Introduction
Heart is that organ of the body that pumps blood to all other parts, thus ensuring their apt functioning. So the function of heart is not merely beating; it is the life saving organ of human body. To perform its function, the heart itself, needs plentiful and nutritious supply of blood too. This blood comes through the coronary arteries located near aorta. If the arteries get blocked due to the deposition of cholesterol, it causes heart diseases. The cholesterol hampers the flow of blood and when the clot formed gets ruptured, it causes heart diseases like heart attacks.
History
Heart diseases have been spreading and causing harm to human lives since long. They are considered one of the major causes of death among the American adults nowadays, the second being cancer. More than a million people die due to heart attacks and almost twenty five percent of these victims die before getting any medical help. According to a research done by the World Health Organization (WHO), 12 million people have been estimated to lose their lives due to the increase in heart diseases. Prevention is considered better than cure in the case of these diseases. Its diagnosis is done with the help of a few symptoms that the patient has, along with a series of tests. There are tests in accordance with the factor that causes heart diseases.
Features
In order to understand why a person becomes a victim to cardiovascular diseases, one must be aware of the factor that causes heart diseases. These factors are divided into the major risk factors, and the contributing risk factors. The major risk factors include high blood pressure which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke. The second is the high level of cholesterol that deposits on the arteries and hampers the flow of blood, thus causing cardiovascular diseases. Another leading cause is diabetes, which results in differences in blood sugar levels and is more prominent among the type II diabetes patients. Obesity also leads to heart diseases as it increases the blood pressure and also the rate of cholesterol in the human body. Smoking is one of the most common causes of heart diseases too. Moreover, people who are lethargic and do not engage themselves in any exercise are likely to develop a heart disease, as their flow of blood is not spontaneous. Generally, men are considered more prone to these diseases than women before reaching menopause. However, by the age of sixty five the risk is same for both sexes. Heredity and old age factor contribute equally towards these diseases as well. Some of the contributing risk factors are: stress, sex hormones, birth control pills and the intake of excessive alcohol.
Tips and comments
All these factors causes heart diseases among millions of people per year throughout the world. The treatment of these heart diseases depends upon their type and severity. If the disease is not too severe, it can be cured with the help of medicines, while the severe ones are dealt through surgeries.
