American Heart Congress - CVD

Coronary heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease is caused due to narrowing of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply oxygen and blood to the heart. Coronary heart disease (CHD) usually occurs when cholesterol accumulates on the artery walls, creating plaques which lead to the narrowing of arteries, reducing blood flow to the heart. When the plaque builds up in the arteries which occur over many years, the condition is called Atherosclerosis.

Congenital heart defect is a problem with the structure of the heart, which is present at birth. Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect which can involve the walls of the heart, the valves of the heart, and the arteries and veins near the heart. They can disrupt the normal flow of blood through the heart which can slow down the blood flow, and pumps in the wrong direction or to the wrong place, or be blocked completely. Many congenital heart defects cause few or no signs and symptoms and are often not diagnosed until adulthood. Treatment can include medicines, catheter procedures, surgery, and heart transplants depending on the type of the defect, its severity, child's age, size, and general health

Cardiac arrhythmia can be defined as a problem of heart rhythm. In this condition, the heart beats either too quick, too slow, or in an irregular pattern. When the heart beats more rapidly than normal, it is called tachycardia and when it beats too slowly, it is called bradycardia. Factors which can affect heart's rhythm are few heart diseases, smoking, congenital heart defects, and stress.

Heart failure (HF), often referred to as chronic heart failure (CHF), occurs when the heart is unable to pump and maintain blood flow to meet the body's needs. Common causes of heart failure include coronary artery disease including a previous myocardial infarction (heart attack), high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, excess alcohol use, infection, and cardiomyopathy of an unknown cause. These cause heart failure by changing either the structure or the function of the heart.

There are two main types of heart failure: heart failure due to left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure with normal ejection fraction depending on the ability of the left ventricle to contract is affected, or the heart's ability to relax. The severity of disease is usually graded by the degree of problems with exercise. Heart failure is not the same as myocardial infarction (in which part of the heart muscle dies) or cardiac arrest (in which blood flow stops altogether).Other diseases that may have symptoms similar to heart failure include obesity, kidney failure, liver problems, anaemia and thyroid disease.

The study of the genetic mechanisms of circulatory functioning and pathophysiology is known as Cardiovascular Genetics. The risk of heart disease often occurs in families, suggesting a genetic influence. These can be single gene defects or may include multiple genes that constitutively increase the risk of heart disease. A number of cardiovascular diseases including anomalies in the heart’s muscle, electric circuit and vasculature involve heritable factors. These congenital heart conditions, sometimes also referred to as cardiovascular genetic disorders, may go undiagnosed for years before being recognized or showing symptoms. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MCH) is the most frequent hereditary cardiovascular disease.

Obesity increases the risk for heart disease and stroke. But it harms more than just the heart and blood vessel system. It's also a major cause of gallstones, osteoarthritis and respiratory problems. Obesity is intimately intertwined with multiple health conditions that underlie cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure, diabetes, and abnormal blood cholesterol. In addition, weight gain is a frequent consequence of heart-damaging lifestyle choices such as lack of exercise and a fat-laden diet. Obesity also can lead to heart failure. This is a serious condition in which your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body's needs. Having diabetes or pre diabetes puts one at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. One can lower its risk by keeping the  blood glucose (also called blood sugar), blood pressure, and blood cholesterol close to the recommended target numbers—the levels suggested by diabetes experts for good health. Stroke and coronary heart disease can be caused by the same problem – atherosclerosis

Cardiac regeneration mainly aims at repairing heart tissues with the help of stem cell technology. Many tools have been manufactured to repair and restore the damaged tissues of the heart and various heart therapeutics has been discovered to maintain a healthy heart. The researchers are focusing on Regeneration of Heart to develop new therapies to cure various heart diseases.

Ischemia is a condition in which the blood flow (and thus oxygen) is restricted or reduced in a part of the body. Cardiac ischemia is the name for decreased blood flow and oxygen to the heart muscle. Silent Ischemia is these people have ischemia without pain — silent ischemia. They may have a heart attack with no prior warning. People with angina also may have undiagnosed episodes of silent ischemia. In addition, people who have had previous heart attacks or those with diabetes are especially at risk for developing silent ischemia. It's the term given to heart problems caused by narrowed heart arteries. When arteries are narrowed, less blood and oxygen reaches the heart muscle. This is also called coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease. This can ultimately lead to heart attack.

