Internal Medicine

An overview of the diseases of the heart

There are a variety of heart diseases, often with many different causes. Inflammation, injury, and change in old age can transform and damage the heart. Here you will find a selection of the most common heart diseases.

Classification of diseases of the heart

Below you will find the most common heart diseases divided into:

Structural changes in the heart
Vascular diseases of the heart
Infectious heart disease
Disturbances in the spread of excitation in the heart
Congenital heart disease
More heart disease

Structural changes in the heart

Heart murmurs

When listening to the heart, you can normally only hear so-called heart sounds. These reflect different actions of the heart and should be heard rhythmically and clearly. A heart murmur, on the other hand, is a sound that does not belong to the normal heartbeat.
Heart murmurs can exist without any disease value, but can also indicate a heart defect or a disease of the heart valves.

For more information on this topic, see: Heart murmurs

Valvular heart disease

There are four heart valves in total, each of which can be damaged in two directions by different causes. The four heart valves ensure that the heart chambers fill up sufficiently during the relaxation phase and that the blood can be pumped in the right direction during the ejection phase. Ultimately, they're basically there to ensure that blood is only pumped in one direction. Their function is impaired if there is a stenosis (obstruction of discharge) or insufficiency (incomplete valve closure).

Further information on this topic is available at: Valvular heart disease.

Aortic valve changes

The aortic valve is located on the left ventricle. The blood is carried past it to reach the aorta and the rest of the body. There are several reasons for aortic valve stenosis or insufficiency. The result of the stenosis is an obstruction of the blood flow through the valve, which is often reflected in a heart murmur. With aortic valve insufficiency, the valve does not close completely, which allows blood to flow from the aorta back to the heart, adding additional stress to the heart.

Further information on this topic is available at:

Aortic stenosis
and
Aortic regurgitation

Mitral valve changes

There are various causes for structural changes in the Mtralvalve. The most common forms include mitral valve stenosis, prolapse, and regurgitation. In the case of stenosis and prolapse (protrusion of the valve), the blood flow in the heart is impeded. Mitral valve regurgitation results in incomplete closure of the valve, which usually allows the blood to flow in the wrong direction and increases the heart's activity.

You can find more information on these topics at:

Mitral valve stenosis
Mitral valve prolapse
and
Mitral valve regurgitation.

Heart muscle diseases

The term cardiomyopathy generally describes damage to the heart muscle. Further subdivisions can be made with regard to the cause of the disease, such as whether the result is a cardiac muscle thickening or some other structural change. In most cases there is an impairment of the heart function.

Further information on this topic can be found at: Cardiomyopathy, cardiac insufficiency and myocardial thickening.

Vascular disease of the heart

Coronary artery disease (CHD)

In the presence of coronary heart disease (CHD), the coronary vessels (so-called coronary arteries), through which the heart muscle is supplied with oxygen and important nutrients, are narrowed. The blood flow in the coronaries is reduced, so that the heart is insufficiently supplied. The most common cause of coronary heart disease in industrialized countries is atherosclerosis (so-called hardening of the arteries) of the coronary vessels.

Read more on this topic at: Coronary Heart Disease.

Angina pectoris

The term angina pectoris stands for a tightness in the chest, which is associated with severe acute pain. The trigger for the attack is an insufficient supply of blood to the heart, a so-called ischemia. Angina pectoris is a cardinal symptom for coronary artery disease (CHD).

Read more on this topic at: Angina Pectoris.

Heart attack

Heart attack (myocardial infarction) is defined as the destruction of myocardial cells due to an oxygen deficiency (ischemia) of the heart or a circumscribed region of the heart. In more than 95% of cases, the cause of the disease is coronary heart disease. The most common symptom in acute situations is attack-like, violent pain behind the breastbone (angina pectoris).

Circulatory weakness

By definition, circulatory weakness (hypotension) is present when the systolic blood pressure value (the value that is usually mentioned first or appears above) is less than 105 mmHg. The second value, called the diastolic blood pressure, is usually below 65mmHg in people with hypotension. The result is that the brain is briefly not supplied with enough blood, which makes you feel weak and drowsy. Occasionally, especially after getting up quickly, an uncomfortable attack can occur.

Read more on this topic: Circulatory weakness

Aortic aneurysm

An aortic aneurysm is a bulging of the vessel wall or walls. At least one layer must be affected to meet the definition. There are generally 3 types of aortic aneurysm, the verum, dissecans and spurium aneurysm.

Read more on this topic: Aortic Aneurysm.

Coarctation of the aorta

Coarctation of the aorta refers to a narrowing of the aortic vessel in the area of the aortic isthmus. After exiting the heart, the aorta makes an arch (aortic arch). The narrowed point is at the point of transition to the descending aorta, the descending branch of the arch. The fetal ductus arteriosus Botalli also joins here.

Read more on this topic: Aortic stenosis and aorta.

