhythmia. In this form of arrhythmia, heart rhythms may speed up and become irregular causing blood to collect in the atria. This collected blood is restricted from being fully pumped into the proper chambers of the heart. Symptoms experienced with AF include racing heart beat, pounding in the chest, excessive fatigue, feeling light-headed, chest pain and discomfort and difficulty breathing.

    What To Do

    • If you experience any symptoms listed for any form of heart disease, you should contact your doctor immediately. In the event that you display symptoms of a heart attack, you need to contact emergency services right away by dialing 9-1-1. A heart attack can be life threatening if it is not treated promptly enough. Heart disease can only be diagnosed by your health care professional and should always be taken seriously.

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