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How do you get heart disease
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Heart disease is a general term used to describe a range of disorders that affect the heart. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the United States.
Heart disease may be caused by a variety of problems with the heart or blood vessels. Atherosclerosis, a buildup of fatty plaques in the arteries, is the most common cause of heart disease. When atherosclerosis occurs, arteries become thick and stiff, rather than flexible and strong, as they are in a healthy state.
The term heart disease encompasses diseases of the blood vessels, including coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems, or arrhythmias; heart infections; and congenital heart defects. Narrowing of the blood vessels is a common form of heart disease.
Risk factors for heart disease include increasing age; male gender; genetic factors; being black, Hawaiian, Mexican American or Native American. Diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, poor diet or exercise habits, substance abuse, overweight or obesity and chronic kidney disease also may increase heart disease risk.
Other common types of heart disease include arrhythmia (abnormal rhythms of the heart); heart defects; cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle); heart infection; and valvular heart disease.
Arrhythmia may be caused by coronary artery disease, congenital heart defects, diabetes, drug abuse, excessive alcohol, caffeine or medication use, high blood pressure, smoking, stress or valvular heart disease.
Heart defects may be caused by genetics or medications.
The causes of cardiomyopathy are unknown.
Heart infections may be caused by bacteria, medications that cause an allergic or toxic reaction, parasites, viruses or other diseases or infections affecting other parts of the body.
Valvular heart disease may be caused by conditions such as rheumatic fever, connective tissue disorders, genetics, infections, such as infectious endocarditis, or cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation.
Additional information about how you get heart disease may be found at these websites:
http://www.escardio.org/Pages/index.aspx
http://www.cardiosource.org/acc
http://www.cardiosmart.org/cardiosmart/default.aspx?id=192
http://content.onlinejacc.org/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004449/