Infectious heart disease

Inflammation of the heart muscle (myocarditis)

Myocarditis describes the inflammation of the heart muscle. The causes for this can be varied. If the disease is caused by bacteria and viruses, it is called infectious mycarditis. However, if toxic substances are a possible cause, it is the toxic form of the disease.

Read more on this topic: Myocarditis and myocarditis.

Endocarditis

Inflammation of the heart valves (endocarditis) is a potentially life-threatening disease, usually caused by microbial pathogens (i.e. viruses, bacteria or fungi).
Structural damage to the heart valves associated with a functional defect is not uncommon as a result.

Read more on this topic: Endocarditis.

Inflammation of the pericardium (pericarditis)

With an inflammation of the pericardium, which is technically known as pericarditis, there is an inflammation of the pericardium, which limits the heart to the outside. Per year there are probably 1,000 diseases per million inhabitants, so the disease is not that rare.
However, the disease is often not discovered because it is symptom-free and often heals on its own within one to two weeks.

Disturbances in the spread of excitation

Cardiac arrhythmias

A cardiac arrhythmia (also called arrhythmia, "non-rhythmic") is a disruption of the normal heartbeat sequence, caused by irregular processes in the formation and conduction of excitation in the heart muscle. The disorder can manifest itself in many different clinical pictures. Cardiac arrhythmias can be life-threatening and occur as a result of diseases of the heart or other diseases. But they also occur in organically healthy people and cannot have any disease value.

Read more on this topic: cardiac arrhythmia.

Racing heart (tachycardia)

Tachycardia describes a whole group of different cardiac arrhythmias. What they have in common is an inappropriately fast pulse of more than 100 beats per minute and the origin of the arrhythmia above the ventricles. It mostly affects younger patients, women more often than men.

Read more about this topic: Tachycardia and Increased Heart Rate- When is a heart rate too high?

Pacemaker

A pacemaker is an artificial clock for the heart. It is used in patients who have a heart that beats too slowly (bradycardia) or who pauses frequently. The device emits electrical impulses at regular intervals that stimulate the heart muscle and thereby stimulate it to contract (contraction).

Asystole

The term asystole is a medical term. It describes the complete lack of electrical and mechanical heart action, so the heart stands still. If left untreated, asystole is fatal within a very short time and requires immediate medical intervention. An asystole can be seen on the EKG. Clinically, it shows up, among other things, by a missing pulse.

Congenital heart disease

Fallot tetralogy

The Fallot tetralogy is a congenital heart defect. It is one of the most common cyanotic heart defects. Cyanotic means that the heart defect has a negative effect on the oxygen content of the blood. The blood that is pumped from the heart to the organs therefore contains too little oxygen. This type of heart defect has what is known as a right-left shunt. So there is a normally non-existent connection between the right and left hearts.

Read more on this topic: Fallot tetralogy.

Heart defect

A heart defect is congenital or acquired damage to the heart or to individual heart structures and adjacent vessels, which can lead to a functional impairment of the cardiovascular system or the cardiopulmonary system.

Read more about this: Heart defects.

More heart disease

Heart failure

One speaks of heart failure (or general weakness of the heart) when the heart is no longer able to pump the necessary amount of blood through the circulation. This is mainly due to the fact that the two heart chambers no longer exert enough force to keep the circulatory function stable. As a result, the physical resilience is reduced, it comes to fatigue and weaknesses.

Read more on this topic: Heart failure (heart failure).

Broken Heart Syndrome

The broken heart syndrome is usually referred to in medical jargon as Takotsubo syndrome or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. The disease is a sudden onset, temporary weakness of the heart pumping which occurs after particularly stressful events and is clinically like a heart attack.

Read more on this topic: Broken Heart Syndrome and Heart Attack.

Pericardial effusion

Pericardial effusion is an enlarged accumulation of fluid (from around 50 ml) in the pericardium (= pericardium). With a small effusion, often no symptoms are perceived. If the effusion slowly gets bigger over time, symptoms are usually noticeable from an amount of 300 ml, which can consist of shortness of breath, high blood pressure or a racing heart. In addition, those affected usually feel physically weak and occasionally feel pain behind the sternum.

Read more about this: Pericardial effusion and water in the pericardium.

Heart pounding

Many patients use the term "palpitations" to describe a sudden, sharp pain in the chest area.
This pain can have many different causes, so there is no universal answer to how dangerous this heartbeat is. Further information, such as e.g. Medical history or the circumstances in which the pain occurred.

Read more on this topic: Palpitations and signs of a heart attack.

Heart pain

Heart pain is a technical term in medicine called angina pectoris. Literally translated, the term describes tightness or oppression that can be felt in the chest. Many people feel this feeling like strong pressure on the sternum. However, this is perceived differently by each person and can also radiate into other parts of the body or be accompanied by other accompanying symptoms.

Read more about this: Heart pain and angina pectoris.