The most dreaded of diseases: Demystified

Angina Pectoris

If you can identify with any of these, read ahead;

Plaque in the coronary artery

• Squeezing pain in your chest
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Excessive sweating

This chest pain or discomfort is due to lack of oxygen in some heart muscles. Angina itself is not a heart disease, but a symptom of the underlying Coronary heart disease.

There are many types of angina;

• Stable angina: This is an indication that your heart is working more, and it is predictable in nature  The pain goes away when you take your angina medication.
• Unstable angina: It is more serious in nature and can be predictive of a nearby heart attack. It can occur more often, the pain may not go away with medications and it may or may not be due to a strain on the heart.
• Variant or Prinzmetal's angina: A severe pain, which goes away with the use of medicines. It is due to a spasm in the coronary artery and generally occurs while you are at rest.
• Micro-vascular angina: It is very severe in nature and the pain does not go away with the sue of medicines. 

Coronary heart disease

This is the most common of all heart diseases. Coronary arteries are those arteries or blood vessels which supply oxygenated blood to the heart. Over time, a plaque (a waxy substance) builds up inside the coronary arteries, and further hardens thus blocking the flow of blood to the heart [atherosclerosis]. 

Later on this plaque breaks up and a blood clot appears on its surface. If this clot is large enough in size it completely blocks the coronary artery and hence blocks the supply of purified blood to the heart. 

When the flow of this oxygen rich blood to the heart muscles is blocked, a severe chest pain (angina) or heart attack results.

Atherosclerosis

A plaque made up of cholesterol, fat, calcium and a few other substances builds up inside an artery over a period of time. The development of this plaque is known as atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis further leads to many serious complications;

Atherosclerosis

• Coronary heart disease
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Even death!

Heart attack (Myocardial infarction)

A leading cause of death, heart attack occurs if the oxygenated blood flow to a portion of the heart muscle is suddenly blocked. Due to the lack of oxygen, the heart muscle cells start dying. If this blood supply is not immediately restored, then the healthy heart muscle cells are replaced by the scar tissues. Sometimes, heart attack also occurs as a result of a powerful spasm (a painful and involuntary contraction of the muscle) of the coronary artery. This leads to serious implications overtime such as;

• Heart failure
• Arrhythmia

Heart Failure

No, it doesn't mean that your heart has stopped working. Heart failure means that your heart is not able to supply oxygen rich blood to the body efficiently or is incapable of matching with the body's needs. In case of heart failure either;

Scarred muscle tissue

• the heart is not filled properly
• or the heart cannot pump blood to the rest of the body with enough force.

It can occur in both left and right hearts. When it occurs in;

• Right side of the heart, it means it cannot pump sufficient blood to the lungs for oxygenation.
• Left side of the heart, it means that the heart is incapable of pumping oxygen rich blood to the rest of the body.

Heart failure mostly occurs due to underlying diseases such as coronary heart disease, Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Arrhythmia

An increased, decreased or irregular rhythm of the heart or heart beat is known as arrhythmia. Usually harmless, arrhythmias may have serious implications including death. 

An increased heart beat is known as Tachycardia and a decreased heart beat is known as Bradycardia.

The heart may not efficiently pump blood to the brain, heart and other organs as a result of arrhythmia. This may damage these organs.

Stroke

A stroke occurs if oxygenated blood does not reach a portion of the brain. The portion to which blood flow is blocked starts dying within few minutes resulting in stroke. Strokes also occur as a result of bleeding in the brain. 

A stroke can be identified if you or someone else feels sudden weakness, paralysis of the face, arms or legs, incoherent speech and visual impairment. 

A stroke may be 

• due to a lack of oxygen due to a blocked artery 
• due to hemorrhagic due to a ruptured or leaking artery.

All images are taken from National Heart and Lung Institute.