coronary heart disease

• Coronary heart disease


  Coronary arteries treat stubbly blood to muscles of the heart are blocked by a layer of fatty material building up

  Can cause arteries to become narrow so blood flow is restricted, lack of oxygen to heart muscles can cause a heart attack
• Treatment for coronary heart disease

  Stents

  Statins
• Stents


  Wire mesh cylinder inserted into a clogged artery to hold it open
• Advantages of stents


  Lower risk of heart attack

  Effective for a long time

  Quick recovery time
• Disadvantages of stents


  Risk of complications during the operation

  Risk of infection from surgery

  Risk of patients developing a blood clot near the stent- thrombosis
• Statins


  Lower bad cholesterol (LDL) which cause fatty deposits to form in arteries
• Advantages of statins


  - Reduced risk of strokes and other heart problems

  - Increased amount of good cholesterol (HDL)

  - Prevent other diseases
• Disadvantages of statins


  - Long term drug that must be taken regularly so there's a risk someone could forget to take them

  - Negative side effects eg. headaches

  - Can have serious side affects eg. kidney failure, liver damage, memory loss

  - Effect isn't instant and takes time to kick in
• Artificial heart


  A pump designed to fit into the human chest cavity and perform the heart's function of pumping blood around the body

  Less likely to be rejected by the body as metal and plastic isn't recognised as 'foreign;

  But surgeries to fit an artificial heart can lead to bleeding and infection. They also don't work as well as healthy and natural ones, could lead to blood clots/strokes, blood thinner needs to be taken to ensure this won't happen
• Biological valves advantages/disadvantages


  Less risk of clots forming

  But need to be replaced after many years

  Might be rejected
• Mechanical valves advantages/disadvantages


  Higher risk of clots forming

  Blood thinner should be taken

  Less likely to be rejected

  More durable
• Artificial blood


  In emergencies, when someone's lost lots of blood, artificial blood eg salt solution/saline can restore the volume of the blood safely for a while

  Gives the body time to produce new blood cells or receive a blood transfusion