American Heart Month
February 2022
A Healthy Heart = A Healthy Life.
It’s imperative we protect our heart. We can do so by ensuring we stay healthy while taking good care of ourselves.
This month, one of the things we are going to discuss is the difference between the types of heart diseases.
Are you familiar with the term’s Cardiovascular disease, Heart Disease, and Coronary heart disease?
We will look at the differences between the three.
What are Cardiovascular disease, heart disease, and coronary heart disease?
Cardiovascular Disease
This term encompasses all types of diseases that affect the heart or
blood vessels including coronary heart disease which can cause heart
attacks, stroke, heart failure, and peripheral artery disease. It is safe to say cardiovascular disease is the “big umbrella” for most diseases affecting the heart.
• One person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease
Heart Disease
“Heart disease” is a catch-all phrase for a variety of conditions that affect the heart’s structure and function. It is important to note that heart diseases are cardiovascular diseases, but not all cardiovascular diseases are heart disease.
• Nearly 650,00 Americans die from heart diseases each year
• About 11% of American adults have been diagnosed with heart disease. This is more than 1 of every 9 adults.
• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States.
• Heart disease costs the United States about $363 billion each year from 2016 to 2017. This includes the cost of health care services, medicines, and lost
productivity due to death.
Coronary Heart Disease
Also known as Coronary Artery Disease, it occurs when plaque (a
combination of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found
in the blood) builds up in your arteries.
As plaque builds up in the arteries of a person with heart disease,
the inside of the arteries begins to narrow, which lessens or blocks
the flow of blood. Plaque can also rupture (break open). When it
does, a blood clot can form on the plaque, blocking the flow of blood
which can cause chest pain and is the most common cause of heart
attack.
Heart Disease Facts
Heart disease can be caused by a genetic disorder
• One may have the inherited genetic disorder called Familial
Hypercholesterolemia (FH) which causes heart disease.
• It affects about 250 people worldwide but 90% of people born with it are not diagnosed.
Many heart attacks occur outside the hospital
• About 47 percent of sudden cardiac deaths occur outside a hospital,
according to the CDC.
• Signs of heart attack include, chest pain or discomfort, upper body pain,
shortness of breath, nausea, lightheadedness or cold sweat.
• Be confident, trust yourself, and call 911
Heart disease affects young people too
• Heart Disease affects people of all ages
Heart Disease deaths vary by sex, race, and ethnicity
Below are the percentages of all deaths caused by heart disease in 2015, listed by ethnicity, race, and sex:
Are you at risk for heart disease?
High blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease. Other risk factors include:
• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity
• Unhealthy diet
• Physical inactivity
• Excessive alcohol use
Can heart disease be prevented?
Some steps that can be taken to reduce the risk for heart disease include:
• Don’t smoke. CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health Web site has information on quitting smoking. Click here for more information.
• Maintain a healthy weight. CDC’s Healthy Weight Web site includes information and tools to help you lose weight. Click here for more information.
• Eat a healthy diet. Tips on reducing saturated fat in your diet are available on the Web site for CDC’s Division for Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. Click here for more information.
• Be physically active. Exercise regularly. Visit CDC’s Physical Activity Web site for more information on being active. Click here for more information.
• Prevent or treat your other health conditions, especially high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Sources:
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/all-publications-and-resources/know-differences-cardiovascular-disease-heart-disease-coronary-heart-disease
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm#:~:text=Heart%20disease%20is%20the%20leading,groups%20in%20the%20United%20States.&text=One%20person%20dies%20every%2036,United%20States%20from%20cardiovascular%20disease.&text=About%20659%2C000%20people%20in%20the,1%20in%20every%204%20deaths.
https://thefhfoundation.org/five-heart-disease-facts?gclid=Cj0KCQiAi9mPBhCJARIsAHchl1znEB8l9i08mB8Y51Vj1sUfFdiRe0MknvXYZ8Neavfx1Gi157M2n4waAvDoEALw_wcB
https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/docs/ConsumerEd_HeartDisease.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015297/