The Future Of Health Heart diseases are the most common cause of death in people all around the world. As of 2018, each one out of four dead people in the US had suffered from heart disease of some type.
Although there are many ways to prevent the fatal outcome, most people die from either not being diagnosed at all or having the wrong diagnosis. And even nearly 12% of people who have been diagnosed with heart disease die from it.
Factors Increasing the Risk of a Heart Disease
There are several conditions that might put you in a risk group of having heart disease. While some of them are directly related to your health conditions, others are a matter of your lifestyle and healthy choices.
For instance, people with higher blood pressure and cholesterol level have more chances of getting heart disease, as these two factors affect your circulatory system. Moreover, people with obesity, diabetes or depression are also in the risk group, due to the nature of their problems and their effects.
However, some of the actions that you perform willingly can also lead to heart disease. People who smoke, have a poor diet, don’t exercise, and consume too much alcohol are also in the group that has a higher chance of getting some sort of heart disease.
Types of Heart Diseases
There are many types of heart problems that one can have. The most common ones among the USA population are the following:
- A heart attack;
- A heart failure.
The main difference between the two is that a heart attack is caused by the limitations of blood delivered to your heart. Due to some reasons, like problems with your blood vessels or coronary arteries, the amount of blood needed for normal work of the heart is not reached. With heart failure, your heart starts pumping blood at higher rates due to some conditions, which causes more pressure on it.
The most common diseases that can cause both heart failure and heart attack include coronary artery disease, heart valve conditions, arrhythmias, congenital heart conditions, pulmonary embolism, and congenital heart conditions.
Symptoms of a Heart Disease
To be able to prevent serious consequences and get the needed treatment in time, you should be able to indicate the symptoms of a heart attack immediately. Some of the most common and easily recognizable symptoms include discomfort and painful feeling in the chest, pain in the upper body parts (arms, neck, shoulders, back), fatigue, feeling of lightheadedness or dizziness, cold sweating, nausea, and short breath.
If you feel the symptoms yourself or someone near you has them, try to get immediate help. It is also useful to learn the techniques of urgent care that might even save someone’s life before the paramedics come to the rescue.