12: Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, and Cancer
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.
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- 12.3: Metabolic Syndrome
- Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke. Risk factors are traits, conditions, or habits that increase your chance of developing a disease. In this article, “heart disease” refers to coronary heart disease, which is a condition in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up inside the coronary (heart) arteries.
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- 12.4: Diabetes
- Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause health problems.
Thumbnail: Anatomy of the Human Body. (Public Domain). Computer Generated Cross Section 3d Model of Heart ( DrJanaOfficial ).