Cardiovascular Disease

• Cardiovascular Disease


  A term used to describe diseases of the heart or blood vessels, for example coronary heart disease
• Coronary Heart Disease is Life-Threatening
• Coronary Heart Disease


  1. Coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle get blocked by layers of fatty material building up

  2. Arteries become narrow, so blood flow is restricted and there's a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle

  3. Can result in a heart attack
• Stents


  Tubes inserted inside arteries to keep them open and allow blood to pass through to the heart muscles
• Stents are a way of lowering the risk of a heart attack in people with coronary heart disease
• Stents are effective for a long time and the recovery time from the surgery is relatively quick
• There is a risk of complications during the stent operation (e.g. heart attack) and a risk of infection from surgery
• There is also the risk of patients developing a blood clot near the stent-this is called thrombosis
• Coronary heart disease is a type of cardiovascular disease
• Coronary heart disease is caused by the arteries being blocked by fatty material-if the heart muscle can't get enough oxygen, then it can result in a heart attack
• Cholesterol


  An essential lipid that the body produces and needs to function properly, but too much of a certain type (LDL or 'bad' cholesterol) can cause health problems
• How Statins Work


  1. Reduce the amount of 'bad cholesterol' present in the bloodstream

  2. Slows down the rate of fatty deposits forming in arteries
• Advantages of Statins


  • Reduce the risk of strokes, coronary heart disease and heart attacks
  • Increase the amount of beneficial 'good' (HDL) cholesterol in the bloodstream
  • May help prevent some other diseases
• Disadvantages of Statins


  • Must be taken regularly, risk of forgetting
  • Can cause negative side effects like headaches, kidney failure, liver damage, memory loss
  • Effect takes time to kick in
• Artificial Heart


  Mechanical device that pumps blood for a person whose own heart has failed
• Artificial hearts are usually only used as a temporary fix, to keep a person alive until a donor heart can be found or to help a person's heart recover
• Advantages of Artificial Hearts


  • Less likely to be rejected by the body's immune system than a donor heart
  • Made from metals or plastics so the body doesn't recognise them as 'foreign'
• Surgery to fit an artificial heart can lead to bleeding and infection
• Artificial hearts don't work as well as healthy natural hearts - parts could wear out or the electrical motor could fail
• Blood doesn't flow through artificial hearts as smoothly, which can cause blood clots and lead to strokes
• Patients with artificial hearts have to take drugs to thin their blood and prevent clots, which can cause problems with bleeding if they're hurt in an accident
• Faulty Heart Valves


  Can be damaged or weakened by heart attacks, infection or old age, causing the valve tissue to stiffen or become leaky
• Replacing Faulty Heart Valves

  1. Valve can be replaced with a biological valve taken from a human or other mammal, or a mechanical man-made valve

  2. Replacing a valve is a major surgery but less drastic than a whole heart transplant
• Artificial Blood

  A blood substitute, e.g. a salt solution ("saline"), which is used to replace the lost volume of blood when someone loses a lot of blood
• Artificial blood can keep someone alive by replacing the lost volume of blood, even if they've lost 2/3 of their red blood cells
• Ideally, an artificial blood product would replace the function of red blood cells so there's no need for a blood transfusion