Cardiovascular diseases include: Vascular diseases such as coronary artery disease, myocarditis, arrhythmia and heart failure. Cardiovascular diseases appear silently but leave many serious consequences for the health and life of the patient.

1. High blood pressure

High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a chronic disease when the pressure of blood on the artery walls increases. High blood pressure causes a lot of pressure on the heart (increased burden on the heart) and is the cause of many serious cardiovascular complications such as: stroke, heart failure, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction,…

High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a chronic disease in which the pressure of blood against the artery walls is increased.

Hypertension  is a chronic disease that occurs when the blood pressure on the artery wall is higher than normal. According to the Ministry of Health’s 2010 hypertension treatment guidelines, hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure >= 90 mmHg.

Most hypertension in adults has no known cause (primary hypertension), only about 10% of cases have a cause (secondary hypertension). The cause of hypertension can be detected through history taking, clinical examination and routine paraclinical results. Some cases of hypertension that require attention to finding the cause include: hypertension in young people (<30 years old), resistant hypertension, progressive or malignant hypertension.

2. Heart valve disease

Heart valve disease occurs when one or more heart valves do not function properly to open and close to allow blood to flow in one direction. There are two common forms of heart valve disease: valve regurgitation and valve stenosis.

• Valve stenosis: When the valve leaflets are no longer soft, thickened or have sticky edges, limiting the ability to open and obstructing the flow of blood through them. The heart must pump harder to force blood through the narrowed area.
• Valve regurgitation: When the valve cannot close tightly, causing some of the blood to flow back into the heart chamber that previously pumped blood. Valve regurgitation is often caused by valve retraction, degeneration or dilation of the valve ring, or the valve ligaments being too long or the ligaments that support the heart valve being broken. When the valve is regurgitant, the heart must work harder to compensate for the lack of blood volume due to reflux and to process the remaining blood volume for the next contraction.

In some cases of heart valve disease, both valve stenosis and regurgitation and disease of multiple heart valves can occur in the same patient.

3. Atherosclerosis

The arterial system has the function of transporting blood from the heart, carrying oxygen and nutrients to nourish the body. Over the years, fats, cholesterol and other substances are deposited on the vessel walls (called atherosclerotic plaques) causing narrowing of the vessels, obstructing blood flow. This is called atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis can occur in many vascular systems such as: carotid arteries, coronary arteries, lower limb arteries… and causes many related diseases. Atherosclerosis is a gradual process, starting from a young age. The age at which events related to atherosclerosis occur is gradually getting younger. The exact cause of the disease is still unknown, but many factors that contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques are known. The onset of atherosclerotic plaque formation may be due to damage to the vascular endothelium. Some factors that can damage the vascular endothelium include: High blood pressure, high blood lipid levels, smoking, high blood sugar.

Atherosclerosis can occur in many vascular systems.

4. Myocardial ischemia

Myocardial ischemia (also known as myocardial ischemia) is a disease that occurs when blood flow to the heart is reduced, causing the heart to not receive enough oxygen for the contraction and pumping activity. Reduced blood flow to the heart is the result of partial or complete blockage of the branches of the cardiac artery (coronary artery). Myocardial ischemia reduces the heart’s pumping ability, causing damage to the heart muscle, in many cases leading to arrhythmia and myocardial infarction. Sudden blockage of the coronary artery can cause myocardial infarction. The cause of myocardial ischemia is mainly due to coronary atherosclerosis, accounting for more than 90%.

Some patients with myocardial ischemia do not show symptoms. However, when signs and symptoms appear, the most common is chest pain, usually on the left side of the body (angina). In addition, the symptoms of myocardial ischemia can be more easily recognized, including: neck or jaw pain, shoulder or arm pain, rapid heart rate, shortness of breath when exercising, nausea and vomiting, sweating, fatigue.

5. Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction occurs when there is a sudden complete or partial blockage of one of the coronary artery branches. If a part of the heart muscle dies due to anemia, the heart’s blood pumping function is no longer intact as before, causing consequences such as heart failure, cardiogenic shock, sudden cardiac death, etc.

The most common cause of myocardial infarction is atherosclerosis. This condition occurs due to atherosclerotic plaques that gradually accumulate over time and adhere to the walls of blood vessels, the components of which include cholesterol, calcium, and cell debris.

From about the age of 30, the patient’s body begins the process of forming and developing atherosclerotic plaques. This process takes place from several years to several decades.

In subjects with certain risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, lipid disorders, diabetes contribute to promoting vascular damage over time. These disorders make blood vessel walls susceptible to cholesterol molecules depositing and sticking.

The most common cause of myocardial infarction is atherosclerosis.

6. Myocarditis

Myocarditis is a disease that occurs when the heart muscle is inflamed by infectious factors, chemicals or in many cases of unknown cause. The disease can occur in healthy people without heart disease. The disease causes a high rate of sudden death if not detected and treated promptly. The cause of myocarditis is the invasion of viruses that attack the body, especially Coxacki virus, due to the use of certain drugs or chemicals, and an increase in thyroid hormones.

People with myocarditis in the early stages often have no signs and symptoms. When the condition progresses, signs and symptoms appear, including: shortness of breath, cough, fatigue, chest pain, swollen legs, high blood pressure, dizziness, etc.

Myocarditis will cause sudden death and can occur in healthy people who have not had heart disease before.

7. Heart failure

Heart failure is a pathological condition in which the heart is weakened and cannot complete its function of pumping blood to nourish the body normally (a workload compared to a normal person’s heart and the efficiency of pumping blood to nourish the organs in the body is reduced). Patients with heart failure always face cardiovascular events.

The patient’s level of heart failure is assessed based on functional symptoms and ability to exercise, divided into 4 levels:

• Level 1 heart failure: Considered latent heart failure, the patient can still exercise and live normally, without signs of shortness of breath, fatigue or chest pain. It is very difficult to detect heart failure at this latent stage.
• Level 2 heart failure: Mild heart failure, when resting, the patient does not feel any symptoms, but when exercising, they feel shortness of breath, fatigue and palpitations. These signs may be transient or too mild for the patient to consider as pathological symptoms
• Heart failure stage 3: Moderate heart failure. At this stage, the patient is quite limited in daily activities and activities. When resting, the symptoms are relieved, but when exercising, there is severe shortness of breath, panting, fatigue, and palpitations. The patient begins to feel anxious and goes to the hospital for examination. Therefore, treatment usually begins in stage 3 of heart failure
• Heart failure stage 4: Severe heart failure. The patient always feels tired, almost unable to perform any physical activity, daily activities become very difficult and can only do light tasks, shortness of breath occurs even when resting. The patient has to be hospitalized more often.