As we mentioned in the previous articles, heart diseases are caused by high blood pressure that contributes to hardening and thinning of the arteries. High levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) builds up in the arteries as a result of uncontrolled diet with high levels of saturated fat and trans fat. In this article, we will discuss other types of heart diseases that can affect any part of the heart including the following:

I. A cardiac tumor can be either malignant or benign

A) Benign tumors

1. Myxoma

Myxoma is a cardiac benign tumor. It is the most common tumor inside of cavities of the heart and most of them occur in the left atrium of the heart obstructing the normal flow of blood within the chambers of the heart. Symptoms of Myxoma include paroxysmal dyspnea, weight loss, feverhemoptysis, lightheadedness and sudden death.

2. Rhabdomyomas

Most of rhabdomyomas occur in children or infants and are associated with tuberous sclerosis. It develops in the myocardium or the endocardium and accounts for about one out of every five tumors that originate in the heart causing obstruction of blood flow, valvular insufficiency, and cardiac arrhythmias. Symptoms of rhabdomyomas include palpitations, chest pains, shortness of breath, and nausea.

3. Fibromas

Fibromas develop in the myocardium or the endocardium. These tumors are composed of fibrous or connective tissue and tend to occur on the valves of the heart and may be related to inflammation. Other than seeing or feeling the fibroma, there are no usual symptoms.

4. Teratomas of the pericardium

It is often attached to the base of the great vessels, usually occuring in infants. They are rarer than cysts or lipomas, usually causes no symptoms.

B) Malignant tumors

Malignant tumors that originated elsewhere in the body and spread to the heart are more common than ones that originate in the heart. Malignant heart tumors can originate from any heart tissue. They occur mostly in children.

1. Angiosarcomas

Angiosarcomas account for about a third of all malignant heart tumors and usually start on the right side of the heart. The cause of angiosarcomas is usually unknown and symptoms of angiosarcomas differ according to the location of the tumour. Often symptoms of the disease are not apparent until the tumour is well advanced.

2. Fibrosarcomas

Fibrosarcomas occur as a soft-tissue mass or as a primary or secondary bone tumor. The 2 main types of fibrosarcoma of bone are

a) Primary fibrosarcoma is a fibroblastic malignancy that produces variable amounts of collagen

b) Secondary fibrosarcoma of bone arises from a preexisting lesion or after radiotherapy to an area of bone or soft tissue. Symptoms of fibrosarcomas include broken bone, pain, swelling, lump found under skin or bone, frequent urination and urinary obstruction.

3. Rhabdomyosarcomas

Rhabdomyosarcomas are a cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles of the body and are also more common in children. They usually have some type of chromosome abnormality in the cells of the tumor, which are responsible for the tumor formation. Symptoms of rhabdomyosarcomas include bleeding from the nose, vagina, rectum, throat and tingling, numbness, and pain.

4.) Liposarcomas

Liposarcoma normally appears as a slowly enlarging, painless, nonulcerated submucosal mass in a middle-aged person. Symptoms include palpation, weakness, limitation of motion weight loss, fatigue, and lassitude.

II. Sudden cardiac death

The victim may or may not have diagnosis of heart diseases and the death is totally unexpected. Sudden cardiac death is a result from abrupt loss of heart function. The cause of sudden cardiac dealth might be a result of coronary heart disease.

III. Hypertensive heart disease

Hypertensive heart disease are caused by high blood pressure that increases the work load of the heart. Overtime the muscles of the heart become thick in result of an enlarged left ventricle and decreased blood pump from the heart. Symptoms of heart failure include shortness of breath, swelling in the feet, ankles, or abdomen, fatigue, irregular pulse, nausea and frequent urination at night.

I hope this brief information will help. If you have any symptoms above please consult with your doctor immediately. If you want more information of the above subject please visit:

Kyle J. Norton

http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com

http://heartdiseasespartxv.blogspot.com/