Insights in Biomedicine Open Access

Editorial

The important role of the cardiovascular system in maintaining homeostasis depends on the continuous and controlled movement of blood through the thousands of miles of capillaries which permeate every tissue and reach every cell in the body. Diseases of the heart are congenital heart disease, ischemic heart disease, valvular diseases and diseases of the myocardium i.e., cardiomyopathies. Pericardial diseases and cardiac tumors are an additional small subset of conditions affecting the heart. A common manifestation of many different forms of heart disease is congestive heart failure (CHF). Symptoms of heart disease are chest pain or discomfort, dyspnea, syncope, palpitations and edema. Dyspnea is an uncomfortable awareness of breathing. Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is a heart condition that causes blockages in the arteries of the heart due to deposition of plaque preventing oxygenated blood supply to the heart. This causes heart attack, angina.

Genetic factors influence the development of cardiovascular disease in men who are less than 55 years old and in women who are less than 65 years old. Cardiovascular disease in a person's parents increases their risk by 3 fold. Age is the most important risk factor in developing heart diseases with a tripling of risk with each decade of life. The relationship between alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease is complex, and may depend on the amount of alcohol consumed. There is a direct relationship between high levels of drinking alcohol and cardiovascular disease.

Existing cardiovascular disease or a previous cardiovascular event such as a stroke is the strongest predictor of a future cardiovascular event. Age, sex, blood pressure, smoking, blood lipids and diabetes are important predictors of cardiovascular disease in people who are not known to have cardiovascular disease. There is evidence that mental health problems such as depression and traumatic stress is linked to cardiovascular diseases. Whereas mental health problems are known to be associated with risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as smoking, poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle, these factors alone do not explain the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases seen in stress, depression and anxiety. Cardiovascular disease is treatable with treatment primarily focused on diet and lifestyle interventions. Influenza may make heart attacks and strokes and therefore influenza vaccination may decrease the chance of cardiovascular events and death in people with heart disease.

Treatments for cardiovascular diseases can differ by the type of condition which may include changing parts of your lifestyle like your exercise, diet and alcohol and tobacco use, medications including ones that treat risk factors like blood pressure or cholesterol. Medical procedures like having a balloon or stent placed in your blood vessel, heart valve surgery or coronary artery bypass graft surgery.