Common Problems with the Heart
1. Heart attack
A heart attack occurs when the supply of blood and oxygen to an area of heart muscle is blocked, usually by a clot in a coronary artery. Often, this blockage leads to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat or rhythm) that cause a severe decrease in the pumping function of the heart and may bring about sudden death. If the blockage is not treated within a few hours, the affected heart muscle will die and be replaced by scar tissue. A disease that is a warning sign of a heart attack is called Angina Pectoris this refers to heavy pressure and pain in the chest this is caused by not enough oxygen to the heart tissue.
2. Heart failure
Heart failure is a condition where the heart cannot pump enough blood throughout the body. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. It means that your heart is not able to pump blood the way that it should. The heart cannot fill with enough blood or pump with enough force or both.
Heart failure develops over time as the pumping action of the heart grows weaker. It can affect the left side, the right side, or both sides of the heart. Most cases involve the left side where the heart cannot pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. With right-sided failure, the heart cannot effectively pump blood to the lungs where the blood picks up oxygen.
Heart failure causes:
Blood and fluid to "back up" into the lungs
The build up of fluid in the feet, ankles, and legs
Tiredness and shortness of breath
3. Valvular Heart Disease
There are many causes including rheumatic fever, congenital heart disease, cardiac dilation, and age-related calcification of the valves heart valve problems are generally manifested in one of two ways. Either the valve openings become too narrow and blood has a difficult time crossing the valves or the valves become incompetent, allowing blood to leak across the valves when they are supposed to be closed.
