What are the most common heart diseases?

1. Coronary heart disease is the narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart.

Its symptoms are very evident, but there are some patients who have the disease and do not have any symptoms. When the heart is not getting enough oxygen and blood, the person will begin to feel discomfort and pain in the chest (angina), and will feel heaviness as if something is compressing the heart. These discomforts usually manifest themselves during intense emotional reactions or physical activity.

2 Unstable angina is a condition in which the heart does not receive enough blood and oxygen flow, causing chest pain that extends through the arm, jaw, shoulder, back, or neck; it is also accompanied by difficulty breathing and sweating.

3. Heart failure is a problem where the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body. Its form of manifestation is respiratory distress, inflamed abdomen or liver, swelling of the feet, fatigue, weakness, fainting, cough, lack of appetite, need to urinate at night, or an irregular pulse.

Sources

1. Kasper, D. and Harrison, T. (2005). Harrison's principles of internal medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division.
2. Farreras Valentí, P., Rozman, C., Domarus, A. and Lopez, F. (2012). Medicina interna. 17th ed.
3. Diamond GA, Forrester JS. Analysis of probability as an aid the clinical diagnosis of coronary-artery disease. N Engl J Med. 1979.
4. National Institutes of Health NH, Lung, and Blood Institute. 2012 NHLBI Morbidity and Mortality Chart Book on Cardiovascular, Lung, and Blood Diseases. Bethesda; 2012.