‘Heart Disease’ can be caused by a congenital problem with the heart, by infections such as rheumatic fever that damage the heart valves, or most commonly by atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis.
Arteriosclerosis is a general hardening of the arteries - a loss of elasticity in the vessels that can occur throughout the body. A major reason for this seems to be a long term lack of quality nutrition such as antioxidants.
Atherosclerosis is slightly different, although it is a type of hardening of the arteries - its cause lies with hardening and narrowing of the artery caused specifically by plaque buildup within the arteries - most notably the coronary arteries.
Atherosclerosis is a major cause of heart disease. Atherosclerosis occurs when buildup of cholesterol and fat create plaques that thicken the walls of blood vessels causing them to stiffen and become more narrow. The theories about why this plaque builds up are certainly wide and varied - more information on this is available in other articles on this site.
When atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis is severe, it can weaken the heart in several ways. When it is widespread in arteries throughout the body, the heart must work extra hard to pump the same amount of blood through the now narrower vessels because the space for the blood to move through is smaller. Over the long term, the heart cannot sustain this heavy work load and begins to weaken, leading to the condition known as heart failure.
When atherosclerosis occurs in the vessels that nourish the heart itself, called the coronary arteries, the result is coronary artery disease. This condition results in reduced blood flow to the heart muscle tissue and can cause angina (chest pain) - and if the blockage of these arteries is severe, can lead to heart attack (myocardial infarction).
