Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and the rest of the body’s blood vessels. The main cause for the disease is blockage of your arteries, known as atherosclerosis. You get different symptoms depending on where in the body arteriosclerosis is most developed.
Types of cardiovascular diseases
Aneurysm
Angina
Atherosclerosis
Cerebrovascular Accident (Stroke)
Cerebrovascular disease
Congestive Heart Failure
Coronary Artery Disease
Myocardial infarction (Heart Attack)
Peripheral vascular disease
Cardiovascular Disease Symptoms
Most common is that you get symptoms of atherosclerosis of the heart, brain or leg arteries.
The symptoms of heart is mainly angina, which you get when the blood supply to the heart is insufficient, or in severe cases, a blood clot forms in the heart which is called a myocardial infarction. Atherosclerosis in the brain may also lead to a clot, which in turn can lead to paralysis or a speech disorder. Atherosclerosis in the legs can lead to “claudication” (intermittent claudication), which is severe pain when walking. It progresses to rest pain and may even end up with gangrene.
What causes heart disease?
Calcification of the arteries is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis involves a narrowing of the blood vessels so that blood flow is impaired, leading to affected areas getting too little oxygen and nutrients. The calcified vessel is often broken and blood starts forming small clots.
Risk Factors
All people may get heart disease. It starts in your 20′s and increases with age. But there are a number of known risk factors contributing to the exacerbation of atherosclerosis and leads to disease at an early age:
Tobacco smoking
If atherosclerosis is in the family.
Diabetes, type 1 and type 2
High blood pressure
High cholesterol content in blood
Obesity, especially abdominal obesity
Stress
Too little exercise
Early atherosclerosis has no symptoms. In more severe cases of atherosclerosis, chest pain and angina can be symptoms. If a calcified area in one of the coronary artery defects, can cause a blood clot in the heart. A typical warning sign is oppressive chest pain that may radiate to the left arm. The pain often comes with exertion, but it can also show up during sleep.
Atherosclerosis of cerebral arteries can lead to a cerebral thrombosis or cerebral haemorrhage (stroke). The symptoms are impaired brain function,weakness, or speech disorders, where it is then called a TIA (transient ischemic attack) and may cause permanent failure of brain function.
Arteriosclerosis in the leg arteries can get “claudication”, or intermittent claudication. When you exercise you get sore legs, especially in the calf muscles. The pain disappears after 5-10 minutes of rest. More severe atherosclerosis can cause ulcers and possibly gangrene of the toes and feet.
