Rheumatic fever is affecting many people throughout the world, yet many people are not aware about this disease. Generally, people think that this is some sort of fever, by looking at its name, but this is one of the most important conditions related to the heart. Rheumatic fever is a type of hypersensitivity reaction. Hypersensitivity is the abnormal or excessive reaction of the immune system to certain particles called antigens. Antigens are any substances, which your body recognizes as being foreign to your body, or as foreign particles. Rheumatic fever is a type 2 hypersensitivity reaction. Why is Rheumatic fever caused? Rheumatic fever is caused due to the infection of the body with a bacteria called Group A beta hemolytic streptococcus or Streptococcus pyogenes. This Bacterium enters the body from sore throat or when having certain types of skin infection, which enters the body through the wounds. So, we need to be really careful when we suffer...

What is cholesterol -it is a waxy steroid of fat produced in liver or intestine, used for the synthesis of hormones and cell membranes and transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. Cholesterol is a very important structural component of plasma membrane of mammals required for maintaining proper membrane permeability and fluidity. It is also an essential agent required for the manufacture of bile acids, steroid hormones and vitamin D. It is the principal steroid synthesized by animals however, smaller amounts are also produced in plants and fungi. Cholesterol is entirely absent among prokaryotes. If its concentration increases in blood then the risk of cardiovascular diseases increases so its level must be kept under control. The word cholesterol has originated from a Greek word and was first discovered by Francois Poulletier de la Salle in gallstones in solid form in 1769 but, chemical identification was done by Eugène Chevreul in 1815 who gave the term cholester...

Coronary Artery Disease  Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a condition in which plaques(a fatty deposit on an artery wall in atherosclerosis ) build up in the walls of the coronary arteries (the vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle). These deposits can gradually block the artery, or they can suddenly rupture, causing a more acute obstruction.  Basically, the heart muscle requires a continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients to survive, obstruction of a coronary artery rapidly leads to significant problems. CAD is caused by atherosclerosis(a disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls),a chronic, progressive disorder of the arteries in which deposits of cholesterol, calcium, and abnormal cells (that is, plaques) build up on the inner lining of the arteries. Atherosclerosis – the left artery shows a normal lumen (the cent...

What Is Bradycardia? In the Greek language means “heart slowness”. It is basically a heart rate that is under 60 beats per minute while a person is at rest. Bradycardia is usually not detectable unless the heart rate drops to below 50 beats a minute. This slower heart rate can produce heart attacks in some individuals or even cardiac arrests. A cardiac arrest differs from a heart attack. It is caused by the normal circulation of the blood getting interrupted from the lack of heart contractions. A heart attack usually happens as a result of an interruption of the blood flow specifically to part of the heart that causes cells in the heart to die. Bradycardia may trigger a heart attack or cardiac arrest when the slow heart rhythms (bradycardia’s) are unable to pump sufficient supply of oxygen to the heart. With insufficient oxygen, the heart can display symptoms that resemble a heart attack. An individual may have difficulty breathing or have a fainting spell. It...

Implantable Cardiac defibrillators are invasive cardiac surgery advance in cardiac care. Health science have made amazing technological advances in cardiac surgery over the past several decades. Modern equipment, procedures, and knowledge about heart disease risk allows us to save more patient lives than ever and bring the risk of dying from a heart attack to a lower figure. Implantable defibrillators are another innovative solution to a serious cardiac problem. These devices are implanted in the chest to control sudden problems in patients who suffer from tachycardia, or an abnormally fast heart rhythm. A fast, out-of-control heart rhythm can strike suddenly and interfere with the heart’s ability to pump blood to the entire body.  In a normally functioning human heart, the heart’s lower and upper chambers pump in sync with each other – delivering even and consistent blood flow. With heart failure brought on by tachycardia, something interferes with the...

ECG (electrocardiogram) is a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart. The heart is a muscular organ that beats in rhythm to pump the blood throughout the whole body. The signals that make the heart's muscle fibres contract come from the sinoatrial node, which is the natural pacemaker of the heart. In an ECG test, the electrical impulses made while the heart is beating are recorded and usually shown on a piece of paper. It's known as an electrocardiogram, and records any problems with the heart's rhythm, and the conduction of the heart beat through the heart which may be affected by underlying heart disease. The information taken from an electrocardiogram can be used to discover various types of heart disease. It may be useful for seeing how well the patient is responding to treatment. It is a good idea to have an ECG in the case of symptoms such as dyspnoea (difficulty in breathing),chest pain(angina),fainting, ...

