Heart

• Coronary heart disease

  Layers of fatty material build up inside the coronary arteries, narrowing them
• Narrowing of coronary arteries

  Reduces the flow of blood through the coronary arteries, resulting in a lack of oxygen for the heart muscle
• Stents

  Used to keep the coronary arteries open
• Statins

  Widely used to reduce blood cholesterol levels which slows down the rate of fatty material deposit
• Faulty heart valves

  Heart valves may become faulty, preventing the valve from opening fully, or the heart valve might develop a leak
• Students should understand the consequences of faulty valves
• Biological or mechanical valves

  Used to replace faulty heart valves
• Heart failure

  A donor heart, or heart and lungs can be transplanted
• Artificial hearts

  Occasionally used to keep patients alive whilst waiting for a heart transplant, or to allow the heart to rest as an aid to recovery
• Health


  The state of physical and mental well-being
• Causes of ill health


  • Diseases, both communicable and non-communicable
  • Diet
  • Stress
  • Life situations
• Different types of disease may interact
• Defects in the immune system

  • An individual is more likely to suffer from infectious diseases
• Viruses living in cells


  • Can be the trigger for cancers
• Immune reactions initially caused by a pathogen


  • Can trigger allergies such as skin rashes and asthma
• Severe physical ill health


  Can lead to depression and other mental illness
• Heart


  An organ that pumps blood around the body in a double circulatory system
• Blood circulation


  1. Right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs

  2. Gas exchange takes place in the lungs

  3. Left ventricle pumps blood around the rest of the body
• Blood vessels associated with the heart


  • Aorta
  • Vena cava
  • Pulmonary artery
  • Pulmonary vein
  • Coronary arteries
• Knowledge of the names of the heart valves is not required
• Parts of the lungs


  • Trachea
  • Bronchi
  • Alveoli
  • Capillary network surrounding the alveoli
• Natural resting heart rate


  Controlled by a group of cells located in the right atrium that act as a pacemaker
• Artificial pacemakers


  Electrical devices used to correct irregularities in the heart rate
• Types of blood vessels


  • Arteries
  • Veins
  • Capillaries
• Blood is a tissue consisting of plasma, in which the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are suspended.