Diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels are the leading cause of death in the world. We show you the most relevant based on epidemiological data.
The heart is the engine of our body, because with its incessant beat, it pumps oxygenated blood to all our tissues. This act of transporting oxygen and nutrients at the tissue level is what literally keeps us alive.
Therefore, it is not surprising that this powerful and muscular organ beats about 80 times per minute from before our birth (in the placenta) until we leave this world. It is estimated that our heart produces about 100,000 beats a day, a process by which about8,000 total liters of blood are pumped in 24 hours.
All these figures highlight the importance of this organ in our day to day and when it comes to conceiving ourselves as living beings. Even so, like any system, the heart is also subject to possible failures and mishaps. If you want to know more about the most common heart diseases, read on.
- We recommend you read: “The 18 parts of the human heart, and their functions”
The 5 most frequent heart diseases and their situation in the world
According to estimates of the work “Causes of death 2008 update (collected by the World Health Organization)”, in that year there were about 57 million deaths. 36 million occurred for noncommunicable diseases, that is, those that do not respond to an infectious agent.
As a curiosity that serves as a preface to the theme that concerns us today, this work emphasizes that ischemic heart disease (a disease that prevents the heart from receiving the necessary blood) is the leading cause of death in the world. It is responsible for more than7 million deaths annually, or almost 13%. Of course, this is true in countries with an iron health infrastructure, because, unfortunately, in the global South deaths from infectious diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis are much more present.
Hypertensive heart disease or cerebrovascular conditions (both linked to the heart and circulatory system) are also among the top 10 causes of death on Earth. Despite the bitter note with which we began, this puts into perspective the importance of the organ that has us in suspense today. Without further ado, we present the 5 most common heart diseases.
5. Hypertension
High blood pressure is very common, as it is estimated thatone in 6 peoplesuffer from it. In some populations, the elevations are so high that 1 in 4 adults over the age of 18 can be expected to be hypertensive. This translates to approximately 1 billion people affected by essential arterial hypertension (ATH) worldwide.
This pathology is characterized by an excessive force exerted by circulating blood against the walls of the arteries over time. The more blood the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries, the greater the strength and wear and tear on the circulatory system in the long term. In addition, it should be noted that a patient can present hypertension for years without having any symptoms.
Essential or primary high blood pressure (ATH) usually has no identifiable cause. Even so, we know that this pathology usually develops over the years, so it is clearly correlated with the age of the patient. Along with diabetes or various coronary heart diseases, HT is one of the leadingcauses of heart failure.
- You may be interested in: “Hypotension: what it is, symptoms, causes and treatment”
4. Angina pectoris
Angina pectoris is a characteristic type of pain that occurs in the trunk, whose underlying reason isinadequate irrigation to the heart. This clinical sign is characterized by nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, feeling of chest tightness, sweating and dizziness.
This is a relatively common clinical manifestation. For example, studies estimate that its incidence (number of new cases in a particular interval and population) is 2% of adults between 45 and 89 years and 1.9% of women of the same age. It should be noted that this sign can be divided into “stable angina pectoris” or “unstable angina pectoris”, depending on the pattern of onset of pain and its intensity.
- We recommend you read: “Chest pain: symptoms, and most frequent causes”
3. Arrhythmias
In this case, we are facing aheart rate disorder. The heart may beat very fast (tachycardia), slow (brachycardia), or irregularly shaped. There are multiple types of arrhythmias, but they all have a common reason: problems with the heart’s electrical conduction system. This cardiac imbalance can have its origin in various sources, from stress to congenital diseases, through the intake of stimulants, drugs, abnormal levels of potassium in the blood or hyperthyroidism, among many other causes.
Medical sources estimate that, in countries such as Spain, about 1,000,000 people suffer from some type of cardiac arrhythmia, which translates into 25,000 deaths per year. In other regions such as Chile, it is estimated that up to 3% of the general population has some type of arrhythmia throughout their lives.
