Cardiovascular disease is a group of conditions that cause problems with your heart and blood vessels. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. They lead to a combined 17.9 million deaths per year.
Cardiovascular disease, sometimes abbreviated as CVD, is the leading cause of death worldwide. It’s a catchall term for heart problems and problems with your blood vessels.
Heart disease and cardiovascular disease have almost the same meaning. However, heart disease specifically refers to conditions affecting the heart, while cardiovascular disease is a broader term referring to conditions that affect the heart or blood vessels.
Strokes or heart attacks cause more than 80% of cardiovascular disease deaths. Both of these conditions are strongly linked to lifestyle habits.
The good news is many types of cardiovascular disease are preventable by adopting good lifestyle habits like exercising regularly and eating well.
There are many types of cardiovascular disease. Some of these conditions can be minor, while others can be life-threatening.
Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease. It’s strongly linked to:
Obesity
High cholesterol
Smoking
Chronic stress
Coronary artery disease develops when the arteries that supply your heart become clogged with a fatty substance called plaque. The build-up of plaque is also called atherosclerosis.
Plaque can limit the supply of blood and oxygen to your heart tissue. Many people with early coronary artery disease don’t have any symptoms. If your heart doesn’t get enough oxygen, you might develop chest pain (angina).
When the blood flow to your heart is blocked entirely, it can lead to a heart attack.
An arrhythmia is an irregular heartbeat that occurs due to a problem with the electrical activity of your heart. Types of arrhythmia include:
Tachycardia. A faster-than-normal heart rate.
Bradycardia. A slower-than-normal heartbeat.
Atrial fibrillation (A-fib). An irregular and often very fast heart rate.
Premature ventricular contraction (PVC). When the bottom chambers of your heart beat too early.
Cardiomyopathy is a group of conditions that cause problems with your heart muscles. Some types of cardiomyopathy are inherited from your parents, while others develop throughout your life.
Dilated cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is when the muscle walls of your heart become stretched and can’t pump blood properly. It can be caused by inherited genes, chronic conditions, and unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy develops when the walls of your left ventricle become thicker than normal. It’s the most common cardiomyopathy caused by inherited genes.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy. Restrictive cardiomyopathy is when the chambers in your heart become overly stiff over time. This stiffness makes it difficult for your heart to fill with blood. It can be caused by your genetics or conditions like diabetes and cancer.
A stroke is when part of your brain loses its blood supply. Strokes are a type of cerebrovascular disease affecting the blood vessels in your brain. The main types of stroke are:
Ischemic stroke. This is a stroke caused by a blockage, which happens in about 85% of strokes.
Hemorrhagic stroke. This happens when a blood vessel in your brain bursts.
You may be at an increased risk of stroke if you engage in certain lifestyle habits, like excessive alcohol consumption or regular tobacco use. Other stroke risk factors include:
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Heart disease
Diabetes
Obesity
Sickle cell disease
Not exercising regularly
A sedentary lifestyle
Your heart valves control the way blood flows in and out of your heart and through the four chambers of your heart.
Valvular heart disease occurs when any of the valves in your heart are damaged. It affects about 2.5% of people in the United States.
Causes can include:
Rheumatic heart disease (a condition that can occur when the bacteria that causes strep throat isn’t treated with antibiotics)
Endocarditis (an infection of the inner lining of your heart)
Congenital heart disease (valve abnormalities that you may be born with)
Peripheral arterial disease is a blockage in the arteries that carry blood away from your heart. It usually develops in your legs. The strongest risk factors are diabetes and smoking.
Heart failure occurs when your heart can’t pump blood well enough to supply all of your body’s tissues. It’s referred to as chronic heart failure when it develops slowly over time or acute heart failure when it develops quickly.
Heart failure can be a complication of any condition that causes damage to your heart tissues, such as an infection, heart attack, or valve disorder.
Heart failure is categorized by a measurement known as ejection fraction. Ejection fraction is the amount of blood that the left ventricle of your heart pumps out each time it contracts.
Percent of blood pumped out | |
|---|---|
Normal ejection fraction | 50-70% |
Borderline ejection fraction | 41-49% |
Reduced ejection fraction | Less than 40% |
It’s possible to have heart failure even when your ejection fraction falls in the normal range. This is known as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Congenital heart disease happens when part of your heart doesn’t develop properly from birth. The underlying cause often isn’t clear, but risk factors include:
Down’s syndrome
Infections during pregnancy, such as rubella
Possibly taking certain medications during pregnancy, such as statins
Possibly smoking or drinking during pregnancy
Poorly controlled diabetes during pregnancy
Certain genetic syndromes
Symptoms of cardiovascular disease can vary depending on the type and severity of your condition. Some people don’t experience any symptoms at all.
Symptoms common in several types of cardiovascular disease include:
Shortness of breath
Chest pain
Fatigue
Dizziness
Fainting
Fever
Irregular heartbeat
Weight gain
Heart palpitations
A heart attack occurs when the blood flow to your heart is blocked. The most common cause is coronary artery disease.
Heart attacks are medical emergencies that require immediate medical attention, although some heart attacks can be “silent” and go undetected.