High blood pressure also called hypertension is a serious medical condition. It happens when the force of the blood pumping through your arteries is too strong. When your heart beats, it pushes blood through your arteries to the rest of your body. When the blood pushes harder against the walls of your arteries, your blood pressure goes up. Your blood pressure may be different at different times of the day. It is usually higher when you first wake up, after you exercise, or when you are under stress. Having higher blood pressure for short amounts of time is normal. However, when your blood pressure stays high for most of the time, it can cause serious health problems

Cardiac nursing refers to the process of taking care of the patients suffering from heart diseases. It involves advanced cardiovascular care for patients such as the surgical tests, stress tests, cardiac monitoring and heath assessments. Cardiac nurses work in many different environments, including coronary care units (CCU), cardiac catheterization, intensive care units (ICU), operating theatres, cardiac rehabilitation centers, clinical research, cardiac surgery wards, cardiovascular intensive care units (CVICU), and cardiac medical wards.

Cardiovascular Toxicology deals with the adverse effects on the heart or blood systems which result from exposure to toxic chemicals. It describes safety data of detrimental effects of new cardiovascular drugs. Pharmacology of vascular endothelium deals with alterations of endothelial cells and the vasculature play a central role in the pathogenesis of a broad spectrum of the most dreadful of human diseases, as endothelial cells have the key function of participating in the maintenance of patent and functional capillaries

Molecular cardiology is a new and fast-growing area of cardiovascular medicine that aims to apply molecular biology techniques for the mechanistic investigation, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. As an emerging discipline, it has changed conceptual thinking of cardiovascular development, disease etiology and pathophysiology. Although molecular cardiology is still at a very early stage, it has opened a promising avenue for understanding and controlling cardiovascular disease. With the rapid development and application of molecular biology techniques, scientists and clinicians are closer to curing heart diseases that were thought to be incurable 20 years ago. There clearly is a need for a more thorough understanding of the molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases to promote the advancement of stem cell therapy and gene therapy for heart diseases. 

Cardiac Oncology is the discipline that concentrates on the intersection of heart diseases and cancer. This field is growing at a faster rate because the survivors after cancer therapies are more prone to develop cardiovascular disease. The increase in cancer disease in the world has led to the emergence of numerous chemotherapeutic agents which are under preclinical or clinical studies. These agents are potent to cause damage to the heart (carddiotoxicity). Cardiotoxic effects of chemotherapy might be decreased by the concurrent use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers or beta-blockers. The use of diagnostic imaging, noninvasive stress testing and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and ambulatory cardiac telemetry can help to identify carddiotoxicity and lead to the development of preventative strategies.

Cardiovascular Engineering stimulates innovative methods and technological advancements in the basic understanding of the cardiovascular system and in cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment applications. Original Contributions outline new concepts and applications in cardiovascular mechanics, cardiology applications and diagnostic methods, cardiac and vascular imaging, devices and instrumentation, hemodynamic monitoring and measurements, cardiac assistance, vascular grafts and artificial hearts, cardiac electrophysiology techniques, computer modeling and drug delivery systems

The surgeries done on the vessels of heart by the cardiac surgeons are known as cardiac surgery. Cardiac surgeries are implemented to treat ischemic heart diseases, congenital heart diseases, rheumatic heart disease including endocarditis. It also includes heart transplantation. Cardiopulmonary bypass techniques have reduced the mortality rates of these surgeries to relatively low ranks. Innovative advancements and researches are being made in cardiac surgery every day. 

Implantable devices have been used for decades to treat heart disease. The first pacemaker was implanted over 40 years ago, and implantable defibrillators were first used in the early 1980s. But the last few years have witnessed a surge in both the types of devices being tested for heart-failure treatment, and in the optimism of experts about their usefulness

Advances in cardiology include the current research and new innovative methods that are emerging in the field of cardiology and its related fields. Advanced research in this field allows early detection of CHD in order to halt or reverse the progress of the disease. It focuses on the research related to devices, development of Nuclear Cardiology techniques for the detection of heart disease, drug development and evaluation of treatments used in heart disease, identification of novel biological markers to predict the presence of heart disease etc.

Pediatric cardiology is a branch of medicine deals with heart related problems in new born, infants, children and adolescents. A pediatric cardiologist is a pediatrician who has received extensive training in diagnosing and treating children's cardiac problems. Currently, evaluating and treating the disease condition may begin with the fetus since heart problems can now be detected before birth. Hence this division is actively involved in therapeutic conclusion and treatment of preventing both congenital and acquired heart disease in children. Finally, the division is committed to educating the next generation of physicians and offers advanced training in pediatric cardiology.