Posts Tagged ‘Congenital Defects’

Many of the risk factors for heart disease are related to lifestyle and environmental factors and are typically labeled uncontrollable (non-modifiable) or controllable (modifiable). These can be conditions, personal traits and lifestyles that contribute to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which causes coronary artery disease.

The seriousness of this disease can be seen in the fact that over 40% of all people in the United States who suffer a heart attack will die from its affects.

Heart disease, which is a term that includes several more specific heart conditions, is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The major forms of this most deadly of diseases include acute rheumatic fever, chronic rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, coronary heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, congestive heart failure and any other heart condition or disease.

It is, in simplistic terms, the inability of the heart to pump or receive adequate amounts of blood due to atherosclerosis or damage to the heart caused by infection or congenital defects. In fact heart disease and stroke both have the same risk factors and causes.

An estimated 25% of all Americans have one or more risk factors for heart disease, increasing their risk for heart attack.  Most risk factors are related to lifestyle while other risk factors that cannot be changed include age, gender, and genetics.

Health behaviors associated with a high risk of heart disease include being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco.  While you can’t control your age, gender, race, or family history, you can decrease your chances of developing heart disease by focusing on the lifestyle changes you can make to improve your overall health.

Leading a healthy lifestyle and following medical advice to reduce or remove risk factors is the best way to reduce the risk of developing heart disease.  Although heart disease takes on different specific forms, there are a common core of risk factors that influence whether someone will ultimately be at risk for heart disease or not.

There are many factors that can increase your risk of getting heart disease.  Some of these factors are out of your control but most of them can be avoided by choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. Excess body fat is one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease.  Cholesterol levels are determined by a combination of age, gender, heredity, and dietary choices, and of these four factors, changing your diet to a healthier one is something you can do something about.  High blood pressure combined with other risk factors such as being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco greatly increases your chances of getting heart disease as well.  In some cases other factors such as stress and drinking too much alcohol have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Fortunately, many risk factors for heart disease are caused in part by unhealthy lifestyle habits, which can be altered so as to reduce one’s chances of developing heart disease.



By: Andrew Bicknell

About the Author:

To learn more about preventing heart disease please visit the website Heart Disease by clicking here.



Congenital heart disease is the form of heart disease that a person is born with. The affects of any form of heart disease can be deadly, but for the person with congenital defects making lifestyle change such as diet and exercise will not prevent or reverse the effects of their form of this disease. Getting diagnosed early in life is the best defense against this kind of heart condition.

Congenital heart disease is an actual defect of the heart or large blood vessels that connect to the heart. This type of defect is something that people are born with. Other forms of heart disease form over time, and in most cases are caused by unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles. Most people are diagnosed with a congenital heart defect a week or two after they are born. Considering it is one of the most common birth defects all doctors are trained to recognize the signs and symptoms that a new born infant will present if they have this type of defect.

For the unborn baby this type of defect is not life threatening because they are still using their mother’s cardiovascular system, through their attachment to the placenta, to pump blood and nutrients through their own circulatory system. Their heart is beating and there are times that a defect can be seen with an ultrasound but the majority of defects remain undiagnosed until after the baby is born and their own heart takes over.

There are many different forms of congenital heart disease so the treatments for these forms can vary. For some people surgery to fix the defect is recommended, for others prescription medications along with a strict diet and exercise program will keep any problems in check. Anyone with this type of heart problem must follow the advice and program laid out by their cardiologist. Their life depends on it.

For those who suffer from congenital heart disease it is a condition that they will spend their life time fighting. While it is a disease to be wary of with doctors able to detect it early in life those who suffer from it can lead long productive lives. Medical science and technology is constantly making inroads into the treatment of congenital defects and this along with patients who take responsibility for living a healthy life style can effectively manage their condition.



By: Andrew Bicknell

About the Author:

Andrew Bicknell is a writer who researches a wide range of subjects. To learn more about congenital heart disease please visit his website Heart Disease by clicking here.



Many of the risk factors for heart disease are related to lifestyle and environmental factors and are typically labeled uncontrollable (non-modifiable) or controllable (modifiable). These can be conditions, personal traits and lifestyles that contribute to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which causes coronary artery disease.

The seriousness of this disease can be seen in the fact that over 40% of all people in the United States who suffer a heart attack will die from its affects.

Heart disease, which is a term that includes several more specific heart conditions, is the leading cause of death in the United States and is a major cause of disability. The major forms of this most deadly of diseases include acute rheumatic fever, chronic rheumatic heart disease, hypertensive heart disease, coronary heart disease, pulmonary heart disease, congestive heart failure and any other heart condition or disease.

It is, in simplistic terms, the inability of the heart to pump or receive adequate amounts of blood due to atherosclerosis or damage to the heart caused by infection or congenital defects. In fact heart disease and stroke both have the same risk factors and causes.

An estimated 25% of all Americans have one or more risk factors, increasing their risk for heart attack. Most risk factors are related to lifestyle while other risk factors that cannot be changed include age, gender, and genetics.

Health behaviors associated with a high risk include being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco. While you can’t control your age, gender, race, or family history, you can decrease your chances of developing this disease by focusing on the lifestyle changes you can make to improve your overall health.

