4.2.2.4 Coronary Heart Disease: a Non-communicable Disease

Question 1

What is cardiovascular disease?

Answer 1

• term used to describe diseases of the heart or blood vessels
• e.g. coronary heart disease

Question 2

What is coronary heart disease?

Answer 2

• when coronary arteries that supply blood to muscle of heart get blocked by layers of fatty material building up
• leads to narrow arteries which restricts blood flow and lack of oxygen
• leads to heart attack

Question 3

What are stents?

Answer 3

• a way of lowering risk of a heart attack in those who have CHD
• effective for a long time and recovery time from surgery is relatively quick

Question 4

What are the risks of getting stents?

Answer 4

• heart attack
• risk of infection
• risk of developing a blood clot near stent (called thrombosis)

Question 5

What is cholesterol?

Answer 5

• an essential lipid that body produces and needs to function properly
• too much of LDL cholesterol can cause health problems

Question 6

What can too much of LDL cholesterol cause?

Answer 6

• cause fatty deposits to form inside arteries (leads to CHD)

Question 7

What are statins?

Answer 7

• drugs that can reduce amount of LDL cholesterol present in bloodstream
• slows down rate of fatty deposits forming

Question 8

What are the advantages of statins?

Answer 8

• reduce risk of strokes, CHD and heart attacks
• increase amount of HDL cholesterol which can remove LDL cholesterol
• prevent other diseases

Question 9

What are the disadvantages of statins?

Answer 9

• long-term drug that must be taken regularly
• can cause negative side effects like headaches, kidney failure, liver damage and memory loss
• isn’t instant and takes time for effects to kick in

Question 10

What can happen if a patient has heart failure?

Answer 10

• may perform a heart transplant (and lung transplant if also failing) using donor organs
• if no available organs, doctors may fit an artificial heart

Question 11

What are artificial hearts?

Answer 11

• mechanical devices that pump blood for a person who has heart failure
• often temporary fix to keep person alive until an organ is found
• to help person recover by allowing heart to rest and heal
• can be used permanently

Question 12

What is the main advantage of artificial hearts?

Answer 12

• less likely to be rejected by body’s immune system
• this is because they’re made from plastic/metal so body recognise them as foreign

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of artificial hearts?

Answer 13

• to fit it can lead to bleeding and infection
• don’t work as well as natural ones, parts could wear out or electrical motor could fail
• blood doesn’t flow through it as smoothly which can cause blood clots and lead to strokes
• patient has to take drugs to thin blood which could cause problems with bleeding if in an accident

Question 14

How can the valves be damaged/weakened?

Answer 14

• heart attacks
  -infection
  -old age

Question 15

What can the damage cause for the valve?

Answer 15

• valve tissue to stiffen
• become leaky which means blood will flow in both directions

Question 16

How can valve damage be treated?

Answer 16

• replacing valve which can be taken from human or other mammals or man-made

Question 17

What issues can arrive when replacing valves?

Answer 17

• blood clots

Question 18

What is artificial blood?

Answer 18

• blood substitute if someone loses a lot of blood (saline) which can be used to replace blood volume
• if not enough time, a blood transfusion will be needed