Ischaemic Heart Disease

Ischaemic Heart Disease

Ischaemic heart disease is a serious health condition that affects millions of people in the whole world. Numerous researches have revealed that it affects people of every gender and race, and it often occurs before the person hits 20 due to a number of risk factors.

Ischaemic heart disease is also known as coronary artery disease. In layman's term, it is caused by the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that carries blood and oxygen to the heart. Medically, the ischaemic heart disease is known as an atherosclerotic disease of the epicardial coronary arteries as it is deemed as the end result of the accumulation of the atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries which blocks and slows down the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart. When the oxygen supply is completely blocked, the heart muscles will tend to die, resulting to chest pain and heart attack.

There are a number of risk factors associated with ischaemic heart disease. The top listed risk factors include smoking, high cholesterol levels and diabetes mellitus. Several studies have further revealed genetic and hereditary as another potent factors causing ischaemic heart disease to develop. So it is understandable that when your family has a history of heart failures, there's a tendency that you or your future children will develop ischaemic heart disease.

In addition, the condition is deemed common among men. Yes, males are said to be more prone to it. Nevertheless, women who are on the stage of post-menopausal may develop ischaemic heart disease with close similarity to that of the men. And, much to your surprise, stress is believed to be another big risk factor, although there has been a debate on the role it played in ischaemic heart disease since the early times.

Just as there are several risk factors associated with IHD, it's worth noting that there are also several symptoms that medical professionals have linked to it. Included in the list is severe chest pain that is not relieved by rest, shortness of breath, nausea, clamminess, vomiting, irregular and rapid pulse, as well as sweating. These symptoms usually occur in the later stages of the disease and since ischaemic heart disease is a serious condition, the symptoms of it no doubt require emergency treatment.

The ischaemic heart disease is so serious that it can lead to much more serious health complications and even sudden death. According to numerous studies, a serious defect in the heart will immediately affect the supply of oxygen to the other vital organs of the body like kidneys, liver, brain, etc. When these organs are affected, their tissues will fail and die. This is basically the reason that ischaemic heart disease is now known throughout the world as one of the biggest killers around.