*8.3.7 Inflammatory heart disease*

Inflammatory heart disease (IHD) refers to a set of conditions that include myocarditis, pericarditis, and endocarditis [47].


• Endocarditis: This condition is brought on by an infection of the inner lining of the heart (i.e. endocardium), which causes severe inflammation [48].

#### *8.3.8 Rheumatic heart disease*

It is a nonsuppurative, post-streptococcal, systemic, inflammatory disorder that mostly affects the central nervous system, heart, skin, joints, and subcutaneous tissues. The chronic episode of RF affects all layers of the heart (pancarditis), resulting in significant cardiac consequences known as rheumatic heart disease (RHD).

#### *8.3.9 Stroke*

According to the definition of World Health Organization (WHO), stroke can be defined as- "rapidly developing clinical signs of focal (or global) disturbance of cerebral function, with symptoms lasting 24 h or longer or leading to death, with no apparent cause other than of vascular origin [50].

#### *8.3.10 Peripheral arterial disease (PAD)*

It is a chronic atherosclerotic condition that leads to the narrowing of the peripheral artery vasculature, primarily in the lower extremities [50]. This usually restricts blood supply to the extremities, resulting in calf or thigh pain while exertion or walking. It has an estimated global incidence of up to 10%, rising to approximately 30% in patients older than 50 years [51].

#### *8.3.11 Cardiomyopathy*

It is a pathological and anatomic condition related to electrical or muscular malfunction of the heart [49]. In other terms, cardiomyopathies constitute a varied category of disorders that frequently result in progressive heart failure and substantial morbidity and mortality. Cardiomyopathies can be either primary (i.e., inherited, acquired, or mixed) or secondary (e.g., infammatory, toxic, infltrative) [52]. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, and restrictive cardiomyopathy are the most prevalent forms of cardiomyopathy.

#### *8.3.12 Congenital heart disease*

The malformation of the heart that is apparent at birth is referred to as congenital heart disease [30]. The condition affects roughly 0.5% of all newborns and is the most common kind of congenital cardiac disease. Premature newborns have a higher risk of congenital heart disease. Some notable forms of congenital heart diseases include congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS), congenital short QT syndrome (SQTS) etc.

• Congenital LQTS: An inherited heart condition known as congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS) is attributable to a prolonged QT interval at rest and a significant risk of life-threatening arrhythmias [53]. Nearly one in every 2500 live newborns is estimated to be affected by the disease.

*Perspective Chapter: Physiology and Pathology of the Cardiovascular System DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108355*

