B2 - Treating Cardiovascular Disease Flashcards
What parts of the body does cardiovascular disease effect?
Heart and blood vessels
What is Coronary heart disease?
When the arteries that supply the heart muscle with blood have lots of atheromas in them which restrict blood flow to the heart
What are atheromas?
Hardened fatty deposits inside arteries.
What leads to atheromas?
High blood pressure and lots of LDL cholesterol can lead to the build up of fatty deposits inside arteries narrowing them.
Over time the fatty deposits harden and form atheromas.
What causes a blood clot?
A bit of atheroma can break off or if there is damage to the blood vessels
What can cause a heart attack?
Complete blockage in a arteries by atheroma or blood clot so the heart doesn’t get enough oxygen
What causes a stroke?
Blockage in the brain
How can we treat CVD?
- Healthy lifestyle
- Medicine
- Surgical procedures
What changes can you make to your lifestyle to reduce the risk of developing CVD?
Healthier diet
Reduce stress
Exercise regularly
Stop smoking
How can a healthy lifestyle help if you already have CVD?
Lifestyle changes can help other forms of treatment be more effective.
Name three medicines that can reduce the effects of CVD.
Statins, anticoagulant and anti hypertensive.
How do statins help control the effects of CVD?
They reduce the amount of cholesterol present in the blood stream which can slow down the rate of fatty deposits forming.
What are the side effects of statins?
Kidney failure
Liver damage
Memory problems.
How can anticoagulant help control the effects of CVD?
They make blood clots less likely to form.
What are the side effects of anticoagulant
It’s difficult to get the blood to clot. Can lead to excessive bleeding if injured.
How do anti hypertensives help control the effects of CVD?
Reduce blood pressure and this reduces the risk of atheromas and blood clots forming
What are the side effects of taking anti hypertensive?
Headaches and fainting.
Why may surgery be needed to treat CVD?
If the heart or blood vessels are too badly damaged
Name three types of surgical procedures used to treat CVD
Stents, coronary bypass and transplant
How do stents help treat CVD?
Tubes inserted inside arteries to keep them open making sure blood can pass through to cardiac muscle lowering the risk of heart attack.
What are the side effect of a stent?
Over time the artery can narrow again as stents can irritate the artery and make scar tissue grow.
What is an coronary bypass?
If part of a blood vessel is blocked a piece of healthy vessels is is taken from elsewhere to bypass the blocked section
How can transplant surgery be used to treat CVD?
The whole heart can be replaced by a donor heart. A donor heart comes from a person who has died.
What are the drawbacks of heart transplant surgery?
New heart can be rejected because the body’s immune system would recognises it as foreign.
The heart doesn’t always start pumping properly.
As with all surgery there are risks of blood clots, bleeding and infection.
What do doctors way up in order to decide how to treat CVD.
Likely effectiveness of each treatment against the cost and risk involved.
Why is it better to stop CVD developing in the first place?
Because treatment can be risky and expensive.
Anticoagulant make blood clots less likely. Give a disadvantage in there use of treating CVD? (1 mark)
It can cause excessive bleeding If the patient is in an accident.