Leading a healthy lifestyle and following medical advice to reduce or remove risk factors is the best way to reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Although it takes on different specific forms, there are a common core of risk factors that influence whether someone will ultimately be at risk for or not.

There are many factors that can increase your risk of getting heart disease. Some of these factors are out of your control but most of them can be avoided by choosing to live a healthy lifestyle. Excess body fat is one of the greatest risk factors. Cholesterol levels are determined by a combination of age, gender, heredity, and dietary choices, and of these four factors, changing your diet to a healthier one is something you can do something about. High blood pressure combined with other risk factors such as being physically inactive, eating a diet high in salt and saturated fat, and smoking tobacco greatly increases your chances of getting heart disease as well. In some cases other factors such as stress and drinking too much alcohol have been linked to cardiovascular disease.

Fortunately, many risk factors for heart disease are caused in part by unhealthy lifestyle habits, which can be altered so as to reduce one’s chances of developing this deadly disease.



By: Andrew Bicknell

About the Author:

To learn more about preventing heart disease please visit the website Heart Disease by clicking here.



Congenital heart diseases affect any part of the heart such as heart muscle, valves, and blood vessels. Congenital heart disease refers to a problem with the heart’s structure and function due to abnormal heart development before birth.Every year over 30,000 babies are born with some type of congenital heart defect in US alone. Congenital heart disease is responsible for more deaths in the first year of life than any other birth defects. Some congenital heart diseases can be treated with medication alone, while others require one or more surgeries.

The causes of congenital heart diseases of newborns at birth may be in result from poorly controlled blood sugar levels in women having diabetes during pregnancy, some hereditary factors that play a role in congenital heart disease, excessive intake of alcohol and side affects of some drugs during pregnancy.

Congenital heart disease is often divided into two types: cyanotic which is caused by a lack of oxygen and non-cyanotic.

1. Cyanotic

Cyanosis is a blue coloration of the skin due to a lack of oxygen generated in blood vessels near the skin surface. It occurs when the oxygen level in the arterial blood falls below 85-90%.

The below lists are the most common of cyanotic congenital heart diseases:

a)Tetralogy of fallot

Tetralogy of fallot is a condition of several congenital defects that occur when the heart does not develop normally. It is the most common cynaotic heart defect and a common cause of blue baby syndrome.

b)Transportation of the great vessels

Transportation of the great vessels is the most common cyanotic congenital heart disease. Transposition of the great vessels is a congenital heart defect in which the 2 major vessels that carry blood away from the aorta and the pulmonary artery of the heart are switched. Symptoms of transportation of the great vessels include blueness of the skin, shortness of breath and poor feeding.

c)Tricuspid atresia

In tricuspid atresia there is no tricuspid valve so no blood can flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle. Symptoms of tricuspid atresia include blue tinge to the skin and lips, shortness of breath, slow growth and poor feeding.

d)Total anomalous pulmonary venous return

Total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR) is a rare congenital heart defect that causes cyanosis or blueness. Symptoms of total anomalous pulmonary venous return include poor feeding, poor growth, respiratory infections and blue skin.

e)Truncus arteriosus

Truncus arteriosus is characterized by a large ventricular septal defect over which a large, single great vessel arises. Symptoms of truncus arteriosus include blue coloring of the skin, poor feeding, poor growth and shortness of breath.

There are many more types of cyanotic such as ebstein’s anomaly, hypoplastic right heart, and hypoplastic left heart. If you need more information please consult with your doctor.

2. Non-cyanotic

Non-cyanotic heart defects are more common because of higher survival rates.

The below lists are the most common of non-cyanotic congenital heart diseases:

a)Ventricular septal defect

Ventricular septal defect is a hole in the wall between the right and left ventricles of the heart causing right and left ventricles to work harder, pumping a greater volume of blood than they normally would in result of failure of the left ventricle. Symptoms of ventricular septal defect include very fast heartbeats, sweating, poor feeding, poor weight gain and pallor.

b)Atrial septal defect

Atrial septal defect is a hole in the wall between the two upper chambers of your heart causing freshly oxygenated blood to flow from the left upper chamber of the heart into the right upper chamber of the heart. Symptoms of atrial septal defect include shortness of breath, fatigue and heart palpitations or skipped beats.

c)Coarctation of aorta

Coarctation of aorta is a narrowing of the aorta between the upper-body artery branches and the branches to the lower body causing your heart to pump harder to force blood through the narrow part of your aorta. Symptoms of coarctation of aorta include pale skin, shortness of breath and heavy sweating.

There are many more types of non-cyanotic such as pulmonic stenosis, patent ductus arteriorus, and atrioventricular cana. These problems may occur alone or together. Most congenital heart diseases occur as an isolated defect and is not associated with other diseases.

I hope this information will help. If you need more information of the above subject, please consult with your doctor or visit my home page at:

Kyle J. Norton

http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com

http://heartdiseasespartix.blogspot.com/



By: Kyle J. Norton

About the Author:

I have been studying natural remedies for disease prevention for over 20 years and working as a financial consultant since 1990