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Heart disease is a term for several diseases and conditions, including heart attack, coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure. It is the world's leading cause of death and disability. Every 10 minutes, an Australian dies as a result of these health problems.
The term cardiovascular disease is also used. 'Cardio' refers to the heart, and 'vascular' to the blood vessels (arteries and veins).
A number of conditions involve the heart or the circulation of blood through the blood vessels:
- coronary heart disease
- heart attack
- heart failure
- stroke
- arrhythmias – abnormal heart beats
- aneurysm – a bulge caused by weakening of the heart muscle or artery
- septal defect – an abnormal opening between the left and right sides of the heart
- peripheral vascular disease – a disease of the large blood vessels of the arms, legs, and feet
- rheumatic heart disease – caused by rheumatic fever, and mainly affecting the heart valves
- congenital heart disease – defects or malformations in the heart or blood vessels that occur before birth.
Can you prevent heart disease?
Some conditions, such as heart defects, tend to be genetic and cannot be prevented.
But several things are known to increase the risk of developing heart disease. These include smoking and lack of exercise. Whether you have some of these risk factors depends to some extent on circumstances, including income, education, and access to health care.
People with two or more risk factors in their lives are much more likely to get heart disease than those with one or none.
Quiz: Check your heart health IQ
Healthy living lowers your risk
By improving your lifestyle, including your diet and level of fitness, you can minimise your risk of getting cardiovascular disease. Even if you have two or more risk factors, you can still make changes that will reduce your chances of developing heart problems.
