Heart Disease

Heart disease is a general term that refers to a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions that affect one or more of the components of the heart. The heart is a muscular, fist-sized organ that is located in the left side of the chest cavity. It continuously pumps blood, beating as many as 100,000 times a day. The blood that the heart moves carries oxygen and nutrients throughout the body and transports carbon dioxide and other wastes from the lungs, kidneys, and liver for removal. The heart ensures its own oxygen supply through a set of coronary arteries and veins.



Diseases affecting the heart may be structural or functional. Anything that damages the heart or decreases the heart’s supply of oxygen, makes it less efficient, reduces its ability to fill and pump, will disrupt the coordinated relationship between the heart, kidneys, and blood vessels and will harm not only the heart but the rest of the body as well.

The heart and blood vessels are essentially a transportation system that supplies all the cells of the body, delivering essential materials and carrying away waste products. Using blood as the vehicle, the system carries nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, fats, and many other substances required for the body to function.

Oxygen-poor blood travels through the veins to the right side of the heart. The right side pumps blood to the lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen and drops off carbon dioxide (which is excreted from the body when you exhale). The newly oxygenated blood then travels back to the left side of the heart, which pumps blood out through the aorta, the body's largest blood vessel, to the rest of the body. The aorta branches off into smaller arteries, which supply smaller and smaller parts of the body as the arteries themselves decrease in size.

Of course, the heart muscle also requires oxygen and nutrients in order to do its job. Surprisingly, the heart does not use the blood that pumps through it as the source of oxygen and nutrients. Just like every other muscle in the body, the heart gets its blood supply through the coronary arteries, which are the first branches off the aorta.
 

 

Type of Heart Diseases

Heart disease is a general term that describes many different diseases.

Coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common form of heart disease, is caused by a narrowing or clogging of the coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients. CAD can cause angina (chest pain), myocardial infarction (heart attack), and cardiac sudden death (caused by severely abnormal and ineffective beating of the heart)

Congestive heart failure results when the heart muscle becomes weakened and can no longer pump blood efficiently. Common symptoms include shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, and edema (swelling of the legs). Congestive heart failure can result from damage induced by heart attack or cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle).

Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) can be chronic and relatively harmless, but they can also be more serious, preventing the heart from pumping effectively. In the latter case, arrhythmias can contribute to congestive heart failure or cause cardiac sudden death.

Cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood. Heart rhythm may be disturbed, resulting in arrhythmias. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by coronary atherosclerosis, but often the cause is unknown. Cardiomyopathy that is unrelated to coronary atherosclerosis is fairly uncommon, affecting about 50,000 Americans. However, unlike many other forms of heart disease, cardiomyopathy often occurs in young people. The condition tends to be progressive and can worsen fairly quickly. Cardiomyopathy is a leading reason for heart transplantation.

Less common forms of heart disease include valvular disease (problems with the valves in the heart) and aneurysm (abnormal widening of an artery).

Dr. Paavo Airola Ph.D., N.D an internationally recognized nutritionist, naturopathic physician, award-winning author, and renowned lecturer.

“An insufficient supply of Oxygen to the tissue is linked to the development of Cardiovascular diseases."

As you gone through our website and can easily understand how important it is to integrate different services at JHH to take care of your heart, ensuring good supply of oxygen to heart by different methods along with medicine and herbal nutrients.

Happy Heart for everybody