inglese

• Staying healthy


  Being fit or in shape, healthy and strong, especially because of a good diet and exercise
• Habits to prevent illness

  • Eating right by getting the nutrients we need like calcium and iron
  • Being physically active, also with brisk walking (camminata veloce) to prevent heart disease and mental disorders, such as depression
  • Keeping weight under control
  • Not smoking
• Illness


  A period in which the patient isn't in good health
• Disease


  A particular illness or pathological condition with a name and specific signs and symptoms
• Condition


  A permanent health problem that affects a particular part of the body
• Cardiovascular diseases


  Affect the circulatory system and involve the heart, the blood vessels (arteries, capillaries, veins) or both
• Heart attack (myocardial infarction)


  Occurs when the heart may not be able to pump blood due to a blood clot, leading to a lack of oxygen in the affected area
• Cause of heart attack

  • Obstruction of coronary arteries that bring oxygenated blood to the heart
  • Fatty deposits (depositi di grasso) or plaques that grow with age and sometimes become large (grandi), hardened (induriti) or enflamed on the walls of the coronary arteries
  • Plaques can lead to atherosclerosis, which can cause a heart attack because if one of the plaques breaks, a blood clot will form around it, so blood flow to heart is interrupted and the cells start to die in a few minutes for the lack of oxygen
• Symptoms of heart attack

  • Chest pain described as crushing or like a vise that can radiate to the left arm, jaw, back, or abdomen
  • Nausea, shortness of breath, weakness, tiredness
• In many people, especially those with diabetes, a heart attack may be silent
• Diagnosing a heart attack in the emergency room

  1. Electrocardiogram to measure the heart's electrical activity

  2. Blood test to examine heart damage

  3. Locate the blockages
• Procedures to restore circulation and heart function

  1. Angioplasty: Placement of a wire through the vessel until the obstructed site, then inflation of a balloon catheter to reopen the clogged blood vessels

  2. Insertion of a metal or polymer stent: a rigid tube placed in the vessel to keep it open, allowing the blood to flow and give oxygen to the cells that need it

  3. Coronary artery bypass surgery: Using a piece of vein or artery from another part of the body to redirect blood flow around the obstruction
• Most people survive their first heart attack and return to enjoy their normal lives
• Recommendations to reduce the risk of heart attack

  • Exercise a few times a week
  • Healthy diet low in sugar and saturated fats that includes lots of fiber from vegetables, fruits, chicken and fish instead of red meat, low-fat dairy products whole grains and nuts like walnuts and almonds
  • Weight loss because obesity (excess of weight) is one of the causes of cardiovascular disease
  • Not smoking
• Medications can also help prevent heart attacks because they help manage risk factors, like high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes
• Heart failure


  The heart isn't pumping blood as well as it should, but it doesn't stop working
• Arrhythmia


  Abnormal rhythm of the heart
• Types of arrhythmias


  • Bradycardia: heart rate less than 60 beats per minute
  • Tachycardia: heart rate more than 100 beats per minute
• Electrocardiogram (ECG)


  Checks the electrical activity of the heart and translates the spikes (picchi) and dips (cali) into line tracings on paper called waves
• Heart valve problems


  • Stenosis: heart valves don't open enough to allow the blood to flow through as it should
  • Regurgitation: heart valves don't close properly and allow blood to leak through
  • Mitral valves prolapse: valve leaflets bulge or prolapse* back into the upper chamber, leading to a backflow of blood through the valve
• Atherosclerosis


  A condition where plaque builds up in the walls of the arteries, restricting the arteries and making blood flow more difficult
• A blood clot can stop the blood flow and cause a heart attack or stroke
• Cerebral haemorrhage


  Rupture of a brain's artery, a serious phenomenon that can cause paralysis or death
• Brain stroke


  Occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced, usually for a blood clot, depriving the brain of oxygen and nutrients and causing the death of brain cells
• Types of strokes


  • Hemorrhagic stroke: blood vessel in the brain bursts (scoppia) so blood comes out from a perforated vessel
  • Ischemic stroke: most common type, occurs when a clot blocks a vessel and the blood flow
• Transient ischemic attack (TIA) is the temporary disruption of blood flow through brain
• High blood pressure is a major stroke risk factor if left untreated
• First line of treatment for stroke

  1. Intravenous medication called Tissue Plasminogen Activator to break up the blood clot and allow blood to flow again in the compromised artery

  2. Endovascular thrombectomy procedure to remove the clot
• FAST test


  A way to quickly understand if a person has a stroke: Face, Arms, Stability, Talking
• Blood types


  Determined by the presence of different alleles inherited from the parents and their dominance
• Main blood types


  • Type A with two A alleles
  • Type B with two B alleles
  • Type AB with A and B alleles (codominance)
  • Type O with two O alleles
• Universal recipients


  People with blood type AB who produce both A and B antigens
• Universal donors


  People with blood type O who don't produce antigens
• Matching donors and recipients is complicated due to additional antigen systems, like Rh factor
• Hemolytic disease of the newborn

  Condition where an Rh- (er eig negative) mother carrying an Rh+ (er eig positive) child produces Rh antibodies that may cross the placenta and attack the fetus
• Blood pressure (BP)


  The pressure exerted by blood on the walls of arteries and blood vessels, regulated by the nervous and endocrine systems
• Systolic blood pressure


  The highest level reached by blood pressure when the heart contracts to force blood through the arteries
• Diastolic blood pressure


  The lowest level reached by blood pressure when the heart is at rest between beats
• Normal resting blood pressure for an adult is approximately 120/80 mm Hg
• Hypotension


  Pathologically low blood pressure