Cardiovascular Disease

Question 1

What is coronary heart disease?

Answer 1

Coronary heart disease is a condition where layers of fatty material (plaque) build up within the coronary arteries.
This limits blood flow through the coronary arteries.
So, it reduces the supply of oxygen to the heart muscle.

Question 2

How can CHD be treated?

Answer 2

Stents are mesh tubes that can be inserted inside the arteries to keep them open, so that blood can flow through.
Statins are medicinal drugs that can reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Question 3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using stents to treat CHD?

Answer 3

Advantages :
- Effective for a long time.
- Recovery time from the surgery is relatively quick.

Disadvantages :
- Risk of a heart attack during the procedure.
- Risk of infection following the procedure.
- Risk of blood clots forming near the stent (thrombosis).

Question 4

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using statins to treat CHD?

Answer 4

Advantages :
- Reduce the risk of strokes, CHD and heart attacks.
- Increase the amount of ‘good’ cholesterol - HDL cholesterol.

Disadvantages :
- Long-term drug that needs to be taken regularly.
- Risk of side effects such as headaches or liver failure.
- Effect is not immediate.

Question 5

How can heart failure be treated?

Answer 5

• Heart transplant surgery from donor organs.
• Installing an artificial heart ; a mechanical device that pumps blood temporarily whilst a patient is waiting for a donor heart.

Question 6

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of using an artificial heart.

Answer 6

Advantages :
- Less likely to be rejected by the immune system, as the device is made from plastics and metals which the body doesn’t recognise as ‘foreign’.

Disadvantages :
- Surgery exposes the body to infection and bleeding.
- Mechanical parts could wear out, and the motor could fail.
- Blood doesn’t flow through as smoothly, so there is a risk of blood clots.
- Patient needs to take blood-thinning drugs, which could affect their bleeding during serious injuries.

Question 7

What are faulty heart valves?

Answer 7

Valves can be damaged by heart attacks, infection or old age.
This stiffens the valve tissue, so it cannot open properly.
Or, the valve becomes leaky, so blood flows in both directions.
So, blood doesn’t circulate efficiently.

Question 8

How can faulty heart valves be treated?

Answer 8

Replace with biological valves (pigs or cattle).
Replace with a mechanical valve (manmade).

Question 9

What are the advantages and disadvantages of biological valves?

Answer 9

Advantages :
- Work efficiently to restore blood flow to the heart.

Disadvantages:
- Only work for 12-15 years before they wear out.

Question 10

What are the advantages and disadvantages of mechanical valves?

Answer 10

Advantages :
- Last for a long time.

Disadvantages :
- Risk of blood clots, so anti blood-clotting medications need to be taken.

Question 11

How can extreme blood loss be treated?

Answer 11

• Blood transfusion
• Replace with artificial blood ; a salt solution blood substitute can replace even 2/3 of the lost volume of blood.

Question 12

What are the advantages and disadvantages of transfusing artificial blood?

Answer 12

Advantages :
- Gives the patient time to produce new blood cells.

Disadvantages :
- Only works for a short period of time before the patient requires a blood transfusion.