Complications of heart disease

Written by Li Hai Wen
Cardiology
Updated on October 29, 2024
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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.

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Written by Hao Ze Rui
Pulmonology
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Complications of cor pulmonale

Complications of cor pulmonale commonly include several conditions. The first is pulmonary encephalopathy, caused by respiratory failure leading to hypoxia and carbon dioxide retention, which can cause somnolence in patients and, in severe cases, lead to coma. The second is acid-base imbalance and electrolyte disturbances. Cor pulmonale may present with various electrolyte disturbances, such as hyponatremia and hypokalemia. The third is arrhythmias, most commonly manifesting as atrial premature beats or paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia. The fourth complication is shock. Shock is not very common in cor pulmonale, but if it occurs, the prognosis is poor.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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What is heart disease?

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 Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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What foods should people with heart disease eat?

Patients with heart disease should adopt a diet that is low in fat, salt, and oil in their daily lives, and they should try to eat more fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamins, trace elements, and dietary fiber. They can frequently eat foods such as sea cucumber, eggs, milk, beef tendon, lean meat, rabbit meat, belt fish, yellow croaker, shrimp, and others that contain a good amount of high-quality protein needed by the human body, and have lower cholesterol. Continuous consumption over time can enhance the body's immunity and disease resistance.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
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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
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Rheumatic Heart Disease Concept

Rheumatic heart disease is a type of organic heart disease caused by a hypersensitivity reaction in the body due to infection by Streptococcus pyogenes. This leads to pathological changes in the heart valves, including the tricuspid and mitral valves, resulting in stenosis or insufficiency which affects hemodynamics. This condition is known as rheumatic heart disease. Patients with rheumatic heart disease should actively seek treatment under the guidance of a doctor in the early stages to control the occurrence of complications.