heart diseases and disorders

Heart Diseases and Disorders

Heart Diseases/Disorders

Stable angina• chest pain or discomfort that

typically occurs with activity or stress

• caused by poor blood flow through the blood vessels (coronary vessels) of the heart muscle (myocardium)


Unstable angina• may be a prelude to a heart attack• chest pain that is sudden and gets

increasingly worse• occurs without cause (for example, it

wakes you up from sleep)• lasts longer than 15 - 20 minutes• responds poorly to nitroglycerin• may occur along with a drop in blood

pressure or significant shortness of breath


• Coronary artery balloon angioplasty

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/presentations/100160_1.htm



Aortic insufficiency• heart valve disease in which the

aortic valve weakens or balloons, preventing the valve from closing tightly

• leads to the backward flow of blood from the aorta into the left ventricle


Aortic stenosis• aortic valve does not open fully,

decreasing blood flow from the heart


Arrhythmias• disorder of the heart rate (pulse)

or heart rhythm, such as beating too fast (tachycardia), too slow (bradycardia), or irregularly

• Arrhythmia

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/anatomyvideos/000005.htm


Cardiomyopathy• weakening of the heart muscle or

a change in heart muscle structure

• often associated with inadequate heart pumping or other heart function problems

• Cardiomyopathy• implantable-cardioverter

defibrillator (ICD) may be needed to prevent sudden death


Heart Diseases/DisordersCardiomyopathy - Causes• Alcoholism and cocaine use• Chemotherapy drugs• Coronary artery disease• End-stage kidney disease• Genetic defects• High blood pressure (hypertension)• Infections due to viruses, HIV, Lyme

disease, Chagas disease• Nutritional deficiencies• Pregnancy• Systemic lupus erythematosus


Dilated cardiomyopathy• condition in which the heart

becomes weakened and enlarged, and it cannot pump blood efficiently

• decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems


Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy• condition in which the heart

muscle becomes thick• thickening makes it harder for

blood to leave the heart, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood


Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy – Causes

• often asymmetrical, meaning one part of the heart is thicker than the other parts

• condition is usually passed down through families

• believed to be a result of several defects with the genes that control heart muscle growth

• younger people are likely to have a more severe form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but the condition is seen in people of all ages


Ischemic cardiomyopathy• term that doctors use to describe

patients who have reduced heart pumping (squeezing) due to coronary artery disease

• these patients often have congestive heart failure

• "Ischemic" means that an organ (such as the heart) is not getting enough blood and oxygen. "Cardio" means heart and "myopathy" means muscle-related disease.


Restrictive cardiomyopathy• refers to a group of disorders in

which the heart chambers are unable to properly fill with blood because of stiffness in the heart


Congenital heart disease• refers to a problem with the

heart's structure and function due to abnormal heart development before birth


Congenital heart disease – Causes• most common type of birth defect• responsible for more deaths in the

first year of life than any other birth defects

• some heal over time, others will require treatment

• divided into two types: cyanotic and non-cyanotic


Cyanotic:• Tetralogy of Fallot• Transposition of the great vessels• Tricuspid atresia• Total anomalous pulmonary

venous return• Truncus arteriosus• Hypoplastic left heart• Pulmonary atresia• Ebstein's anomaly


Non-cyanotic• Ventricular septal defect (VSD)• Atrial septal defect (ASD)• Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA)• Aortic stenosis• Pulmonic stenosis• Coarctation of the aorta• Atrioventricular canal

(endocardial cushion defect)


• problems may occur alone or together

• majority of congenital heart diseases occur as an isolated defect but they can also be a part of various genetic and chromosomal syndromes – Down syndrome– trisomy 13– Turner syndrome– Marfan syndrome– Noonan syndrome– DiGeorge syndrome.


Congestive Heart Failure• condition in which the heart can't

pump enough blood throughout the body - doesn’t mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working, just that your heart is not able to pump blood the way it should


Congestive Heart Failure• The weakening of the heart's

pumping ability causes:– blood and fluid to back up into the lungs– buildup of fluid in the feet, ankles and

legs - edema– tiredness, shortness of breath

• leading causes: – coronary artery disease– high blood pressure– diabetes


Congestive Heart Failure• Treatment: – treat the underlying cause – medicine– heart transplantation (if other

treatments fail)• ~ 5 million people in the U.S. have

heart failure• contributes to 300,000 deaths

each year


Coronary heart disease• narrowing of the small blood

vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart; also called coronary artery disease.

• Coronary Artery Disease



Causes of CHD• usually caused by atherosclerosis -

fatty material and other substances form a plaque build-up on artery walls, causing them to narrow

• blood flow to the heart can slow down or stop– stable angina– shortness of breath– heart attack


Endocarditis• inflammation of the inside lining of

the heart chambers and heart valves• risk factors– injection drug use– prior valve surgery– recent dental surgery– weakened valves– bacterial/fungal infection


Heart attack (myocardial infarction)• blood vessels that supply blood to

the heart are blocked, preventing enough oxygen from getting to the heart

• heart muscle dies or becomes permanently damaged


Heart attack (myocardial infarction)• most are caused by a blood clot that

blocks one of the coronary arteries; if blood flow is blocked, heart starves for oxygen and heart cells die

• atherosclerosis: plaque (made up of cholesterol and other cells) builds up in the walls of your coronary arteries


Heart attack can occur as a result of the following:

• slow buildup of plaque may almost block one of your coronary arteries, preventing flow of oxygen-rich blood; more likely to happen when during exercise

• plaque itself develops cracks (fissures) or tears– platelets stick, form a blood clot (thrombus) – blood clot may completely block te passage of

oxygen-rich blood to heart


Acute Myocardial Infarction


Progressive build-up of plaque in coronary artery


Heart attack symptoms• Symptoms of a possible heart attack include

chest pain and pain that radiates down the shoulder and arm. Some people (the elderly, people with diabetes, and women) may have little or no chest pain. Or, they may experience unusual symptoms (shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness).

• Women are more likely than men to have symptoms of nausea, vomiting, back or jaw pain, and shortness of breath with chest pain.


Heart attack symptoms


Atrial myxoma• An atrial myxoma is a noncancerous

tumor in the upper left or right side of the heart. It grows on the wall (atrial septum) that separates the two sides of the heart.

Causes• A myxoma is a primary heart (cardiac)

tumor. This means that the tumor started within the heart. Most heart tumors start somewhere else


Mitral regurgitation – acute• mitral valve suddenly does not

close properly, causing blood to flow backward (leak) into the upper heart chamber when the left lower heart chamber contracts

Mitral regurgitation – chronic• long-term disorder in which mitral

valve does not close properly, causing blood to flow backward (leak) into the upper heart chamber when the left lower heart chamber contracts; progressive condition


Mitral stenosis• mitral valve does not open fully,

restricting blood flow


Mitral valve prolapse• valve does not close properly

• Heart valve surgery - series



Pulmonary valve stenosis• heart valve disorder that involves

the pulmonary valve• stenosis occurs when the valve

cannot open wide enough, resulting in less blood flow to the lungs


Tricuspid regurgitation• tricuspid valve does not close

properly, causing blood to flow backward (leak) into the right atrium when the right ventricle contracts

• most common cause of tricuspid regurgitation is not damage to the valve itself but enlargement of the right ventricle, which may be a complication of any disorder that causes right ventricular failure

heart diseases and disorders

Documents

heart rhythm

heart chambers

heart muscle structureoften

cardio means heart

heart pumping squeezing

inadequate heart pumping

heart attackchest pain

heart rate pulse