Common types of degenerative diseases

Degenerative disease refers to a person's health condition that occurs as a result of the deterioration of a tissue or organ over time. This disease can affect the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), bones and joints, as well as blood vessels or the heart. Some degenerative diseases can be cured with proper treatment. Meanwhile, several other types of degenerative diseases cannot be cured even though they have been treated in various ways. The following is complete information about this condition.

What are degenerative diseases?

Degenerative disease is a health condition in which the organ or tissue associated with it continues to decline over time. This disease occurs due to changes in body cells which ultimately affect the overall organ function.

The aging process is the most common cause of degenerative diseases. Yes, as you get older, the function of your body's tissues and organs will decrease. That is why, elderly people (elderly) are more likely to experience various types of degenerative diseases than younger people.

Even so, this one disease can also be experienced by all people regardless of age. Several factors such as lifestyle, history of disease, and genetics can predispose a person to develop this disease.

Common types of degenerative diseases

As mentioned above, degenerative diseases can affect the nerves, blood vessels, and bones. This causes degenerative diseases to have various types depending on the condition of the damaged organ or tissue. What are the most common types of degenerative diseases are:

1. Heart disease

Heart disease or also known as cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. This disease can be caused by many things, from blockages in blood vessels, heart rhythm disorders, congenital heart defects, to other heart conditions. People of all ages, genders, occupations and lifestyles can get this disease.

If you don't get the right treatment, heart disease can lead to heart failure, heart attack, stroke, and even death.

Generally, symptoms of heart disease include chest pain, shortness of breath, and pain or numbness in the legs. This disease also causes lightheadedness, dizziness, fast or slow heartbeat, and swelling of the feet, ankles, or hands.

This disease is a type of degenerative disease that cannot be cured. The existing treatment is only intended to relieve the symptoms experienced by the patient. In general, the key to treatment for heart disease is lifestyle changes to be healthier. In severe cases, surgery may be needed to repair valves, open blood vessels or insert a pacemaker. Sometimes, a heart transplant is the only option for successful treatment.

2. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease that attacks the bones. This disease causes your bones to become weak and brittle because the breakdown of bone tissue occurs faster than the production of new bone cells.

In the early stages, this degenerative disease may not be realized, because the symptoms tend to be subtle. But as your bones get weaker, you may notice:

Back pain, which is caused by a fractured spine
Reduced height over time
Hunched posture
Bones break easily even from the slightest impact

There are many factors that cause osteoporosis. Low calcium intake, lack of the hormone estrogen during menopause, sedentary lifestyle (laziness), smoking, taking certain medications, and even the effects of chronic disease can also cause osteoporosis.

Treatment for osteoporosis involves the use of hormone therapy drugs and supplements of calcium and vitamin D.

3. Type 2 diabetes

Another degenerative disease that is most often encountered is type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes or also known as diabetes is a condition when the level of sugar in your blood is too high. If the condition is allowed to continue without treatment, it will cause complications that will affect many organs in the body, such as the nerves, kidneys, heart, liver and eyes.

In many cases, type 2 diabetes is caused by a poor lifestyle. Yes, eating lots of sweet foods and high in saturated fat, rarely exercising, being overweight, drinking alcohol frequently, and so on can trigger a disorder of the system for regulating blood sugar levels in the body. Not only that, family history can also cause type 2 diabetes.

If you have diabetes and don't treat it properly, you have a higher risk of developing diabetes complications, such as kidney failure and stroke.

4. Hypertension

Hypertension is a condition in which your blood pressure is always above 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mmHG). Blood pressure itself is the force of blood flow from the heart pushing against the walls of blood vessels. Ideally, the strength of blood pressure always changes, influenced by the activity of the heart (for example, exercising or in a normal state / resting) and the endurance of blood vessels. Normally, human blood pressure is usually 120/80 mmHg.

Hypertension whose cause is not clear is called primary hypertension. However, high blood pressure can also be caused by a poor lifestyle and diet. This disease is often referred to as silent killer disease or a silent killer, because the symptoms of this disease tend to be subtle. The best way to find out whether you have this disease or not is to check your blood pressure regularly.

If blood pressure is left high continuously, this condition can lead to various life-threatening complications such as heart disease that is not treated properly. Some of the serious complications due to hypertension are coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, diabetes, and many other dangerous diseases.

5. Cancer

Cancer occurs due to uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, causing damage to healthy body tissues. The cause of this disease is a change (mutation) in genes in cells. Gene mutations can be triggered by many factors, such as smoking, exposure to radiation, viruses, cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens), obesity, hormones, chronic inflammation, and infrequent exercise.

Although scientists do not know how many gene mutations must be accumulated in order to cause cancer, they do believe that the causes of cancer will vary from person to person depending on the type of cancer they have. This degenerative disease of this type can affect anyone indiscriminately. Starting from toddlers to elderly people, women and men, even those with a fairly healthy lifestyle.