Overview Signs, Symptoms & Causes Common Diseases Tests Treatments

Signs and Symptoms
Heart diseases may be acute or chronic.  They may be transientory, relatively stable, or progressive.  They may cause a variety of signs and symptoms that frequently change and/or worsen over time.  Chronic heart diseases can have periods with acutely worsened symptoms; these may resolve (either on their own or with treatment), persist, or even become life threatening.  Patients with early heart disease may experience few or vague symptoms, such as fatigue, shortness of breath with or without effort, dizziness, and/or nausea; however, these symptoms do not indicate any particular type of heart disease and may also be seen in a variety of other conditions.  Other signs and complications that may arise from heart disease include:

• Arrhythmia – an irregular heartbeat 
• Dilatation – stretching of one or more of the heart chambers, causing their interior to become larger because of increased pressure
• Embolism – blockage of a blood vessel by material that has travelled from a distant body site, most often a blood clot, but it can be due to fat or air or even amniotic fluid and cells
• Inability to keep up with increased demands for oxygen and clearance of waste products, such as during physical activity
• Infarction – death of muscle cells due to blockage of blood flow leading to scarring
• Insufficient contraction – not emptying or filling completely
• Pain, frequently due to ischaemia – a lack of sufficient oxygen because of reduced blood flow
• Valve prolapse--part of the heart valve protrudes into the atrium, preventing a tight seal, which may lead to regurgitation and an increased risk of endocarditis 
• Valve regurgitation – a backflow of blood causing increased pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs and liver
• Valve stenosis - narrowing of the opening which affects blood flow
• Ventricular hypertrophy – increased thickness of the walls of the heart, causing a decrease in the size of the chambers and also a decrease in the flexibility of the heart

Heart diseases may be due to:

• Alcohol use
• Anabolic steroid use
• Atherosclerosis
• Autoimmune conditions
• Bacterial infection
• Cocaine use
• Congenital abnormalities (present at birth)
• Diabetes
• Diet, especially when high in saturated fat and cholesterol
• Hypertension
• Injury or trauma
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Smoking
• Thyroid dysfunction (under and overactive)
• Toxins, such as mercury, and sometimes chemotherapy drugs or HIV/AIDS drugs
• Viral infection

On This Site

Tests: Cholesterol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Lipid profile, CK, CK-MB, Myoglobin, Troponin, BNP, Homocysteine, Cardiac Risk Assessment, LDH, hs-CRP
Conditions: Heart attack, Stroke, Congestive heart failure, Angina, Cardiovascular disease

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