Cardiovascular Diseases – Delaware Chronic Disease Coalition

Definition

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of disorders that include:

Blood vessel disease (i.e. coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery disease);
Heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias);
Damage to the heart and/or vessels (rheumatic heart disease); and
Congential heart defects (malformations existing from birth).

Types of Chronic CVDs:

Statistics

CVDs are the number one cause of death globally
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States

Risk Factors

Certain risk factors for cardiovascular disease are controllable, and others are not.

Uncontrollable:

Age: risk of CVD increases with age. Men over 45 years and women over 55 years have a greater risk
Gender: some risk factors affect heart disease differently in women and men
Race/Ethnicity: certain groups have higher risks than others
Family History: personal risk increases if there is a family member with CVD

Controllable risk factors include:

Tobacco use: smokers have a much higher risk of developing CVD
Unhealthy diet
Obesity
Physical inactivity
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Diabetes
Hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol)
Harmful use of alcohol

Prevention

There are many things that can be done to prevent heart disease!

Vaccinations

People with heart disease and those who have suffered stroke are at higher risk for serious problems from certain diseases. Getting vaccinated is an important step in staying healthy.

CVD can make it harder to fight off certain diseases, make it more likely complications to those diseases will follow, or increase the risk of a heart attack. The CDC recommends all adults receive:

Influenza – recommended every year, age 6 months and older
Tdap – (if an adult did not receive it as an adolescent to protect against pertussis (whooping cough), and then a Td (tetanus, diphtheria) booster shot every 10 years.

Additionally, the CDC recommends the following vaccines for adults suffering from CVD (talk to your doctor about which vaccines are right for you):

Pneumococcal Vaccine
Shingles Vaccine (age 55 and older)

Heart Disease and COVID-19

Current research suggests cardiovascular disease (specifically- heart failure, cardiomyopathies, and coronary artery disease) has been associated with severe cases of COVID-19 based on current research. In addition, the CDC states that heart conditions put people at higher risk of experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms.

For more information, visit the American Heart Association COVID-19 Page.

A systematic review of current research has found people who have contracted COVID-19 are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease within the first month to a year after infection.