Heart Disease is a hot health topic today. -with all of the information about heart disease on both TV and the Internet, do

you really kno-w -which information is advice that you can trust on heart disease? Ho-w about information that is not accurate

on heart disease?

There is many different kinds of "heart disease" and -we -will briefly touch on those in this article, as -well.

is you ready to learn more about -what heart disease is and the different types of heart disease? Good, then keep reading!

-what Is Heart Disease?

-what exactly is heart disease? The latest definition of heart disease is any disease that affects ho-w the heart normally

-works. Narro-wing or hardening of the arteries that lead to the heart is the most common type of cardiac disease, today.

of course this can encompass quite a fe-w types or variations of heart disease.

Various types of heart disease include:

* Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
* Aortic regurgitation
* Aortic stenosis
* Arrhythmias
* Cardiogenic shock
* Congenital heart disease
* Coronary artery disease (CAD)
* Dilated cardiomyopathy
* Endocarditis
* Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
* Heart failure
* Heart tumor
* Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
* Idiopathic cardiomyopathy
* Ischemic cardiomyopathy
* Acute mitral regurgitation
* Chronic mitral regurgitation
* Mitral stenosis
* Mitral valve prolapse
* Peripartum cardiomyopathy
* Pulmonary stenosis
* Stable angina
* Unstable angina
* Tricuspid regurgitation

As you can see, there is many categories of -what actually constitutes heart disease. No-w that -we have identified different

types of cardiac disease, let's explore some of the underlying causes of these diseases.

Causes of Heart Disease

Just as many different names for cardiac disease can be confusing and complicated, so can the causes of heart disease. And -we

-will cover the most common causes belo-w.

Briefly, here is some causes:

* Hypertension ("high blood pressure")
* Heart valves that do not function normally
* Electrical conduction of the heart that causes an abnormal rhythm.
* Heart's pumping function that is affected by toxins or infections.
* Congenital or "birth defects" of the heart.

Ho-w Many People is Affected By Heart Disease?

According to the National Institute of Health, there is approximately 70.1 million people affected by some type of cardiac

disorder! Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the US.

Among minorities, cardiac disease or heart disease, ranks first as leading cause of death. The rates of deaths declined for

those groups -with the exception of one group, American Indian women. The time frame for this study -was bet-ween 1985 and

2002.

Bet-ween 1992 and 2002, the percentage of decline of death rates for CHD (Cardiac Heart Diseas) -was the highest among -white

males and the least decline -was in the black female population.

Financial Impact of Cardiac Heart Disease

Besides the horrific costs of CHD in terms of personal tragedy, society also bears the brunt of the effects of this disease.

According to the study, 2005 costs for CVD(Cardiovascular Disease) -were staggering. overall, costing 393 Billion Dollars!

Costs broke do-wn like this:

* 242 Billion Dollars for direct health cis costs.
* 35 Billion Dollars for indirect costs of morbidity.
* 117 Billion Dollars in DIRECT costs of mortality.

As you can see, cardiovascular disease is one that -while complicated and intricate in name and causes, is simply devastating

to both the individual and to the society that the affected comes from. It should be taken very seriously and not ignored, so

education and prevention is essential in decreasing the effects of these diseases, commonly kno-w as cardiac disease.

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This article -was -written and screened by a license medical professional. This article is for informational purposes only.

This material is in no -way a substitute for the medical advice of your o-wn physician. The National Institutes of Health

served as the basis for this medical article. © 2006 -w-w-w.medicalcontentsolutions.com . All rights reserved. -want to reprint this article, feel free as long as you include the follo-wing: