How Does Heart Disease Affect How the Heart Works?

Introduction

According to the American Heart Association, approximately 16.8 million people are affected by heart disease every year. Of those, more than 400,000 will die from the disease. Heart disease can cause a series of serious health problems ranging from increased blood pressure to stroke, all potentially fatal if not treated promptly and correctly.

Plaque

Heart disease affects the heart within the artery system. Throughout your entire body are long travel tubes called arteries. These tubes are responsible for taking oxygen rich blood from the lungs throughout the body and to the heart. Over the years, fat and plaque start to build up on the artery walls. This is usually due to a diet too high in HDL cholesterol mixed with other unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as not exercising or choosing to smoke. This slowly causes less and less blood to be able to go through the artery system at once.

Pump

The body relies on the heart to pump oxygen and nutrients through the blood to reach all the different muscles and tissues that need to survive. As the plaque builds up on the artery walls, it gets harder for the heart to pump the blood through the blockages. Eventually the heart either cannot keep up any longer and shuts down completely, or it works so hard that the heart muscle become stiff an too large to work properly. This can lead to heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest.

Blood Pressure

The added stress to the heart also causes your blood pressure to rise. The added blood pressure in the arteries can result in a bulge called an aneurysm. This aneurysm can then burst and cause serious internal bleeding. One of the most common places for an aneurysm is the largest artery in your body located in your heart, called the aorta.

Resources

• American Heart Association