non-communicable diseases (B7)

• Coronary heart disease (CHD) occurs when the coronary arteries become narrowed by the build-up of fatty material within them

  This reduction in blood flow results in less oxygen for the heart muscle, which can lead to heart attacks
• Stent:

  • Inserted into blocked coronary arteries to keep them open
  • Widens the artery, allowing more blood to flow and more oxygen to be supplied to the heart
  • Advantages: less serious surgery
  • Disadvantages: can involve major surgery with risks of infection, blood loss, blood clots, and damage to blood vessels, risks from anaesthetic used during surgery
• Statins:

  • Drugs that reduce blood cholesterol levels, slowing down the deposit of fatty material in the arteries
  • Effective in preventing CHD from developing
  • Advantages: no need for surgery
  • Disadvantages: possible side effects such as muscle pain, headaches, and sickness, cannot cure CHD, so patients will have to take tablets for many years
• Replace faulty heart valves:

  • Heart valves that leak or do not open fully can be replaced with biological or mechanical valves
  • Allows control of blood flow through the heart
  • Long-term cure for faulty heart valves
  • Advantages: can involve major surgery with risks of infection, blood loss, blood clots, and damage to blood vessels, risks from anaesthetic used during surgery
• Transplants:

  • Donor heart and lungs can be transplanted if the heart fails
  • Artificial hearts can be used to keep patients alive while waiting for a heart transplant or to allow the heart to rest during recovery
  • Advantages: long-term cure for serious heart conditions, treats problems that cannot be treated in other ways
  • Disadvantages: transplant may be rejected if there is not a match between donor and patient, lengthy process, major surgery with risks of infection, blood loss, blood clots, and damage to blood vessels, risks from anaesthetic used during surgery
• Health is the state of physical and mental well-being
• Factors that can affect health include communicable and non-communicable diseases, diet, stress, exercise, and life situations
• A risk factor is any aspect of lifestyle or substance in the body that can increase the risk of a disease developing
• Cancer is the result of changes in cells that lead to uncontrolled growth and division by mitosis
• Malignant tumours are cancerous tumours that invade neighboring tissues and spread to other parts of the body in the blood, forming secondary tumours
• Benign tumours are non-cancerous tumours that do not spread in the body
• Lifestyle risk factors such as poor diet, drinking alcohol, and smoking can be costly and lead to high rates of non-communicable diseases in a population
• Carcinogens, such as tar in cigarettes and ultraviolet rays from the Sun, can cause cancers
• Some genetic factors make an individual more likely to develop certain cancers
• A carcinogen is a substance that can cause cancers to develop
• obesity causes:

  • type 2 diabetes= body doesn't respond to the production of insulin so blood glucose levels can't be controlled
  • cardiovascular disease= increased cholesterol can lead to CHD
• alcohol causes:

  • liver disease= liver can't remove toxins from the body or produce sufficient bile
  • impaired brain function= causes anxiety and depression
  • affect unborn babies= alcohol passes through placenta (Miscarriage etc)
• smoking causes:

  • lung disease and cancer= contain carcinogens
  • affect unborn babies= chemicals pass through placenta (birth defects etc)