A heart attack can cause symptoms such as:
Chest pain that often radiates to your left shoulder, neck, or arm
Abdominal pain
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Pressure or heaviness in your chest
Sweating
Nausea or vomiting
Dizziness
Pain caused by a heart attack usually persists for more than 20 minutes.
Stroke symptoms usually come on suddenly and can include:
Confusion
Numbness or weakness, often on one side
Severe headache with no known cause
Trouble seeing from one or both eyes
Trouble walking or loss of balance and coordination
Cardiac arrest is a medical emergency when your heart stops beating suddenly. It’s sometimes mistakenly called a heart attack. A person having cardiac arrest may:
Collapse suddenly and pass out
Stop breathing or gasp
Become unresponsive
Not have a pulse
The main cause of cardiac arrest is two types of arrhythmias called ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia
Other potential causes include:
Heart tissue scarring from a previous heart attack or other cause
Cardiomyopathy
Electrical heart abnormalities
Blood vessel abnormalities
Recreational drugs
A sudden blow to the left side of your chest (commotio cordis)
Cardiovascular disease can develop due to a combination of:
Lifestyle habits like lack of exercise, poor diet, or smoking
Genetics
Congenital birth defects
Other underlying health conditions
Injuries to your heart or blood vessels
Some of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease are preventable and some are out of your control.
The following risk factors aren’t preventable:
Age. Over 45 for men and over 55 for women
Family history. Having a family history of early heart disease
Sex. People born male are at increased risk
Congenital defects. Having problems with your heart from birth
Genetics. Having genes associated with cardiovascular disease
Other risk factors for cardiovascular disease include:
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
Overweight or obesity
Not exercising regularly
Smoking or using tobacco
Consuming large amounts of alcohol
A history of preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy)
Unhealthy eating habits
Your doctor may order many different tests to help diagnose cardiovascular disease, such as:
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Echocardiogram (heart ultrasound)
Angiogram, a scan that shows blood moving through your blood vessels
Blood tests
Blood pressure monitoring
Coronary computed tomography (CT angiogram)
Chest X-ray
MRI
Treatment for cardiovascular disease depends on which type you have and the severity of your condition.
Let’s take a look at the different types of cardiovascular disease and what type of treatment you can expect.
Treatment options for coronary artery disease include:
Changes to your lifestyle habits
Low-dose aspirin therapy
Nitroglycerin
Statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs
Calcium channel blockers
Long-acting nitrates
Endovascular surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery stents
Not all arrhythmias require treatment, but some can lead to complications such as a heart attack or stroke.
Treatment for arrhythmias can include:
Medications to control your heart rate
Lifestyle changes (such as reducing caffeine or alcohol intake)
A pacemaker
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (a device that shocks your heart into a normal rhythm when needed)
Electric cardioversion (a shock to your heart to restore its rhythm)
Catheter ablation (a minimally invasive surgery to destroy the abnormal tissue in your heart)
A heart attack requires immediate treatment to improve blood flow to your heart, relieve your symptoms, and prevent another heart attack. Some treatment options include:
Medications such as anticoagulants or nitrates administered through an IV
Coronary angioplasty surgery
Stent procedure
Coronary artery bypass surgery
Heart transplant
Radiofrequency ablation
When heart arrest occurs outside of a hospital, the main treatment is a shock with an automatic external defibrillator. These defibrillators are commonly installed in public places like train stations, schools, and stadiums.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy doesn’t always need treatment, but doctors often recommend weight loss and may prescribe medications such as:
Beta-blockers
Calcium-channel blockers
Disopyramide
Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the main causes of heart failure. It occurs in about 1 in 2,500 people. Treatment for dilated cardiomyopathy may involve taking medications or surgery to reduce your symptoms and prevent further heart damage.
Strokes require immediate emergency medical treatment. The most common treatments are medications and surgery to repair the damaged blood vessels in your brain.
Heart valve problems may be treated with medications or surgery.
Peripheral artery disease might be treated with:
Lifestyle changes like increased physical activity and quitting smoking
Managing diabetes
Procedures such as angioplasty or stent placement in the affected vessel
The development of cardiovascular disease is strongly associated with your lifestyle habits. You can minimize your chances of developing cardiovascular disease by:
Making heart-healthy dietary changes such as:
Eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables
Eating plenty of foods high in fiber
Trying to minimize your intake of foods high in saturated fat, trans fat, or cholesterol
Taking steps to minimize your sodium intake
Consuming alcohol in moderation or not at all
Getting regular physical activity to support your cardiovascular health — the AHA recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of intense exercise per week
Avoiding smoking
Managing your diabetes
Minimizing stress
Having your cholesterol levels and blood pressure regularly checked
Taking your medications as prescribed for treating high blood cholesterol, blood pressure, or blood sugar levels
Keeping your body weight in a healthy range
Undergoing regular check-ups with your healthcare provider
Cardiovascular disease is a catchall term for any condition that affects the heart or blood vessels. It can have many potential causes, including genetics, lifestyle habits, and underlying health issues.
Some types of cardiovascular disease, such as some cardiomyopathies, develop due to factors outside of your control. However, taking steps to support your heart health can help you lower your risk of many types of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke or heart attacks.