Heart disease defined
The heart (located in the left-center of our chest) is a muscle designed to pump blood. Blood picks up oxygen in your lungs and then goes to your heart. From there, this oxygenated blood is pumped out of your heart to the rest of your body providing oxygen and other important nutrients to your tissues and vital organs. The heart is constantly working. In fact, the above cycle happens an average of 60-90 times per minute. Because of how hard the heart works it requires its own rich blood supply to get the oxygen and nutrients it needs to continue pumping. The major blood vessels that supply the heart are known as coronary arteries. Heart disease can be viewed as two different processes, one caused by blockages in the coronary arteries and the other by the heart failing to pump blood effectively.
The first, known as coronary artery disease (CAD for short), is caused by build of cholesterol in the coronary arteries. This build up causes blockages and reduces blood flow to the heart muscle. These blockages tend to build slowly over time causing warning signs and symptoms including chest pain with activity, decreased ability to exert oneself, and/or shortness of breath with activity. The chest pain associated with this is sometimes referred to as angina. However, pieces of these blockages can also break free and travel to smaller blood vessels. This causes blood flow to part of the heart muscle to be completely stopped. This is commonly known as a heart attack or myocardial infarction (MI). Symptoms of a heart attack include sudden onset of chest pain usually associated with shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and often sweating. You should seek medical attention immediately if you experience these symptoms.
The second form of heart disease, known as congestive heart failure, is caused by a diminished ability of the heart to pump blood. This causes blood to back up into your lungs, abdomen, and legs. This tends to happen slowly over time. However, it can also happen quickly. This is usually related to consuming too much salt and fluid in a short amount of time. Congestive heart failure usually presents with increasing shortness of breath, leg or abdomen swelling, trouble breathing while lying flat, and sometimes a cough.
Family physicians are trained to detect and treat both types of heart disease. They are also trained to prevent heart disease by reducing risk factors. If heart disease is suspected, your family physician will likely order tests to support the diagnosis and help with management of the heart disease. There are certain medications that are critical to be taking if you have heart disease and family physicians regularly prescribe and manage these medications. If your family physician determines your heart to be healthy, but at risk, they can help you reduce those risks by helping control high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, tobacco use, and obesity.
If you suspect you have heart disease or are at risk of developing heart disease you can easily make an appointment with a family medicine physician within the Washington Health System. However, if you believe you are having symptoms of an acute heart attack you should seek immediate care at the nearest emergency department. You can read more about heart disease at the following links:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/basics/definition/con-20034056
http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Biography:
Dr. Donald Lock was raised in Jeannette, Pennsylvania. He move to Florida after graduating high school and earned his Bachelor of Science from Stetson University. He then went on to obtain his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Degree (D.O.) at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Florida. This is where he met his wife, Rachel Lock D.O., who is also a second year family medicine resident in Washington. They enjoy being active together, traveling, trying new foods and spending time with friends and family. After completing his residency he plans to work for the U.S. Navy as a family medicine physician for 4 years and then settle back in Western Pennsylvania, possibly having a group practice with his wife.