Cardiovascular disorders

Cardiovascular risk factors:

• Smoking

• Overweight, sedentary life-style

• Presence of other chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes)

• Stressful life-style

• Diet high at fat, cholesterol, calories or salt

• Family history of cardiovascular disease

• Personal history of cardiovascular disease

Treatment of the cardiovascular disease

• Diet and exercise

• Medication and treatment

• Stress management

• Guidelines for daily living

DIAGNOSTIC TESTS:

• Holter monitoring (ambulatory electrocardiography),

• 12-lead electrocardiography,

• exercise electrocardiography (stress test),

• cardiac catheterization,

• phonocardiography,

• echocardiography,

• apexcardiography.

DISORDERS:

• hypertension,

• congestive heart failure (C.H.F.),

• angina pectoris,

• myocardial infarction (M.I.),

• arterial occlusive disease,

• varicose veins.

Hypertension.

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by blood against the inside walls of the blood vessels as the heart rhythmically contracts and relaxes. There are two components to BP:

• systolic BP; normally it's 100 to 140 mm Hg

• diastolic BP; normally it's below 90 mm Hg.

Hypertension is blood pressure that is too high. A blood pressure greater than 140 systolic and 90 diastolic is said to be high, or above normal.

Risk factors for hypertension include family history , age, race, smoking, and stress.

Reasons for treating hypertension include the following:

• people with hypertension die younger than people with normal BP;

• hypertension is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease;

• hypertension can damage the kidneys, eyes, blood vessels, and heart, increasing the risk of kidney failure, blindness, stroke, or heart attack.

The components of the treating regimen for hypertension requiring lifelong compliance include the following:

• dietary modifications

• medications

• stress management

• regular exercises

• blood pressure self-measurement

• regular medical follow-up.

The dietary measures to control hypertension include the following:

1. salt intake should be reduced;

2. weight should be reduced, if offered by the physician; obesity may increase blood pressure.

Myocardial infarction (m.I.)

MI is the death of tissues in the heart muscles (myocardium). The area of dead tissue, called an infarct, will gradually be replaced by scar tissue.

Risk factors for MI include family history, hypertension, smoking, high levels of fats (lipids) and cholesterol in the blood, diabetes mellitus, obesity, a sedentary or stressful life-style, and age.

Symptoms of MI include the following:

• chest pain, which is described as persistent, crushing substernal pain that may radiate to the left arm, the law, the neck, or to the shoulder blades.

• Shortness of breath

• Perspiration

• Nausea / vomiting

• Dizziness

• Weakness

• A feeling of impending doom

• Cold, clammy skin

• Anxiety

• Restlessness.

A post-MI treatment regimen consists of the following:

• Dietary modifications

• Medications

• Activity changes

• Monitoring pulse rate and rhythm

• Guidelines for daily living.

Dietary modifications used in the management of MI include reducing cholesterol, fat, and salt as well as calories, if the patient is over-weight.