Cardiovascular Disease

• In coronary heart disease layers of fatty material build up inside the coronary arteries, narrowing them. This reduces the flow of blood through the coronary arteries, resulting in a lack of oxygen for the heart muscle
• Stents are tubes inserted in the coronary artery to keep them open
• Advantages of stents

  • Lower the risk of heart attack
  • Effective for a long time
  • Quick recovery time
• Disadvantage of stents

  • Risk of infection
  • Blood could clot around the stent
• Statins are widely used to reduce blood cholesterol levels which slows down the rate of fatty material deposit
• Advantages of statins

  • Reduce he risk of heart attacks, coronary heart disease and strokes
  • Increases the amount of beneficial cholesterol
• Disadvantages of statins

  • Long term and needs to be taken regularly
  • Can have side effect
• In some people heart valves may become faulty, preventing the valve from opening fully, or the heart valve might develop a leak
• Faulty heart valves lead to blood not being circulated as effectively as possible
• Faulty heart valves can be replaced using biological or mechanical valves
• In the case of heart failure a donor heart, or heart and lungs can be transplanted
• Artificial hearts are occasionally used to keep patients alive whilst waiting for a heart transplant, or to allow the heart to rest as an aid to recovery
• Artificial hearts are less likely to be rejected by the bodies immune system but could also lead to infection, blood clots and strokes
• A patient with an artificial heart has to take drugs to thin their blood to reduce blood clots but this can cause problems if they start bleeding