2. Myocardial infarction
We are entering dangerous territory, because although the diseases described so far may pose a potential risk, their detection and treatment can stop more serious upwellings. Myocardial infarction is, together with angina pectoris, an ischemic heart disease (already seen above). That is, a disease caused by the deterioration andblockage of the arteries of the heart.
Myocardial infarction, unlike other pathologies such as hypertension, does have underlying reasons for the appearance of well known in many cases. The lack of blood pumping by the arteries is usually due to cholesterol plaques, lipids or inflamed cells, so we can already begin to intuit where the shots go.
Although anyone at any age can suffer a myocardial infarction, there are factors that predispose its appearance. For example, more than two-thirds of patients with coronary heart disease are overweight or obese. Thus,obesity is considered to be the most common risk factorin patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction.
An estimated 17.5 million people died from cardiovascular disease in 2012, of which 80% are preventable. On the other side of the coin we observe that more than 650 million human beings spread across the globe are obese. Of course, the correlation is self-explanatory.
1. Aneurysm
An aneurysm occurs when the artery walls weaken and become abnormally inflamed or bulging in a particular area of the body. Without a doubt, one of the most common places for an aneurysm is the brain, and its effects onthe patient can be devastating.
The rupture of an aneurysm, that is, the moment in which the bulging artery bursts, is one of the most common causes of sudden death. Unfortunately, many of the patients who suffer from this condition do not even get medical attention, as studies highlight that 20-26% of those affected by a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) derived from aneurysm do not survive until arrival at the hospital.
To add fuel to the fire, the prevalence of cranial aneurysms in general is noteworthy. It is estimated that a person without any type of risk factor has a2-3% chance ofsuffering it at some time in his life. Of course, we are facing a lethal disease that freezes the blood of even the most professionals.
Summary and final considerations
It is possible that more than one has experienced a knot in the gargabta or excessive sweating reading the lines presented here. First of all, it is necessary to appeal for calm: life expectancy in countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States is around 80 years of age. Yes, the list of most common heart diseases can incite worry and hypochondria, but we must be clear about one thing: almost all diseases are treatable and preventable, and the statistics cited so far usually reflect heart failure in elderly people who are already “ready to go.”
Thus, this information is merely informative, and at no time is it our intention that a reader thinks that he has angina pectoris when suffering from chest pain. From gas to anxiety, many discomforts that are not at all serious can be confused with a mismatch of the heart. Thus, being informed is always good, but with a head and without continuous self-diagnosis.
References
- What is the disease that causes the most deaths in the world? WHO. Collected on October 19 at https://www.who.int/features/qa/18/es/
- Aneurysm, medlineplus.gov. Collected on October 19 in https://medlineplus.gov/spanish/ency/article/001122.htm#:~:text=Los%20defectos%20en%20algunas%20de,El%20cerebro%20(aneurysm%20cerebral)
- Arrhythmias, mayoclinic.org. Collected on October 19 at https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/diseases-conditions/angina/symptoms-causes/syc-20369373
- Basiero, A. B., & Bardají, A. (2010). Epidemiology of stable angina. Spanish Journal of Cardiology Supplements, 10, 3B-10B.
- Fiedler-Velasquez, E., & Gourzong-Taylor, C. (2005). Epidemiology and pathogenesis of essential arterial hypertension, role of angiotensin II, nitric oxide and endothelin. Acta Médica Costarricense, 47(3), 109-117.
- Hypertension, Mayoclinic.org. Collected on October 19 in https://www.mayoclinic.org/es-es/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/symptoms-causes/syc-20373410
- Myocardial infarction, cardioalliance. Collected on October 19 in https://cardioalianza.org/las-enfermedades-cardiovasculares/infarto-de-miocardio/
- Prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, WHO. Collected on October 19 in https://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/es/
- Vigueras, R., Vigueras, S., & Luna, F. (2003). Brain Aneurysms: Characterization of data found in a follow-up protocol of a Regional Hospital. Revista chilena de neuro-psiquiatría, 41(2), 111-116.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.