36^th European Heart and Heart Failure Congress

Heart Diseases and Heart Failure

Acute coronary syndrome is sudden decrease in blood flow to heart typically caused by coronary artery disease. Symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, sweating, vomiting, sudden weakness and pain, also irregular heartbeat. When arteries are blocked heart does not get enough oxygen and causes angina and heart attack.

CVDs include diseases of the heart, vascular diseases of the brain and diseases of blood vessels. CVDs are responsible for over 17.3 million deaths per year and are the leading causes of death in the world .The different types of CVDs are listed below.

Atherosclerosis: Ischaemic heart disease or coronary artery disease, Cerebrovascular disease, Diseases of the aorta and arteries, including hypertension and peripheral vascular disease. Other CVDs  are Congenital heart disease, Rheumatic heart disease, Cardiomyopathies, Cardiac arrhythmias.

Coronary Heart Disease: Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart disease. It occurs when the arteries supplying blood to the heart narrow or harden from the build-up of plaque. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol and other substances found in the blood. The location of the plaque determines the type of heart disease.

• Coronary artery disease is the accumulation of plaque in the arteries supplying blood to the heart.
• Peripheral artery diseaseis the accumulation of plaque in the arteries supplying blood to the arms and legs.
• Carotid artery diseaseis the accumulation of plaque in the arteries that supply blood to the brain.