Cardiovascular disease

• What is cardiovascular disease?

  General term used to describe disease associated with the heart and blood vessels
• What are some examples of cardiovascular disease?

  Aneurysms

  Thrombosis

  Myocardial Infarction
• What is coronary heart disease?

  Type of cardiovascular disease which occurs when the coronary arteries have lots of atheromas in them, restricting blood flow to the heart muscle.
• What happens when the endothelium in an artery is damaged?

  White blood cells and lipids from the blood clump together under the lining to form fatty streaks - over time it hardens up to form a fibrous plaque called an atheroma. This blocks the lumen of the artery and restricts blood flow, leading to blood pressure increasing.
• What is an aneurysm?

  Balloon like swelling of the artery, starting from the formation of an atheroma.
• How does an aneurysm happen?

  Atheroma plaques damage and weaken the artery, narrowing it so it increases blood pressure. Blood travels through the weakened artery and then it pushes the inner layer of the artery through the outer elastic layer - forming an aneurysm.
• What can aneurysms lead to?

  Haemorrhage - aneurysm bursts and causes bleeding
• What is thrombosis?

  Formation of a blood clot, starting with the formation of an atheroma.
• How does thrombosis occur?

  Atheroma plaque ruptures the endothelium of an artery, damaging the artery wall and leaving a rough surface. Platelets and fibrin accumulate at the site of damage and this forms a blood clot. The blood clot can lead to a complete blockage of an artery, and debris from the rupture can cause another blood clot to form.
• What is a myocardial infarction?

  A heart attack
• How does a myocardial infarction occur?

  The blood containing the oxygen needed by the heart muscle is blocked off in the coronary arteries so no oxygen gets to a section of the heart
• What are the consequences of a heart attack?

  Damage or death of the heart muscle.
• What are the symptoms of a heart attack?

  Pain in the chest and upper body, shortness of breath and sweating
• What are the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases?

  1. High blood pressure
  2. High blood cholesterol and poor diet
  3. Cigarette smoking
• How does high blood pressure increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?

  1. Increases risk of damage to the artery walls, and damaged walls leads to an increased risk of an atheroma formation.
  2. Atheromas can cause blood clots to form, and a blood clot could lead to blockage for flow of blood to the heart muscle, resulting in a myocardial infarction.
• How does high blood cholesterol/poor diet lead to cardiovascular disease?

  1. Cholesterol is one of the main constituents of the fatty deposits that form atheromas - atheromas can lead to increased blood pressure and blood clots (causing myocardial infarction).
  2. Diet high in saturated fat is associated with high blood cholesterol levels.
  3. A diet high in salts also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease - increases blood pressure.
• How does smoking a cigarette lead to cardiovascular disease?

  1. Carbon monoxide binds with haemoglobin and reduces the amount of oxygen transported in the blood, so reduces the amount of oxygen available to tissues - could lead to heart attack
  2. Smoking decreases amount of antioxidants in the blood, which are important for protecting cells from damage - fewer of these can lead to cell damage and then lead to an atheroma formation.
• How do you reduce the risks?

  Remove as many risk factors as you can