Coronary heart disease (CHD), also known as coronary artery atherosclerotic heart disease, occurs when the coronary arteries, responsible for supplying blood to the heart, become narrowed or blocked due to the accumulation of cholesterol and other substances forming plaques. This can lead to myocardial ischemia, hypoxia, or necrosis, triggering symptoms such as chest pain and chest tightness. The fundamental pathology of CHD is coronary atherosclerosis, which is irreversible and progresses with age due to various factors.
Many people with CHD have stents implanted or take antiplatelet aggregation drugs, anticoagulants, and statins, but these treatments cannot completely cure CHD. If anyone claims to have a secret remedy that can cure CHD, it is definitely a scam.
Pulmonary heart disease, commonly referred to as cor pulmonale, is caused by pulmonary hypertension resulting from diseases of the bronchial tubes, lungs, thorax, or pulmonary vessels. This leads to changes in the structure and/or function of the right ventricle. Simply put, cor pulmonale is a heart disease caused by lung problems.
Understanding heart circulation helps clarify this: when the ventricle contracts, oxygen- and nutrient-rich arterial blood is pumped from the left ventricle through the aorta and its branches to the capillaries throughout the body for material and gas exchange within tissues. The blood, now carrying metabolic waste and more carbon dioxide, returns as venous blood through the veins, finally flowing into the right atrium via the superior and inferior vena cava. The venous blood travels through the right heart to the pulmonary arteries, reaching the capillary network around the alveoli, where it exchanges gases with the alveoli, releasing carbon dioxide and absorbing oxygen, before returning to the left heart.
When lung problems occur, they cause pulmonary hypertension, increasing pressure on the right heart, eventually leading to right heart hypertrophy, enlargement, and failure. Cor pulmonale is commonly seen in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic lung diseases and, like other chronic conditions, is incurable.