Coronary Heart Disease and Its Causes

Heart disease and diseases of the pulmonary system is one of the ten most common causes of death in Ministry of Health hospitals in 2007, accounting for 16.49% of those who died in government hospitals, according to the WHO Western Pacific Region.

Coronary heart disease(CHD) also known as coronary artery disease affects approximately 15 million men and women  in the United States. As year goes by , an increasing amount of people are affected with this disease due to bad eating habits.

This disease develops when a fatty material, calcium, and plaque combines and builds up in the arteries that supply the heart with blood. Through this artery which is the coronary artery, the heart muscles (myocardium) gets the oxygen and other nutrients it needs to pump blood. The plaque often narrows the artery so that the heart does not get enough oxygen and nutrient-rich blood. 

A risk factor for heart disease is something that increases your chance of getting it. Some risk factors can be prevented but there are also come that cannot be changed. 

The risk factors that cannot be changed are :

• Your age. The risk of heart disease increases with age.
• Your gender. Men have a higher risk of getting heart disease than women who are still getting their menstrual period. After menopause, the risk for women is closer to the risk for men.
• Your genes. If your parents or other close relatives had heart disease, you have a higher risk.
• Your race. African Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans also have a higher risk for heart problems.

Many things increase your risk for heart disease: 

Diabetes

• Adults with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease or suffer a stroke than
  people without diabetes.
• High blood glucose in adults with diabetes increases the risk for heart attack, stroke, angina, and
  coronary artery disease.
• People with type 2 diabetes also have high rates of high blood pressure, lipid problems, and obesity,
  which contribute to their high rates of CVD. 

High blood pressure 

• It increases your risks of heart disease and heart failure as it puts a strain on the heart.  
• It also increases the risk of coronary disease, heart attack, kidney failure and angina. 
• Hypertension combined with obesity, smoking, high cholesterol or diabetes increases the risk of a heart attack by several times.

Cholesterol

• If cholesterol is too high, it builds up in the walls of your arteries(blood vessels). Over time, this buildup (called plaque) causes hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). 
• Atherosclerosis causes arteries to become narrowed, slowing blood flow to the heart. Reduced blood flow to the heart can result in angina (chest pain) or in a myocardial infarction (heart attack) in cases when a blood vessel is blocked completely.

Smoking

• Smoking puts a strain on the heart by making it work faster.
• It also increases a smoker's risk of blood clots.
• The toxins in cigarette smoke cause plaques to form in the arteries, which leads to atherosclerosis, otherwise known as hardening of the arteries.

Chronic kidney disease

• CKD and cardiovascular disease share two major risk factors -- diabetes and high blood pressure. Both can damage the blood vessels in the kidney, preventing it from properly eliminating fluid from the body. Excess fluid contributes to higher blood pressure, which leads to more blood-vessel damage -- a continuing cycle of damage.
• CKD patients are also prone to anemia, which is a lowering of the blood's red cell count. Prolonged anemia can cause the heart to develop a left ventricular hypertrophy, which means the muscle on the left side of the heart becomes abnormally thick. This can lead to congestive heart failure. 

Alcoholism

• It raises blood pressure, causes heart disorders and leads to a heart attack.

Being overweight

• Overweight people, especially with excess fat around the waist have an increased risk of heart disease and heart attack, even without the other risk factors. 
• Excessive weight gain increases the activity of the heart, reducing blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels and decreases “good” cholesterol. 
• Excess weight also increases the risk of diabetes.

Not getting enough exercise, and feeling depressed or having excess stress are other risk factors.

70% of Malaysians Suffer FromNon-Communicable Disease, also known as NCD, such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol, which are all risk factors for heart disease.

(as reported by the Heart Foundation of Malaysia)

Sources :
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coronary-heart-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/coronary-heart-disease/overview.html

Posted in: Heart Disease