What is heart disease?

Written by Zhang Yue Mei

Cardiology

Updated on September 23, 2024

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Heart disease is caused by various factors that invade the heart, resulting in the loss of its normal physiological functions. Common causes of heart disease include rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, viral myocarditis, coronary artery disease, and pulmonary heart disease. These diseases are considered organic heart diseases, caused by various reasons that lead to pathological changes in the heart's muscles, valves, etc., losing the heart's normal ability to pump blood and supply the body with blood.

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Written by Li Hai Wen

Cardiology

58sec

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What does heart disease feel like?

Heart disease is a very common category of diseases in our daily lives, with a wide range of heart conditions. What are the general symptoms or feelings associated with heart disease? They often manifest in the following ways: First, palpitations or arrhythmias. Patients with arrhythmias often experience symptoms of palpitations, which are quite common. Second, chest tightness and chest pain, such as in coronary heart disease or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This type of heart disease often presents with symptoms of chest tightness and chest pain. Third, symptoms of heart failure, such as exertional dyspnea or nocturnal paroxysmal dyspnea. These symptoms are often indicative of heart failure. These three major categories are the most common symptoms of heart disease. If you experience any of these symptoms, be sure to visit the cardiology department of a hospital for a formal examination.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei

Cardiology

37sec

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Can people with heart disease drink alcohol?

Patients with heart disease should not drink alcohol, especially those with severe heart conditions, including heart failure and arrhythmias. Drinking alcohol can excite the sympathetic nervous system, increase heart rate, enhance myocardial oxygen consumption, increase cardiac burden, and worsen arrhythmias and heart failure. Additionally, patients with organic heart disease who regularly require medication should avoid alcohol. Alcohol can chemically interact with certain medications or reduce their effectiveness, potentially harming the body.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua

Cardiology

46sec

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Can heart disease be inherited?

Whether heart disease is hereditary depends on the specific type of heart disease. Some heart conditions are hereditary diseases, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is an autosomal dominant inherited disease and can be inherited. Some heart diseases are related to genetics, such as coronary heart disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. These genetically related diseases significantly increase the risk of their offspring developing these conditions, but it does not necessarily mean that they will develop the disease, as environmental factors also play a crucial role. Of course, some heart diseases are not genetic, such as most congenital heart diseases, heart valve diseases, infective endocarditis, and myocarditis, which are not related to genetics.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei

Cardiology

40sec

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Can people with heart disease drink alcohol?

Patients with heart disease should not consume alcohol, especially those with severe heart conditions such as coronary heart disease, severe arrhythmias, and viral myocarditis. These patients especially should avoid alcohol as they need to use many medications during treatment. If they consume alcohol, the alcohol entering the body can chemically interact with some medications, leading to reduced efficacy, diminished effects, or causing side effects. Additionally, for these heart disease patients, consuming alcohol can increase the burden on the heart and exacerbate symptoms of heart disease.

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Written by Li Hai Wen

Cardiology

51sec

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Complications of heart disease

Heart disease is a very common illness in our daily lives. What are the complications of heart disease? The category of heart diseases is broad; here we will discuss some common ones, such as coronary heart disease. Patients with coronary heart disease are prone to develop heart failure, leading to symptoms such as shortness of breath and difficulty breathing, or atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation often leads to complications like thrombosis. For instance, a dislodged thrombus can cause a cerebral infarction, resulting in symptoms like hemiplegia, weakness in one side of the body, and speech disturbances. Additionally, certain severe myocardial diseases can lead to malignant arrhythmias, causing sudden death in patients, which is often very serious.