heart cardiac (54)

Heart disease is a generic term used to refer to any of the numerous types of medical conditions that can affect the health and functioning of the heart. The most common sign of heart disease is blockage or narrowing of the coronary arteries, i.e., blood vessels that carry blood to the heart.

The different types of heart conditions include:

• Blood vessel disease 
• Irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias 
• Congenital heart defects
• Heart muscle diseases
• Heart valve illnesses

Initially, heart disease may not result in visible symptoms. However, with the passage of time, heart ailment may cause serious complications, including sudden fatality. For this reason, timely heart checkup is crucial to maintain the organ's health and regulate the underlying problems, if any.

The symptoms of heart disease depend on the type and severity of the illness.

• Blood vessel diseases lead to plaque building or atherosclerosis, causing chest pain, shortness of breath, leg numbness, body pain etc. 
• With arrhythmias, a patient faces chest pain, dizziness, syncope or fainting, and tachycardia or bradycardia. 
• In congenital disabilities, the symptoms in children include pale grey or blue skin, swelling in legs, shortness of breath during feeding and poor weight gain.
• Cardiomyopathy or weak heart muscle causes the patient to face chronic fatigue, restlessness, lightheadedness, pounding heartbeats etc.

The most common risk factors that contribute to the occurrence of heart diseases are:

• High blood pressure 
• High blood cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity-related conditions 
• Family history of heart diseases
• Physical inactivity
• Extreme alcohol abuse
• Lifestyle factors like smoking, unhealthy diet etc.

Heart diseases are also linked to the effects of mental health problems. People experiencing mental ailments like depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD can experience physiological effects like arrhythmia, reduced blood flow to the heart  and increased levels of cortisol hormone.

Specific segments of the population can develop heart disease due to mental health issues such as: 

• Veterans with PTSD
• Women with anxiety and depression

Due to the severity of the impact of heart diseases and the contribution of other conditions, it is essential to diagnose the heart's health at an early stage. The essential heart checkup recommended by a cardiologist include:

• Lipid Profile: This test analyses the availability and ratio of good and bad cholesterol in the body to check for the possibility of blockages.
• Prothrombin Time: This test determines the blood clotting time to identify the coagulation capacity as a predictor of heart disease.
• D-Dimer: This assessment also checks the hypercoagulability and thrombotic events to identify venous and arterial events in patients.
• High Sensitive (HS) Troponin I Quantitative Test: This diagnosis checks the presence of Troponin I, which is a marker of myocardial infarction in the heart. 
• Platelet Count: Platelet count helps to screen and diagnose health issues that may affect the optimum number of platelets in the body.
• Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT/SGPT), Serum: Also known as the SGPT Test, this helps screen the liver for any damage and risk factors for developing any liver diseases.
• NT- Pro BNP (N - Terminal Pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide): This test helps in detecting, diagnosing, and evaluating the severity of heart disease such as congestive heart failure (CHF).

Apollo 24|7 offers a comprehensive heart checkup facility with modern tools and technology. The platform provides easy health checkup options, including digitised records and quick test result delivery as per the patient’s demand.