cardiovascular disease

• coronary heart disease:

  • Coronary arteries branch out of the aorta and supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.
  • In coronary heart disease, layers of fatty material build up inside the coronary arteries, causing the lumen to get narrower.
  • This reduces the flow of blood through the coronary arteries, resulting in a lack of oxygen and nutrients for the heart muscle.
  • This can cause chest pain as the heart muscle is starved of oxygen, and in severe cases, can cause a heart attack. 
• treatments for coronary heart disease:

  • stents
  • statins
• how does a stent help with coronary heart disease:

  • It expands within the artery to widen the lumen 
• benefits for using stents for coronary heart disease:

  • The stents have an almost immediate effect
  • The stents can last a long time 
  • Surgery is quick
• how do statins help with coronary heart disease:

  • They increase the amount of HDL cholesterol in the blood 
  • They decrease the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood 
• disadvantages of using statins:

  • They have side effects such as kidney failure and headaches
  • It can take months to see the positive effects 
  • The pills have to be taken every day
• problems caused by faulty heart valves:

  • Blood can pass backwards through the valve
  • Not enough blood can pass though the valve
• Faulty heart valves can be replaced. Biological valves come from other animals such as pigs or cows. Meanwhile mechanical valves are man-made, often from metal
• treatments for heart failure:

  • replacement with an artificial heart
  • replacement with a biological heart
• a biological heart can be rejected by the immune system