SYMPTOMS IN THE HEART DISEASE

Heart disease can be asymptomatic (i.e., cause no noticeable symptoms) or may cause symptoms that vary from mild to severe. Signs of cardiovascular disease include chest pain (angina), shortness of breath, and heart attack. Typical chest pain occurs in the center of the chest, is often described as a "heavy" or "tight" feeling, and often occurs with exertion or stress. This type of chest pain may be relieved by rest or by taking nitroglycerin (medication that acts quickly to open blood vessels). Atypical chest pain can occur in the left or right side of the chest, in the abdomen, in the back, in the arm, or in the jaw. This type of pain usually is sharp, is unrelated to exertion or stress, and is more common in women. Shortness of breath (dyspnea) may occur as a result of congestive heart failure (CHF), caused by reduced blood and oxygen flow to the heart over time. In addition to shortness of breath, congestive heart failure also may cause abnormal fluid retention that results in swelling (edema) in the feet and legs.

The heart is a complex, highly specialized, muscular organ in the chest that maintains the circulation of blood throughout the body. Heart attack, or acute myocardial infarction, is the death of heart tissue caused by a complete blockage in one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart (coronary arteries), resulting in an interruption in the blood supply to the heart. When heart tissue is deprived of blood-borne oxygen for longer than 30 minutes (called ischemia), it begins to die. Ischemia causes electrical instability within the chambers of the heart, preventing the heart from adequately pumping blood throughout the body (called ventricular fibrillation). Permanent brain damage and death can occur when the brain is deprived of blood flow for longer than 5 minutes.

In most cases, blockage occurs as a result of coronary heart disease (CHD), also called atherosclerosis, a condition in which plaques (deposits of cholesterol and fatty material) build up in the arteries and partially or completely block blood flow. When the surface of a plaque tears or ruptures, a blood clot (thrombus) can form and completely block the flow of blood in the artery. Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), also called sudden cardiac death, occurs when the heart develops an abnormal rhythm (arrhythmia; e.g., ventricular fibrillation) that causes it to stop beating suddenly. In as many as 95% of cases, a person who experiences SCA dies, usually within minutes.

Incidence and Prevalence according to the American Heart Association, coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States; and, in adults, heart attacks cause 1 out of every 5 deaths. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) more than 1.2 million heart attacks occur each year in the United States and about 460,000 of these are fatal. Approximately 300,000 people die annually from heart attacks before they can receive medical treatment. In some cases, heart attack is caused by a severe spasm (contraction) in a coronary artery. During a spasm, the artery narrows and blood flow to an area of the heart decreases or stops. The cause of spasms is unknown, and one can occur in normal arteries as well as those partially blocked by atherosclerosis.