20 Astonishing Varieties of Heart Disease: Your Ultimate Roadmap to Cardiac Chaos

7. Heart Infections

Heart infections are serious infections that can result in significant heart damage and potentially life-threatening complications. In most cases, heart infections are from viruses or bacteria, though rare cases can be due to fungi. A common heart infection is called endocarditis. It involves the infection or inflammation of the innermost layer of the heart, which is called the endocardium. Myocarditis, another type of heart infection, involves the myocardium, which is the heart's middle muscular layer. This heart infection is quite rare, but it is serious. It can affect the electrical system of the heart and trigger abnormal or rapid heart rhythms. Pericarditis, another heart infection, involves the pericardium, which is the outer layer of the heart. Symptoms of these heart infections include severe chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, abdominal swelling, and leg swelling. Patients may also experience joint, muscle, and body aches, as well as fatigue and fever. Pericarditis may cause heart palpitations, and as mentioned, myocarditis may result in arrhythmias.

8. Aortic Aneurysm

An aortic aneurysm, which can be called a heart aneurysm, is on that occurs in the aorta. This is the blood vessel that is responsible for carrying blood from an individual's heart to the rest of their body. An aortic aneurysm is a bulge in the wall of the aorta. It can occur in any part of the aorta, and can be round or tube-shaped. Two common aortic aneurysms are the abdominal aortic aneurysm and the thoracic aortic aneurysm. The former occurs in the section of the aorta that travels through the abdomen. The latter type is found in the section that passes through the chest cavity. The abdominal type is slow-growing and does not often trigger early symptoms. However, when symptoms do appear, they include back pain, a pulse near the belly button, and deep and constant abdominal pain. Symptoms of a thoracic aortic aneurysm do not often appear early, since this type is also slow-growing. Of course, symptoms can appear over time and include back pain, shortness of breath, chest pain or tenderness, coughing, and hoarseness. Both aneurysms require medical monitoring and often surgery to treat them. The thoracic type also carries medication as a treatment for some patients.