What is Cardiovascular System?
The Greek name for the heart is Cardia from which we have adjective ‘Cardiac’. Cardiovascular system includes heart and blood vessels. Heart pumps blood into the blood vessels and also the various parts of the body to meet their nutritive requirements. Blood vessels circulate the blood throughout the body. Blood transports nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and removes carbon dioxide and waste products from the tissues.
What are Cardiovascular Diseases?
Cardiovascular diseases are the group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking as estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Cardiovascular diseases include Coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, arrythmia.
- Coronary heart disease: A disease of blood vessels supplying the heart muscle.
- Cerebrovascular disease: A disease of blood vessels supplying the brain.
- Peripheral artery disease: A disease of blood vessels supplying the arm and leg.
- Rheumatic heart disease: Damage to heart muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria.
- Congenital heart disease: Heart defect that is present at the time of birth and disturbs the functioning of heart.
- Deep vein thrombosis: Blood clots in the leg veins which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.
- Heart attack: Heart attack is also known as the myocardial infarction, happens when the blood flow to a part of heart muscle is blocked, usually by a blood clot or fat deposit build up in the walls of arteries.
- Stroke: A sudden loss of brain function due to blocked or burst blood vessel.
- Heart failure: Condition when the heart can’t pump blood properly.
- Arrythmia: Irregular heartbeat.
Risk Factors:
The most important behavioral risk factors of heart disease and stroke are unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, stress, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol. Amongst environmental risk factors, air pollution is an important factor. The effects of behavioral risk factors may show up in individuals as raised blood pressure, raised blood glucose, raised blood lipids, and overweight and obesity. These “intermediate risks factors” can be measured in primary care facilities and indicate an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and other complications
Symptoms:
There are no symptoms of the underlying diseases of the blood vessels. A heart attack or stroke may be the first sign of underlying diseases.
Symptoms of heart attack include :
• Pain or discomfort in the center of the chest
• Pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaws and back
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea and Vomiting
• Light headedness or faintness
• A cold sweat
• Fast or irregular heartbeat
Symptoms of stroke include:
The most common symptom of stroke is sudden weakness of the face, arm. Or leg, most often on one side of the body. Other symptoms include;
• Difficulty seeing with one or both eyes
• Severe headache with no known cause
• Fainting or unconsciousness
• Difficulty in walking, dizziness/ loss of balance or coordination
How to prevent Cardio vascular diseases?
- Eat healthy diet
- Quit smoking and limit alcohol
- Keep blood pressure, blood cholesterol and blood sugar under control
- Get regular healthy checkups
- In addition, drug treatment of hypertension, diabetes and high blood lipids are necessary to reduce cardiovascular diseases and prevent heart attacks and strokes
Note:
An estimated 19.8 million people died from CVDs in 2022, representing approximately 32% of all global deaths. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attack and stroke.
Disclaimer:
This information is for educational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a doctor for diagnosis and treatment.