Cardiovascular Disease

• What is cardiovascular disease a general term for?


  Diseases of the cardiovascular system, including the heart and blood vessels
• Name two examples of cardiovascular diseases.

  Coronary heart disease and heart failure
• What are the main treatments for cardiovascular diseases?

  • Stents
  • Statins
  • Replacement valves
  • Replacement hearts
• What happens in coronary heart disease?


  The coronary arteries become blocked by fatty material, narrowing the lumen
• Why does coronary heart disease put strain on the heart?


  Because less oxygen reaches the heart muscle
• What are the two main treatments for coronary heart disease?


  Stents and statins
• What is a stent?


  An expandable tube placed inside arteries to keep them open
• What are the benefits and downsides of using stents?


  Benefits: quick surgery and long-term effectiveness; Downsides: surgery risks and potential thrombosis
• What are statins used for?


  To alter cholesterol balance in the bloodstream
• What are the two types of cholesterol?

  LDL (bad) and HDL (good)
• How do statins affect cholesterol levels?


  They decrease bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol
• What are the side effects of statins?


  Headaches and kidney failure
• What can cause heart valves to become damaged?


  Natural aging, heart attacks, and infections
• What is the role of a heart valve?


  To allow blood to flow in one direction only
• What are the two main problems that can occur with heart valves?


  Stiff valves that don't open fully and valves that leak
• How can faulty heart valves be fixed?


  By replacing them with biological or mechanical valves
• What is heart failure?


  When the heart isn't able to pump blood properly
• What is the only proper treatment for severe heart failure?

  A heart transplant
• What are the types of hearts that can be used for transplants?

  Biological hearts from humans or animals and artificial hearts
• Why are artificial hearts generally only a temporary fix?


  Because they are not as effective as biological hearts
• What is a challenge with finding donor hearts?


  It can take a long time to find a suitable donor heart
• What is a risk associated with heart transplants?


  The body may reject the new heart as foreign
• What is one advantage of artificial hearts over biological hearts?


  They are not recognized as foreign by the immune system
• What additional transplant may be required if both the heart and lungs are diseased?


  A heart and lung transplant
• Why is it difficult to find donor organs for transplants?


  Because suitable donor hearts and lungs are rare
• What makes heart and lung transplant surgeries complicated?


  The complexity of the surgery and the rarity of donor organs