Causes of cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is a general term for various heart conditions and problems with blood vessels. Some of those conditions include heart defects, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure, thickening of the heart muscle, stroke, coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease and infections of the heart such as pericarditis, myocarditis, and endocarditis. Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in adult people worldwide. The symptoms of cardiovascular diseases depend on the particular heart condition. The common signs and symptoms may include pain in the chest, irregular pulse, breathing difficulties, fainting, dizziness, tiredness, pain or numbness in the arms or legs, getting exhausted after light activities or exercises, swelling of the hands, feet or eyes, fever and unusual changes on the skin, such as rash, spots or skin appears to be gray or blue.

Causes

The common causes of cardiovascular diseases include damage of arteries and blood vessels, and congenital defects of the heart. Other causes can be infections such as bacterial, viral and infections caused by parasite. The cause for heart disease can be some other condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus or valvular heart disease. In some cases the cause can be alcoholism, drug abuse, excessive smoking and exposure to stress.

Risk Factors

There are a lot of different factors which can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. As you age your arteries and heart become weaker and that makes you prone to heart diseases. If there are a number of cases of heart diseases in your family history you may be at greater risk of having heart problems. Smoking, drinking a lot of alcohol and eating greasy and salty food also put you at risk of cardiovascular diseases. Being overweight is not good for your heart as well. High blood pressure and high cholesterol level are serious risk factors. Not getting any exercises increases the risk of heart problems. Stress can also be damaging to the heart.

Prevention

It is important to visit your doctor regularly in order to get the right diagnosis on time. Although some of cardiovascular diseases cannot be stopped, you can do a lot to improve your overall health condition and increase your strength. You must not smoke and you have to reduce the amount of stress as much as possible. You should do moderate exercises and keep your weight normal. Healthy food can contribute a lot to your health. Maintain proper hygiene habits can prevent infections which can be dangerous for your heart.