A Guide To Managing Your Heart Disease

What is Heart Disease?

Heart disease refers to a collection of conditions involving the heart and/or blood vessels. This includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and events such as heart attack and stroke.

Risk factors

There are many risk factors and predisposing conditions that put you at greater risk for developing cardiovascular disease, so early treatment and prevention are critical.

• Old age—The risk increases as you get older
• Gender—Men are at a higher risk of developing CVD than women
• Family History—If you have a family history of CVD, you are at a higher risk of developing the disease
• High Blood Pressure—Hypertension can damage the blood vessels and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease
• High Cholesterol—High levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and low levels of HDL (good) cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Physical Inactivity
• Obesity
• Poor Diet—A diet high in saturated and trans fats, cholesterol, and sodium
• Excessive amount of alcohol consumptioncan increase blood pressure and triglyceride levels

Symptoms

Symptoms can vary depending on the type and severity of the condition. Some of the most common symptoms of heart disease include:

• Chest pain or discomfort: This is the most common symptom of heart disease, especially when it is caused by a blocked artery. It may feel like pressure, tightness, or squeezing in the chest.
• Shortness of breath: If the heart is unable to pump blood effectively, the lungs may not receive enough oxygen, causing shortness of breath.
• Fatigue: When the heart is not functioning properly, it can lead to feelings of exhaustion or weakness, even with little exertion.
• Dizziness or lightheadedness: A lack of blood flow to the brain can cause feelings of dizziness or lightheadedness, especially when standing up quickly.
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat: Heart disease can cause the heart to beat too quickly or irregularly, which can cause palpitations or a feeling of skipped beats.
• Swelling in the legs, ankles, or feet: Heart disease can cause fluid to accumulate in the lower extremities, leading to swelling.

Some people with heart disease may not experience any symptoms, which is why regular check-ups are important for early detection and treatment.

Diagnosing Heart Disease

At a certain age, your healthcare provider will likely screen you for the development of heart disease in order to initiate treatment early and prevent progression.

Screening typically begins after the age of 40, however if you have a family history of heart disease and/or other risk factors, your doctor will likely screen you earlier.

The factors that put you at greater risk of heart disease and will likely be involved in your screening assessment include:

• Smoking
• Women over 65 , men over 55
• Diabetes
• Sedentary lifestyle
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure

Based on the level of your blood pressure, cholesterol, and various other risk factors, your healthcare provider will provide you with a score determining your risk of heart disease. Based on this score and a physical assessment, your healthcare provider will help you to decide on ideal treatment strategies.

Understading blood pressure readings

Treating Heart Disease

Due to the importance of predisposing conditions in the diagnosis of heart disease, it is essential to minimize your risk factors as much as possible in order to best prevent disease progression. While some factors, such as age and family history, are not modifiable others, such as smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and even high blood pressure can be managed.

Depending on your individual risk score, your healthcare provider will then help you to decide on the best treatment options. This may include lifestyle modification and/or prescription medication management. Lifestyle modifications can include increased exercise, reduction of alcohol consumption, and eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Medications for Heart Disease

There are 8 main medication types used to treat heart disease. These include:

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

Angiotensin (an-gee-oh-ten-sin)-converting enzyme is part of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS): a hormone system that controls blood pressure. ACE converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II, which causes blood vessels to constrict therefore increasing blood pressure. ACE inhibitors blocks angiotensin I from producing angiotensin II, resulting in vasodilation (widening of your blood vessels).

Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs)

Angiotensin receptor blockers reduce your blood pressure by preventing the action of angiotensin II. Angiotensin II is a hormone that make your blood vessels narrow/constrict. High blood pressure and inadequate blood flow to your kidney may result from this constriction. Angiotensin II can also cause salt and water retention in your body, which further increases your blood pressure. Blocking this, therefore allows for a decrease in blood pressure.

Beta-blockers

Beta blockers work by reducing the release of certain hormones, such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. Your body uses adrenaline and noradrenaline to activate your “fight-or-flight” response, which is designed to keep you safe during threatening scenarios. You may experience rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, excessive sweating, anxiety, and heart palpitations if your body produces high adrenaline levels.

By hindering the release of these hormones, beta-blockers reduce the stress placed on your heart and the force of heart muscle contractions. As a result, the blood vessels in your heart, brain, and the rest of your body are relieved of that pressure.

Calcium channel blockers (CCBs)

Calcium channel blockers decrease the amount of calcium that enter the heart and blood vessel walls. This relaxes the blood vessels and makes it easier for the heart to pump, resulting in decreased blood pressure.

Diuretics

Diuretics (water pills) help the kidney to excrete more sodium and water into urine, decreasing the sodium and water in your blood and therefore decreasing your blood pressure. They are used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, edema, liver failure, kidney disorders and glaucoma.

The three major types of diuretic include: loop, thiazide and potassium sparing diuretics.

Nitroglycerin

Nitroglycerin is a medication often used to manage chronic angina (chest pain that is caused by reduced blood flow to the heart but is not considered to be acutely dangerous). The nitroglycerin works by opening up the blood vessels and increasing the blood flow to the heart, which reduces the pain of angina.

Statins

Statins are medications that both decrease the amount of “bad” cholesterol in your body and reduce your risk of having heart-related events, such as a heart attack. They do this by helping the liver to remove cholesterol from the blood, as well as decrease the amount of new cholesterol made by the liver.

Blood thinners (anticoagulants)

Anticoagulants are types of medications that decrease the amount of clotting that occurs in your blood. Clotting is a natural process that occurs following a bleed, for example if you cut your hand your blood will clot temporarily to form a scab. However, sometimes blood will clot when/where we don’t want it to such as the heart or brain, leading to an event such as a heart attack or stroke, respectively. Blood thinners work to decrease the level of clotting that occurs in your blood, decreasing the chance of these events occurring.