What causes the Most Common Heart Problems?

This post is part of a 3 part series: Part 1 (How Does the Heart Work?), Part 2 (How Does Your Heart Know to Contract?)

Since our heart is literally vital to our well-being it makes sense that when it isn’t working properly it can effect almost every other part of our body. Let’s discuss some of the common conditions that effect our heart.

Heart Disease

Heart disease is a broad term that speaks to many different problems that can occur with your heart. Some examples are when the valves separating your hearts chambers are not working right, problems with your heart’s muscle itself, problems with your heart’s electrical system, or heart failure where the heart does not pump correctly and blood collects in areas it shouldn’t.

We commonly hear about coronary artery disease (a problem with the heart’s muscle itself). The coronary arteries are the ones that bring oxygen to your heart muscle. Let’s step back a second and remember our heart anatomy. Even though your heart continually has blood moving through it, it doesn’t absorb any nutrients from that blood. When blood is pumped out of the heart and into your largest artery it breaks into several different pathways taking blood to different areas of your body. One of these paths is the coronary arteries. These are the arteries that bring the blood with fresh oxygen and nutrients to the muscle of the heart and keep it functioning. Pretty important, right?

With coronary artery disease, these vessels will develop a substance called plaque. Over time this can limit the amount of blood carrying oxygen that is reaching the heart muscle. The plaque can then rupture which damages the artery wall. This damage triggers your body to develop a clot to repair the wall. However, this clot can form a complete block in the artery and that cuts off all oxygen going to that area of heart muscle. This is what causes a heart attack.

Heart Attack

A heart attack is when the muscle of your heart is injured (the muscle is what makes up your heart, it surrounds the chambers and contracts to pump that blood to where it needs to go). A coronary artery that brings blood to the muscle of the heart is blocked either a little bit or completely. This can happen by a substance called plaque or by a blood clot. This blockage means that the blood cannot reach all of the heart muscle and the tissue that is no longer receiving oxygen begins to die and is no longer working when the rest of the heart muscle contracts to pump your blood. This causes the heart to no longer be pumping correctly and causes a heart attack.

The amount of damage that this does to the heart depends on which part of the heart muscle the blocked artery serves and where the block happens along that artery. For instance, if the blockage happens in an artery that brings blood to the node in your heart that sends out the “time to contract” signal, then you may not be able to maintain a desired heart rate. If the blockage happens in the artery that brings blood to your left ventricle, then your heart muscle may not be able to fully contract to send blood with oxygen out to your brain and body. In the event of a heart attack, time is so important. The faster that the blockage can be identified and removed, the faster oxygen flow can be restored to that heart muscle and the better chances that person has at making a full recovery.

A common and important tool that we use to diagnose what is causing a problem with the heart is called an ECG, short for electrocardiogram. This is what makes those funny wave lines you see on a heart monitor. As the “time to contract” signal is sent through your heart each change in the wave is showing a different part of your heart receiving the signal. When there is a problem with the heart contracting it can be identified by what part of the wave does not look normal.

But wait, what is the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest? A heart attack is when heart function is disturbed due to a blocked artery serving the heart muscle (as we discussed above). A cardiac arrest is when there is a problem with the electrical conduction system of the heart and the heart has completely stopped beating.

And what is going on when they are shocking that person on the tv show? A cardiac arrest is what you most often see on a tv show where they show a person having compressions done on them with a “flat line” on a monitor. This flat line means that there is no longer any electricity traveling through the heart. This means that the muscles do not know to contract and the heart is no longer pumping. (fun fact: “shocking” a patient with a flat line will not do anything, this is actually treated with continued CPR and medication, though I’m sure that would not be as dramatic for the tv show haha).

CPR Saves Lives

The American Heart Association says that a bystander jumping in to perform CPR can increase that person’s chance of surviving by OVER 40% .

Getting trained in CPR and basic life support provided me with so much confidence. For instance, getting to practice what I would do if my baby started to choke helped me to be confident in my ability to be there for him if he needed it. You learn more than just compressions, you also learn how to help someone even if you are unable to give them “breaths.” You learn how to use what is called an AED (defibrillator), these are the small machines you see out in public with a large “AED” sign above them. These machines can assess what is happening to that person’s heart and can start treatment before the paramedics even arrive. You also learn how to help someone who is choking and what to do if they end up becoming unconscious. You never know when you could be in a position to help a stranger or a loved one.

Visit the AHA to find a training near you. Follow this link to see course options for non-healthcare professionals and the general community to see which may be right for you. Then click the training options button to find a course near you!

Heart Failure

Heart Failure is a term we use to describe what gradually happens to the heart when it has difficulty functioning over a period of time. There are many factors that can cause heart failure such as damage after a heart attack, high blood pressure, or an irregular heartbeat.

The effect on the body depends on where the heart failure is occurring. Remember how we have a right side of our heart and a left side of our heart? Depending on which area the blood is coming from, the person will have different problems. The blood will be backing up into either the body or the lungs depending on which side of the heart is not functioning correctly. If the problem is initially with the right side of the heart (the side that receives blood from the veins returning blood back from the body) then you would first start to see fluid buildup in the persons body, for example blood may pool in their legs. If the heart failure first happens to the left side of their heart (the side that receives the blood from the lungs) the person may have signs of difficulty breathing normally because they would have increased fluid pooling in their lungs.

Create a Plan

While many of these heart conditions cannot be “treated away” their progress can be slowed and their effects on daily life can be lessened. It is so important to work with your healthcare team to manage your heart condition. In many cases your quality of life can be drastically increased by being properly supported. You may benefit from a dietician helping you develop a better approach to your diet. You may benefit from a specific exercise plan. You may need a different regimen of medications to help support you. Always discuss any concerns with your healthcare team. Often the earlier a problem is recognized, the better chance of keeping a functioning lifestyle for as long as possible.