Cardiovascular disease affects millions of people in the UK, and most of us know someone whose life has been touched by it. In this article, we look at what cardiovascular disease is, the risk factors and symptoms to be aware of, and what can happen when it isn’t diagnosed or treated properly, including when you may have a cardiovascular disease medical negligence claim.
What is cardiovascular disease (CVD)?
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a collective term for all conditions that affect your heart and blood vessels. Although treatment is necessary, it is often prevented by a healthy lifestyle. This is why self-care is so important!
The four main types of CVD conditions are:
- Coronary heart disease (CHD) is when the arteries become blocked by a build-up of fat. This makes it difficult for blood to flow to and from the heart.
- Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a build-up of fat in the arteries, which limits blood flow to the legs and feet.
- Aortic disease is a group of conditions that affect the aorta. It can progress to an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
- Strokes are when a blockage causes the blood to suddenly stop flowing to the brain. It often affects speech and movement.
What are the risks of not taking care of a CVD?
Cardiovascular disease is one of the largest causes of preventable deaths. Sometimes CVD is unavoidable, but the British Heart Foundation warns that not taking preventative measures to avoid CVD could result in becoming very ill or death.
Prevention and awareness of CVD
Cardiovascular disease is primarily caused by a build-up of fat in the arteries. Blood flow is therefore restricted and can lead to a blood clot.
What would make you more likely to get CVD, and what can you do to prevent it?
- CVD predominantly affects people aged over 50
- Men are more likely to get CVD than women
- You may be more likely to get CVD if you are from a South Asian, Black African or African Caribbean ethnic background
- Genetically contracting it from a family member
- Having preexisting conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol
- According to the British Heart Foundation, stress increases the chances of getting CVD
Although some of the risk factors may be out of your control, the NHS warns that leading an unhealthy lifestyle increases your chance of being at risk of CVD.
So, what can you do to prevent cardiovascular disease?
- Try not to drink excessively, smoke, or lead an inactive lifestyle.
- If you are overweight and inactive, the NHS recommends engaging in exercise weekly.
- Small changes are important! Swapping your full-sugar drinks for a sugar-free substitute may help prevent you from developing CVD.
Symptoms of CVD
Symptoms may present themselves differently depending on the type of condition you have. Some conditions are asymptomatic (this means they show no symptoms at all).
What are some signs you can look out for?
- Angina:
- Do you feel pain in your chest? This could be a dull ache, a squeezing or a weighing-down sensation.
- Heart attack:
- Do you have chest pain that is spreading to your arm, neck and jaw?
- Are you struggling to catch your breath?
- Are you experiencing indigestion?
- Has your skin become discoloured? Such as a pale blue or grey colour? If you have brown or black skin, this may be more prominent on the palms of your hands.
- Stroke:
- Has one side of your face dropped?
- Can you lift both arms in the air and maintain that position?
- Are you struggling to speak? Slurring your words may be a sign of a stroke.
- Are you feeling confused?
Case study: Puloma Kundu
Puloma Kundu, 43, found out she had high cholesterol after engaging in the ‘Our Future Health’ programme in November 2023. She was a healthy weight, a non-smoker, didn’t drink and exercised regularly. Despite this, Puloma realised everybody is different and changes needed to be made!
Within 6 months, she increased her weekly exercise to 40 minutes of swimming 3 times a week. Although she wasn’t eating an abnormal amount of sugar, Puloma decreased her intake of cheese, butter and pasta in her homemade Indian dishes. Small changes, like swapping out ghee (clarified butter) for sunflower oil in her meals. No sugary drinks and cooking from scratch made all the difference!
By April 2024, Puloma’s cholesterol levels were back in the healthy range. Just 5 months of changes made Puloma healthy again.
Cardiovascular disease medical negligence: when things go wrong
Early diagnosis of CVD is critical. Recognising the signs could save your life! Sometimes, however, early diagnosis is not always possible. Bias and misinterpretation of symptoms can delay early diagnosis. There are therefore sometimes occasions where medical negligence may occur.
Common examples of medical negligence for cardiovascular disease include:
- CVD is often misdiagnosed as less serious conditions such as anxiety, stress or acid reflux
- Young, healthy people’s symptoms may be dismissed
- Women often experience delayed diagnosis and lack of treatment
- Incorrect interpretation of ECG
- Failure to recognise rarer symptoms
How we can help
At Prosperity Law, we understand how debilitating cardiovascular disease can be. We understand its impact on your life can be physically and mentally devastating.
Our Medical Negligence team is dedicated to providing support through the claim process, ensuring that you receive the compensation needed to cover medical expenses, rehabilitation, loss of income and other support you may need.
