Common Diseases Of Cardiovascular System

There are so many diseases that contributed to heart diseases,but we will discuss only coronary heart diseases. At the end of this article, you will distinguish between:

 Angina pectoris vs Myocardial infarction

ANGINA PECTORIS

= is chest pain due to ischemia of the heart muscle, generally due to obstruction or spasm of the coronary arteries.

Classification

1. Stable angina.

2. Unstable angina.

3. Microvascular angina.

 Etiology:

Develops mainly in people over 40 years old,and predominantly in men and mental workers.

1. Atherosclerosis.

2. Bad habit (smoking and alcohol).

3. Bad diet (high cholesterol and sugar).

4. Obesity.

5. Hypertension and stress.

Pathogenesis:

Most frequent cause: atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries of the heart.

Less frequent cause: infection; syphilitic aortitis,panarteritis,periarteritis nodosa,rheumatic vasculitis,obliterating endarteritis.

Paroxysms of angina can develop due to upset of nervous regulation of the coronary arteries.

Spasms of coronary arteries can also provoke angina.

Hypoxemia(ischemia) of the myocardium provokes the attack.

Clinical Picture

-          Pain in restrosternal region and irradiate to the left (last to 2-5 minutes).

-          The pain comes after forces or stress.

-          Breathlessness.

Observation

-          Paleness.

-          Sweating.

-          Slow pulse.

-          Bradyarrhythmia and tachyarrhythmia.

Treatment and Prevention.

-          Nitroglycerin.

-          Surgical.

MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

= A myocardial infarction (MI) is a heart attack. A heart attack happens when the blood vessels that supply blood to your heart (coronary arteries) are blocked. This causes areas of your heart muscle to die.

Etiology

-          Atherosclerosis and thrombosis.

-          Hypertension.

-          Diabetes mellitus.

-          Obesity.

Pathogenesis

-          Disorder in blood coagulations system, then becomes necrosis.

-          Insufficiency of blood supply thus, increases oxygen demand.

Plaque: Plaque (fatty deposits) can build up inside one or more of your coronary arteries. This can cause the arteries to become narrow and slow or block the blood flow. Small pieces can also break off and block blood flow

Blood clots: Blood clots may form on each side of the plaque. This can slow or stop blood flow to your heart.

Heart spasm: A heart spasm is when a coronary artery suddenly tightens and causes blood flow to be stopped to part of the heart muscle.

Clinical picture

-          [Abdominal Form] Intensive long lasting pain in epigastric region and irradiates to left and also right. Paleness, sweating and weakness.

-          [Angina Form] 20 minutes, high temperature and increase in ESR.

-          [Asthmatic Form] Dyspnea and heart breathing.

-          [Cerebral Form] Like hemorrhage, headache, dizziness and increase atrial pressure.

-          [Arhythmical Form] Rhythm disorder.

-          [Non-painful Form] Not feel any pain.

Observation

-          Paleness

-          Sweating

-          Dyspnea

Treatment and Prevention.

Drugs:

Nitroglycerin

-         Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors

-         Aldosterone antagonists

-         Beta blockers

-         Calcium channel blockers

-         Aspirin

-         Clot busters

-         Pain medicine

-         Cholesterol medicine

Prevention:

-          Healthy life style.

-          Regular exercise.

-          Prevent from smoking and alcohol intake.

Summary

• Both angina and myocardial infarction are problems related with heart.

• In both cases, blood supply to heart is blocked.

• While angina is temporary, MI is permanent.

• Angina is less severe health problem but MI can even cause death.