Types of Heart Diseases and Their Causes

It’s important to understand the different types of heart disease that exist as well as learn as much as you can about heart disease causes. It has become common knowledge that heart disease is the number one killer in the US as well as many other countries.

The most common types of heart disease are:

• Congenital heart disease
• Congestive heart failure
• Coronary artery heart disease
• Pulmonary heart disease
• Rheumatic heart disease

Even when certain types of heart disease cannot be completely prevented, you can still lessen your degree of heart disease when you learn more.

The type of heart disease will help determine the treatment for it and it will also affect the types of symptoms you have. Remember that heart disease can be prevented in most cases and the more you learn about the types of heart disease, the more you'll be able to prevent them.

Congenital heart disease or defects 

This refers to defects that occur while the fetus is developing in the womb. It affects 8-10 out of every 1,000 children and is often hereditary. For example, if a first degree family member of yours has heart disease, you are at an increased risk of having it too.

The causes of congenital heart diseases and defects are often unknown.

Congenital heart defects may produce symptoms at birth and during childhood, but sometimes they don't appear until adulthood. About 500,000 adults in the U.S. have some form of congenital heart disease.

Sometimes there no symptoms at all. However, any of typical symptoms of heart disease--especially shortness of breath and a tendency to tire quickly--can be signs of a congenital heart defect. 

Coronary artery disease (ischemic heart disease)

Coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and you’ve probably heard quite a bit about it.

When a fatty substance called plaque sticks to the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart, the arteries become blocked and heart muscles can become starved for oxygen. When these muscles don't get the oxygen they need, they can fail. This condition results in a heart attack.

This type of heart disease is also called ischemic heart disease because the word "ischemia" is the medical term for the restricted blood supply. 

High cholesterol is a leading cause of this type of heart disease.

Congestive heart failure

Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart doesn’t pump enough blood to the other organs in the body. This causes the heart to work too hard and inefficiently, which can lead to serious problems.

Congestive heart failure often occurs as a result of coronary artery disease.

Pulmonary heart disease

Pulmonary heart disease occurs when there is a lung or pulmonary disorder where the blood flow to the lungs is slowed or even blocked.

Rheumatic heart disease

This is a condition that is caused by rheumatic fever. It it characterized by a thickening or stenosis (narrowing) of one or more of the heart valves. It often requires surgery to repair or replace the valve or valves.

Rheumatic heart disease is rarer than the other types and comes from strep infection.

Heart disease statistics

Approximately 650,000 people die of heart disease each year in the United States. Slightly more than half of them are women. Heart disease accounts for 27 percent of all U.S. deaths. Approximately 220 people in every 100,000 in the U.S. succumb to some form of heart disease annually.

Coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease is the most common type.. Approximately 450,000 die of coronary artery disease each year, accounting for about 68% of all heart disease-related deaths.

Worldwide, it is estimated that coronary heart disease causes the deaths of more than 7.5 million people a year.