Cardiovascular disease Flashcards
What is Coronary heart disease?
a cardiovascular disease when the Coronary arteries contain many atheromas which restrict blood flow to the heart muscle
What is an Atheromas?
Fibrous plaques made of fatty material which narrow the lumen of Arteries
Why does Atheromas occur?
when the lining of the artery is damaged by high blood pressure, wbc and platelets try and repair the damge
they clump together with lipids from the blood to form fatty streaks under the lining
What does the Atheromas do?
partially blocks the lumen of the artery and restricts blood flow, increases the blood pressure which in turn can cause more Atheromas to form
What is an Aneurysm?
blood bulidng up behind a blocking causing the artery wall to bulge and weaken
this increases the chances of the wall splitting and internal bleeding occurring
What is a Thrombosis?
Formation of a blood clot due to an atheroma bursting through the endothelium and causing a rough surface
platelets accumulate and cause a blood clot
This can block arteries , veins or it can break off and cause a blockage elsewhere
What is an Angina?
Plaques can build up in the Coronary arteries an reduce blood flow to areas of the heart muscle
What happens when a person is exercising if they have an Angina?
the Coronary artery can’t deliver enough blood to the heart muscle so it respire es anaeobically which causes pain in the chest and arms which makes people feel breathless
What is a stroke?
caused by an interruption to the blood supply in the brain
might be a bleed from a damaged vessel or a blockage cutting of the blood supply
blockages in main vessels can cause serious strokes
What is a Myocardial Infarction?
Heart attack
walls around a plague ate stiffened making them prone to cracks
Platelets detects this damge and trigger the clotting mechanism
The clot can then block the whole blood vessel, if this occurs in a Coronary artery it causes a heart attack
Heart muscle is starved of oxygen and nutrients so stops contracting
What is Hypertension and what are the risk factors?
increased risk of damge to artery walls as increased friction which increases risk of atheroma formation
Being overweight, not exercising enough and ever excessive alcohol consumption
What is high blood cholesterol and what re the risk factors?
Increased blood cholesterol concentration increases risk of atheromas as it is one of the main constituents of the fatty deposits that causes them
A diet with high saturated fat and salt
What is smoking?
CO and nicotine increases risk of CVD and Myocardial Infarction
CO combine with haemoglobin so reduces amount of oxygen that can be transported in the blood
Smoking decreases amount of antioxidants in the blood which help to protect cells from damage
