Common Heart Conditions

High Blood Pressure

Also known as Hypertension, high blood pressure means the force of blood moving through your blood vessels is too high. When you have high blood pressure, your heart is working harder than it should in order to keep blood flowing through your body. Over time this type of overwork can cause damage to your heart and cardiovascular system.

According to the American Heart Association, nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure -- but many have no idea they have it. That's why it's sometimes called a silent killer. Because high blood pressure can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and more.

The only way to know if you have high blood pressure is to monitor it with a pressure cuff. Readings higher than 130/80 are considered High. Check with your doctor about how to lower your blood pressure and see other resources at the American Heart Association.

Heart Attack

Year after year, heart attack is one of the top causes of death in the United States. While the damage it causes seems to come out of nowhere, heart attacks result from a combination of lifestyle choices and genetics. Though genetics certainly play a role in your risk, your likelihood of suffering a heart attack increases if you smoke, are overweight, eat an unhealthy diet and don’t get sufficient exercise.

A heart attack occurs when plaque (waxy, fatty substance) builds up in the arteries so that blood cannot pass through. This stops blood from reaching the heart, which results in a variety of symptoms, including intense chest pain, pain in the jaw, arms or back, nausea, cold sweat, sudden fatigue, and shortness of breath.

Arrhythmia

There are a variety of arrhythmias, but all of them mean your heart is beating irregularly, whether it beats sporadically, too quickly or too slowly. These atypical conditions can be present at birth or develop at any age or stage of life and can be caused by electrical malfunctions or anatomical irregularities within the heart.

Depending on the type and severity of the arrhythmia, treatment options range from medication to pacemaker placement to surgery.

Congestive Heart Failure

Also known as CHF, congestive heart failure occurs when the heart doesn’t have the strength necessary to pump blood through your body. Whereas heart attacks occur because blood can’t travel through plaque-filled arteries, CHF occurs because the heart muscle grows weak or stiff.

When this happens and the heart doesn’t push enough blood through the body, a number of symptoms may arise, the most common being shortness of breath like the feeling of being out of breath after a race. Many patients describe it as they feeling of just having run a marathon.

Cardiology Services

• Preventive Cardiology
• Screening, diagnosing, and treating coronary artery disease (CAD)
• Screening, diagnosing, and treating congestive heart failure (CHF)
• Stress testing
• Echocardiograms
• Heart monitoring
• Medication management
• Referrals for invasive procedures