What are the clinical pictures of cardiovascular diseases?

Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Germany. Like severe overweight (obesity) and diabetes, they are classed as non-communicable diseases (NCDs).  

The most common cardiovascular diseases include:

• Angina pectoris and coronary heart disease (CHD)
• Arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
• High blood pressure (hypertension)
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction)
• Heart failure (cardiac insufficiency)
• Cardiac arrhythmia
• Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)
• Stroke  

There are many different factors that influence the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. You can take some of these, such as a healthy lifestyle with plenty of exercise and a balanced diet, into your own hands. However, other risk factors such as age or family history cannot be influenced.  

The consequences of cardiovascular diseases can be serious under certain circumstances. It is therefore all the more important to know the typical signs of the disease in order to be able to react at an early stage. 

You can find more information on the individual clinical pictures of the most common cardiovascular diseases, their symptoms, diagnosis and treatment and how these are related to diabetes and obesity on the following pages.