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Care for Cardiology
- Saanvi Khurana
- Jan 26, 2024
- 5 min read
By Shreya Chhibber
At the core of our bodies lies a marvel of engineering: the heart. Especially In a country where heart disease is the number one killer, it is important to know the basics about this disease and how it came to play such a big part in the world.
When someone mentions heart disease, most people automatically assume they are speaking about coronary heart disease. However, there are in reality over 30 different types of heart diseases, all very deadly.
Though most believe that the disease is a recent phenomenon, Heart disease can be traced back to the time of the Egyptians. It all seemingly began with the Egyptian princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon, who had a buildup of plaque in her arteries that led to a heart attack. Through the CT scans performed in the Horus study conducted in 2008, cardiologists discovered Arterial calcification, a sign of atherosclerosis, in more of these cases in 52 more mummies. What could possibly have caused this? Cardiologists believe chronic exposure to cooking-fire smoke may have played a huge factor as these Egyptians were known to live on a diet rich in vegetables and small amounts of meat while maintaining an active lifestyle. The confusion in what caused this disease caused cardiologists to diverge deeper into more heart diseases.
The most common heart diseases include coronary artery disease, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, stroke, heart failure, and angina. The less common ones include Cardiomyopathy, Pericarditis, Congenital heart valve disease, Pulmonary hypertension, and Atrial fibrillation.
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Coronary artery disease: The narrowing of arteries due to cholesterol plaque buildup in the wall of the arteries that supply blood to the heart
Arrhythmia: The heart beating too fast or too slow due to a problem with the electrical signals in the heart.
Congenital Heart Defect: CHDs are present at birth and can affect the way a baby lives in the future. There are many types of heart defects including Atrial Septal Defect, where there is a hole in the septum (wall of the heart that divides upper chambers of the heart), Pulmonary Atresia, where the valve that controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs doesn’t form, and Tricuspid Atresia, where the valve that controls blood flow from the right upper chamber of the heart to the lower of the heart doesn’t form at all.
Angina: squeezing chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart
Cardiomyopathy: a disease that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body
Pericarditis: Pain in the heart caused by the layers of the pericardium rubbing against each other due to swelling in the tissue surrounding the heart called pericardium.
Congenital heart valve disease: malformations of the heart valves, such as missing one of its leaflets.
Stroke: when something blocks blood supply to the brain or when a brain blood vessel bursts and a part of the brain dies.
Pulmonary hypertension: a condition when the blood pressure in the lungs is higher than usual.
Atrial fibrillation: a condition when the heart’s upper chambers beat irregularly, out of sync with the ventricles.
Heart failure: all the above diseases, especially Coronary artery disease, can lead to heart failure.
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Now that we understand the different cardiac diseases present in society, it’s vital we understand how we learned about them. Within the rich tapestry of medical history, certain individuals stand out as pioneers in understanding the heart and its complexities. One of these individuals was William Harvey. In 1620, William Harvey discovered the mechanisms of blood circulation and published his research in Germany. Harvis’s discovery gave a profound answer to many questions including how the blood, with its great quantity and velocity, kept inside the body. Although this idea wasn’t accepted into the world right away, William continued his work and lectures till the age of 79, by which time he could see that the work was accepted by most of the world. A similar notable figure was Stephen Hales. Many years before there was a way to measure human blood pressure, Stephen Hales demonstrated that the blood in human arteries was under the influence of pressure in the 1730s. That instrument, otherwise known as the mercurial manometer and armband, was invented in 1830 by Riva Rocci and is the basis of most heart instruments used today.
Furthermore, it is vital to acknowledge that Cardiology is a diverse field within itself. According to Johns Hopkins’s Heart and Vascular Institute, cardiology specialists can be divided into 4 main sections: cardiology, cardiac surgery, vascular surgery, and pediatric heart care. Another way to classify different specialists in the field of cardiology is by the type of treatment necessary for an individual’s condition. The main 3 categories include invasive, noninvasive, and interventional cardiology. Invasive cardiology relates to open treatments in which surgically restoring function is required by fixing structural abnormalities. As the name suggests, noninvasive cardiology doesn’t require the insertion of needles/instruments into the body. Lastly, interventional cardiology is most often used to fix structural abnormalities by inserting a heart catheter/pacemaker.
Here are some specialists in the fields mentioned previously:
General Adult Cardiologists
Cardiac Imaging Specialists
Electrophysiologists
Adult Congenital Heart Specialists
Interventional Cardiologists
Cardiac Rehabilitation Specialists
Cardiac Surgeons
Cardiac Transplant Specialists
Cardio-Oncologist
There are many more specialties within the field.
But who is more susceptible to heart disease (CVD)? It’s low-income people. Originally CVD was called “the rich man’s disease” while developing countries were known to have been affected by infectious diseases. However, that demographic is now changing. Air pollution, smoking, unhealthy sources of nutrition, and lack of exercise are all factors that can exacerbate CVD among individuals. Specifically, those with a lack of accessibility to resources and hospitals can be greatly affected by heart diseases.
On a global scale, developing countries (which are mostly affected by pollution and poverty) are at higher risk for CVD and the mortality rate due to cardiac issues has increased with over ¾ of deaths contributed from developing countries.
Hence, it’s important for governments to intervene and allocate resources efficiently depending on the prevalence of certain conditions in their countries (such as hypertension, obesity, etc.). Smoking is also a huge factor when it comes to CVD. Thus, public health education can greatly increase smoking cessation among countries. In fact, studies done on cardiac health differences among different socio-economic countries show that people who didn’t go through much education in lower-income countries were more susceptible to heart disease. In contrast, education didn’t play a major role in higher-income countries. Ergo, the first step to take toward preventing cardiac mishaps is education.
With many specialists and treatment methods, cardiology is a vast and diverse field with something to always discover. The enriching history enables cardiologists to perform life-saving surgeries and practices. This treatment should be given to everyone regardless of their demographic factors. Overall, cardiology is a field where professionals advance methods and techniques using breakthroughs in research, helping them make hearts beat stronger and advocate the importance of heart health.
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