Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States (Ritchey et al., 2019).According to a report released by the CDC in 2019, 647,000 Americans die annually from heart disease. The high number of deaths could be reduced by early diagnosis and better management of the disease. The need to understand the early symptoms, etiology, treatment options and change of one’s lifestyle to lessen the severity of the symptoms is therefore critical.
Heart disease is an umbrella term for diseases that affects the functioning of the heart. Examples include heart attack, angina, coronary artery disease, and congenital heart complication, among others (Benjamin et al., 2019). Common symptoms that a person with heart disease displays include chest pain, shortness of breath, pain in the neck, or throat, among other symptoms. Depending on whether heart disease is caused by an infection, weak heart muscles, or other defects, symptoms such as fatigue, lightheadedness, and dizziness might be prevalent.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Some of the risk factors related to heart disease include smoking, excessive use of alcohol, and infections by bacteria or viruses, among others(Ritchey et al., 2019). Besides this, some lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity might increase one’s likelihood of suffering from heart disease. Depending on the condition that causes heart disease, heart disease could manifest through the reduction of competence of heart valves or through the development of a plaque in arteries, hence, hindering blood flow to the heart. A heart infection could also cause a build-up of fluids around the heart, hence negatively affecting its effectiveness in the pumping of blood to major body organs.
Different tests can be carried out to ascertain that one suffers from heart disease. Examples include X-rays, exercise stress tests, radionuclide tests, and MRI scans, among others. After a positive diagnosis, surgery, medication, or a change in lifestyle could be recommended to help in the management of the condition. Examples of medication that could help include ACE inhibitors, antiplatelet drugs, beta-blocker therapy, among others. Other interventions that could come in handy include stents, CPR, Angioplasty, and stents.
References
Benjamin, E. J., Muntner, P., Alonso, A., Bittencourt, M. S., Callaway, C. W., Carson, A. P., ... & Delling, F. N. (2019). Heart disease and stroke Statistics-2019 update a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation .
Ritchey, M. D., Wall, H. K., George, M. G., & Wright, J. S. (2019). US trends in premature heart disease mortality over the past 50 years: Where do we go from here?. Trends in cardiovascular medicine .
