Types of Heart Disease

Congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and valvular heart disease are among the heart disease types. There are more then 50 types, each one affecting different areas of the heart and/or the blood vessel system within it. Some people are born with certain types of heart disease known as congenital heart diseases; others develop over time.

What Are the Types of Heart Disease?

The term "heart diseases" refers to diseases of the heart and the blood vessel system within it. There are more then 50 different types, the most common being coronary artery disease. What can be confusing for people is that coronary artery disease is often simply referred to as heart disease.

Some people are born with heart disease (known as congenital heart disease); others develop during a person's lifetime. Because there are so many heart disease types, it may be helpful to separate them into problems in the:

Heart chambers
Heart muscle itself
Heart valves
Coronary arteries and coronary veins
Electrical system
Heart lining.

(Click Cardiovascular System to learn what each of these parts of the heart do.)

Heart Disease Types Affecting the Heart Chambers

Kinds of heart disease that can affect the heart chambers include:

Congestive heart failure, also known simply as heart failure, including:

Diastolic dysfunction
Systolic dysfunction

Cor pulmonale (also known as pulmonary heart disease), which is an enlarged right ventricle.

(Types of Heart Disease Continued: Page 2)