B2 More on Cardiovascular Disease (page 35)

Question 1

What can an artificial heart do?

Answer 1

pump blood around the body.

Question 2

If a patient has heart failure, what might doctors perform?

Answer 2

heart transplant surgery (or heart and lungs transplant, if the lungs are also diseased).

Question 3

What is a heart transplant?

Answer 3

using a donor organ from people who has recently died, and transplanting it into a patient who needs a new heart.

Question 4

If a donor organ isnt’ available right away, or not the best option for a patient, what can a doctor fit instead?

Answer 4

an artificial heart.

Question 5

Explain what an artificial hearts is, and what it is for?

Answer 5

An artificial heart are mechanical devices that pump blood for a person whos own heart has failed. They are usually only used as a tempoary fix, to keep a person alive until a donor heart can be found as a permenent fix, which reduces the need for a donor heart.

Question 6

What is the main advantage of an artificial heart?

Answer 6

so that they’re less likely to be rejected by the body’s immune system than a donor heart. This is because they’re made from metals or plastics, so the body doesn’t recognise them as ‘foreign’ and attack in the sam way as it does with living tissue.

Question 7

What are the disadvantages on an artifical heart?

Answer 7

Surgery to fit an artificial heart (as with transplant surgery) can lead to bleeding and infection. Also artificial hearts don’t work as well as healthy natural ones - parts of the heart could wear out or the electrical motor could fail.

Also blood doesn’t flow through artificial hearts as smoothly, which can cause blood clots and lead to strokes. The patient has to take drugs to thin their blood and make sure this doesnt happen, which can cause problems with bleeding if they’re hurt in an accident.

Question 8

Faulty Heart Valves can be replaced with what?

Answer 8

Biological or Mechanical Valves.

Question 9

How can valves in the heart become damaged or weakened?

Answer 9

by a heart attack, infection or old age.

Question 10

What damage can be caused when a patient has a heart attack?

Answer 10

the damage may cause the valve tissue to stiffen, so it won’t open properely.

Or the valve may become leaky, allowing blood to flow in both directions rather than just forward. This means that blood doesn’t circulate as effectively as normal.

Question 11

How can severe valve damage be treated?

Answer 11

by replacing the valve.

Question 12

Where can replacement valves be taken from?

Answer 12

from humans, or other mammals (e.g. cows or pigs) - these are biological valves

or they can be man-made - these are mechanical valves.

Question 13

Is replacing a valve much more or much less drastic procedure than a whole heart transplant, and what complications can arise?

Answer 13

Replacing a valve is a much LESS drastic procedure, but fitting artifical valves is still major surgery and there can still be problems with blood clots.

Question 14

What can Artifical Blood do?

Answer 14

it can keep you alive in an emergency.

Question 15

What happens regarding the heart, when someone loses a lot of blood, e.g. in an accident?

Answer 15

their heart can still pump the remaining red blood cells around (to get oxygen to their organs), as long as the volume of their blood can be topped up.

Question 16

What is Artficial blood?

Answer 16

it is blood substitue, e.g. a salt solution (“saline”), which is used to replace the lost volume of blood.

Question 17

Is it safe to use Artificial blood any why?

Answer 17

yes it is safe, (if no air bubbles get into the blood), and can keep people alive even if the lose 2/3 of their red blood cells. This may give the patient enough time to produce new blood cells, if not, the patient will need a blood transfusion.

Question 18

What is the function of artificial blood product?

Answer 18

ideally it would replace the function of the lost red blood cells, so that there’s no need for a blood transfusion. Scientists are currently working on products that can do this.

Question 19

Describe how faulty heart valves can lead to poor blood circulation (2 marks)?

Answer 19

The heart valves might not be able to open fully, meaning that less blood can flow through them (1 mark).

They can also become leaky, meaning that blood is able to flow in both directions (1 mark)

Question 20

Suggest how severe damage to a heart valve can be treated? (1 mark)

Answer 20

by replacing the valve with a biological or mechanical valve (1 mark)

Question 21

Suggest on disadvantage of treating coronary heart disease with an artificial heart? (1 mark)

Answer 21

Any one from:

e.g. wurgery to fill an artificial heart can lead to bleeding and infection

parts of the artificial heart could wear out

The electric motor could fail

Blood doesn’t flow through the heart as smoothly, which could cause clots and lead to strokes.

The patient has to take blood thinning drugs to prevent blood clots, which could cause problems with bleeding if they’re hurt in an accident (1 mark)