A heart attack is caused by coronary heart disease, or coronary artery disease. Heart disease may be caused by cholesterol buildup in the coronary arteries (atherosclerosis), blood clots, or spasm of the vessels that supply blood to the heart.
Risk factors for a heart attack are high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol, family history of heart attacks at young ages (younger than 60 years), one or more previous heart attacks, male gender, and obesity.
Postmenopausal women are at higher risk than premenopausal women. This is thought to be due to loss of the protective effects of the hormone estrogen at menopause. It has been treated by hormone supplements (hormone replacement therapy, or HRT). Recently, research findings have changed our thinking on HRT; long-term HRT is no longer recommended for most women.
Use of cocaine and similar stimulants is a risk factor for heart attack.
Angina may be caused by spasm, narrowing, or partial blockage of an artery that supplies blood to the heart.
The most common cause is coronary heart disease, in which a blood clot or buildup of fatty material inside the blood vessel (atherosclerosis) reduces blood flow but does not completely block the blood vessel.
Angina can be triggered by exercise or physical exertion, by emotional stress, or by certain heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmias) that cause the heart to beat very fast.
Aortic dissection may be caused by conditions that damage the innermost lining of the aorta.
These include uncontrolled high blood pressure, connective-tissue diseases, cocaine use, advanced age, pregnancy, congenital heart disease, and cardiac catheterization (a medical procedure).
Men are at higher risk than women.
A similar condition is aortic aneurysm. This is an enlargement of the aorta that can rupture, causing pain and bleeding. Aneurysms can occur in the aorta in the chest or the abdomen.
Risk factors for pulmonary embolus include sedentary lifestyle or obesity, prolonged immobility, fracture of a long bone of the legs, pregnancy, cancer, history or family history of blood clots, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias), heart attack, or congestive heart failure. Women who use birth control pills and smoke cigarettes are at higher risk than women who have only one or neither of these risk factors.
Spontaneous pneumothorax occurs when the pressure balance between the sac that contains the lung and the outside atmosphere is disrupted.
Injury to the chest that pierces through to the lung sac is the most common cause of this condition.
This can be caused by trauma, as in a car wreck or bad fall, by a gunshot wound or stabbing, or in surgery.
Other risk factors include AIDS-related pneumonia, emphysema, severe asthma, cystic fibrosis, cancer, and marijuana and crack cocaine use.
The viscus may be perforated by direct or indirect injury. Risk factors not related to trauma are untreated ulcers, prolonged or forceful vomiting, swallowing a foreign body, cancer, appendicitis, long-term steroid use, infection of the gallbladder, gallstones, and AIDS.
Pericarditis can be caused by viral infection, bacterial infection, cancer, connective-tissue diseases, certain medications, radiation treatment, and chronic renal failure.
One life-threatening complication of pericarditis is cardiac tamponade.
Cardiac tamponade is an accumulation of fluid around the heart.
This prevents the heart from effectively pumping blood to the body.
Symptoms of cardiac tamponade include sudden onset of shortness of breath, fainting, and chest pain.
Mitral valve prolapse is thought to be an inherited birth disorder and affects as much as 10 percent of the population, mostly women. People with connective-tissue diseases and skeletal abnormalities (such as severe curvature or straightening of the spine or a concave chest) are at increased risk for this disorder.
Pneumonia may be caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal infections of the lungs.
Chest pain originating from the esophagus may have several causes.
Acid reflux (GERD) may be caused by any factors that decrease the pressure on the lower part of the esophagus, decrease movement of the esophagus, or prolong emptying of the stomach. This condition may be brought on by consumption of high-fat foods, nicotine use, alcohol use, caffeine, pregnancy, certain medications (for examples, nitrates, calcium channel blockers, anticholinergics, estrogen, progesterone), diabetes, or scleroderma.
Esophagitis may be caused by yeast, fungi, viruses, bacteria, or irritation from medications.
Esophageal spasm is caused by excessive, intensified, or uncoordinated contractions of the smooth muscle of the esophagus. Spasm may be triggered by emotional upset or swallowing very hot or cold liquids.
Circulatory System
Circulatory System, or cardiovascular system, in humans, the combined function of the heart, blood, and blood vessels to transport oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues throughout the body and carry away waste products. Among its vital functions, the circulatory system increases the flow of blood to meet increased energy demands during exercise and regulates body temperature.
