What is Cardiovascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease （heart disease ）is caused by disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and includes coronary heart disease (heart attacks), cerebrovascular disease (stroke), raised blood pressure (hypertension), peripheral artery disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease and heart failure. The major causes of cardiovascular disease are tobacco use, physical inactivity, an unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and they include:
heart attacks (coronary heart disease) – disease of the blood vessels supplying the heart muscle;
stroke (cerebrovascular disease)- disease of the blood vessels supplying the brain;
peripheral arterial disease – disease of blood vessels supplying the arms and legs;
rheumatic heart disease – damage to the heart muscle and heart valves from rheumatic fever, caused by streptococcal bacteria;
congenital heart disease - malformations of heart structure existing at birth;
deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism – blood clots in the leg veins, which can dislodge and move to the heart and lungs.
Symptoms of heart disease
--Symptoms of heart attacks
pain or discomfort in the centre of the chest;
pain or discomfort in the arms, the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back.
In addition the person may experience difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath; feeling sick or vomiting; feeling light-headed or faint; breaking into a cold sweat; and becoming pale. Women are more likely to have shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
Symptoms of strokes
The most common symptom of a stroke is sudden weakness of the face, arm, or leg, most often on one side of the body.
Other symptoms include sudden onset of:
numbness of the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body;
confusion, difficulty speaking or understanding speech;
difficulty seeing with one or both eyes;
difficulty walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination;
severe headache with no known cause; and
fainting or unconsciousness.
Symptoms of rheumatic heart disease
Symptoms of rheumatic heart disease include: shortness of breath, fatigue, irregular heart beats, chest pain and fainting.
Symptoms of rheumatic fever include: fever, pain and swelling of the joints, nausea, stomach cramps and vomiting.
How to Prevent Heart Disease
Very cost effective interventions that are feasible to be implemented even in low resource settings have been identified by WHO for prevention and control of heart diseases.
Heart disease and stroke can be prevented through healthy diet, regular physical activity and avoiding tobacco smoke. Individuals can reduce their risk of CVDs by engaging in regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco use and second-hand tobacco smoke, choosing a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and avoiding foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt, and maintaining a healthy body weight and avoiding the harmful use of alcohol.
Traditional Drugs and Daily Dosages for Treating Heart Disease
--Captopril
initial dose 6.25 to 12.5 mg three times daily, increasing to 25–50 mg three times daily
--Enalapril
initial dose 2.5–5.0 mg twicedaily, increasing to 10–20 mg twice daily
--Nifedipine
Starting at 30 mg increasing to 120 mg once daily
--Hypdrocholorothiazide
Starting at 12.5 mg increasing to 25 mg once daily
--Bendrofluazide
2.5 mg as a single daily dose.
--Propranolol
80 mg twice daily
--Atenolol
Starting at 50 mg to 100mg once daily
--Metoprolol
50–100 mg twice daily
--Simvastatin
Initial dose 10 mg once at night, increasing to 40 mg once at night
--Aspirin
Starting at 75-100 mg daily
--Glibenclamide
Starting at 2.5 mg increasing to 5 mg twice daily before meals
--Metformin
Starting at 0.5 g increasing to1.0 g three times daily
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