Heart disease: common conditions, causes and symptoms

Written by Medibank
January 2024

What is heart disease?

Cardiovascular disease, which is often called heart disease, is a broad term for a number of different diseases that affect either the heart itself or the blood vessels that allow the blood to ​​circulate. 
 

What are the most common heart diseases?

The most common heart, or cardiovascular diseases include:

• coronary heart disease
• heart failure
• stroke.

These are also the most serious types of cardiovascular disease. Let’s look at each one in more ​​detail. 

Coronary heart disease

This is when fatty material, called plaque, gradually builds up in the walls of the heart’s ​​arteries. These are the all-important blood vessels that supply the heart with ​​blood. Eventually, this build-up reduces blood ​​flow.

Coronary heart disease, or CHD, can lead to angina, where a temporary reduction in blood flow to the heart causes discomfort or pain that can either be mild or severe and that may come and go depending on what you’re doing. It may feel like a pressure or squeezing in your chest, and is often confused with ​​indigestion.  

CHD can also cause a heart attack, the symptoms of which can differ between ​​men and ​women.

What causes coronary heart disease?

There’s no single cause of CHD and a variety of things have been identified as risk factors. These include some things that you can’t change, such as your age and if you have a family history of CHD, and some things that you can modify, such as whether you smoke, exercise regularly and maintain a healthy ​​weight. 

When you have certain health conditions, the risk of developing CHD also increases. Some of these conditions, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression and diabetes, have factors that can be modified to reduce the ​​risk.

Heart failure 

This is when the heart muscle becomes damaged and can no longer pump properly. The heart can become bigger or weaker, which can lead to symptoms such as feeling tired or short of breath and difficulty being physically ​​active.

Causes of heart failure include having a heart attack, heart valve problems, and high blood ​​pressure.  

Stroke 

A stroke happens when blood can’t get to the ​​brain. The most common type of stroke is also related to the build-up of the plaque, technically called atherosclerosis, that’s linked to ​​CHD. 

What are the symptoms of heart disease?

Some of the most well-known symptoms of heart disease include chest pain, feeling short of breath or having difficulty breathing, and heart palpitations. Lesser-known symptoms include swollen feet and ankles, dizziness, poor sleep and leg pains or ​cramps. 

In fact, while chest pain is considered the most common heart attack symptom, not everyone who has a heart attack experiences that. Heart attack can cause many other symptoms, including shortness of breath, nausea, dizziness and ​sweating. 

Symptoms of stroke include facial weakness, arm weakness and speech ​​difficulties.

Heart attack and stroke are both considered medical ​​emergencies, but you should also see your GP if you notice any new or unusual ​​symptoms. 

How to look after your heart health

In Australia, 8 out of 10 cardiovascular disease-related events are ​​preventable.¹ One reason for this is because many of the risk factors for heart disease are ​modifiable. This means there are ​many things you can do to help keep your heart healthy. 

In addition to any heart-healthy lifestyle habits you make or maintain, having a ​Heart Health Check at least once every 2 years is recommended to anyone aged 45 years and over, or 30 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ​​peoples.