There are 3 main categories of heart failure — dilated cardiomyopathy (cardiomyopathy is a term that means heart muscle disease), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and diastolic dysfunction. Once you are sure which category of heart failure you have, you can read below to learn more about your condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy - is the most common variety of heart failure; most people who are told they have heart failure have dilated cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the end result of a large variety of heart diseases, especially coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease. This type of heart failure occurs when the ventricles (the large pumping chambers of the heart) become weakened, flaccid and dilated. As a result, the pumping action of the heart becomes weak, the amount of blood pumped with each heart beat drops (or, to say it another way, the ejection fraction is reduced), and the body’s organs may not receive their full quotient of blood.  ...

Recent research involving people have found that higher sodium intake was associated with increased mortality from cardiovascular disease. At the same time, higher potassium intake was associated with lower mortality risk. Most likely elevated blood pressure related to high sodium intake is one of the reasons for this increase in heart disease. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. Interestingly, vegetarians in general have a lower incidence of heart disease than non-vegetarians, even when they consume the same amount of salt per day as meat eaters. Why is this the case? Well, in general vegetarians consume higher amounts of potassium (found in fruit, vegetables and legumes) which is essential for heart health. In general, the average potassium to sodium consumption ratio in is 1:2. This means that people are consuming twice as much salt as potassium – but the optimal ratio is 5:1, that is, 5 times as much potassium as sodium. So n...

Coronary heart disease, is the narrowing blockage of the coronary artery, a large blood vessel that supplies blood to the heart. This narrowing is caused by fatty deposits in the artery itself and is the leading cause of heart attacks.. Cardiac disease of all types is, indirectly, the leading cause of maternal death. The risk of developing coronary heart disease increases significantly with age beyond 35 years and more significantly even in those over 50 years. Many factors have led to the increase in the number of pregnant women who suffer with coronary heart disease. The age at which women are able to conceive and sustain a pregnancy has, on average, increased with many factors driving this, not least, increases in health care and fertility medicine. Lifestyle changes have, without doubt, contributed to the rise in younger women developing coronary heart disease. The huge rise in obesity is an obvious starting point and, according to current statistics, the n...

The most important way to prevent heart diseases is to monitor the type and contents of food that we eat. Checking the nutritional value of every goods we buy at the grocery store can help us to establish the best healthy diet plan. One of the most common substances that can cause the development of heart disease is fats (cholesterol). Eating too much of fats or foods with high level of cholesterol can promote coronary artery disease. High level of cholesterol in the blood will result into plaque formation. This fatty plaque goes along with the blood. The problem is when this plaque is clogged in the tiny vessels. This can prevent the proper circulation of the blood resulting to atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries). However, it doesn’t mean that we should omit fats and cholesterol in our diet. Take note that fats can also provide 4 kilocalories of energy. This simply tells everyone that there are few recommendations that require fat intake, as well. That is why w...

The primary objective of treatment for people with coronary artery disease (CAD) is to reduce the serum low density lipoprotein (LDL – bad cholesterol) level. Current clinical studies verify that reducing the LDL also reduced the short-term susceptibility of cardiovascular disease by as much as 40%. It also brings even bigger risk reduction over the period of time. In 2012, the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III), supported by the National Cholesterol Education Program of the National Institute of Health (NIH), and declared the first major research regarding the management of cholesterol to nearly 10 years.  The ATP III advises:  More assertive cholesterol-reducing treatment scheme and appropriate evaluation of people at higher risk for heart diseases; Full lipoprotein profile as the initial diagnostic test for high level of cholesterol; Provide better emphasis on treating high level of triglycerides; Latest cutoff point wherein low level of HDL is considered...

Sedentary lifestyle is one of the risk factors that can promote the development of heart diseases. Fortunately, this specific risk factor is something that can be modified or prevented. Through lifestyle modification and management, this can reduce the risk of an individual from getting cardiovascular problem Failure to perform physical activity in a day can increase the chance of the person to develop cardiac problems. Furthermore, simple house chores can also be considered as regular exercises because it requires the body to move properly. Regular exercises and other physical activities (aerobic) can provide benefits like: Strengthening of the heart and vessels; Promotes proper blood and oxygen circulation; Reduces the clinical manifestations of heart diseases (signs and symptoms); Enhances your energy level while having intense exercises; Intensifies the level of endurance; Lowers blood pressure; Improves the cardiac muscle strength and tone; Develops the jo...