Cardiovascular Disease

Question 1

Cardiovascular diseases

Answer 1

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

Question 2

Coronary heart disease

Answer 2

Coronary arteries that supply the blood to heart muscle get block by layers of fatty material building up. This causes the arteries to become narrow, so blood flow is restricted and there is a lack of oxygen, which causes heart attack.

Question 3

Stents

Answer 3

Are tubes that are inserted inside arteries. They keep them open, making sure blood can pass trough to the heart muscle.

Question 4

Advantage and disadvantage of stents

Answer 4

Stents are way of lowering the risk of heart attack. They are effective for a long time and the recovery time from the surgery is quick.

There is a risk of complications during the operation(heart attack) and a risk of infection. There is also the risk of patient developing a blood clot near the stent- thrombosis.

Question 5

Thrombosis

Answer 5

When a blood clot is developed near the stent.

Question 6

Cholesterol

Answer 6

Is essential lipid that your body needs to function properly. However too much can cause health problems. Too much cholesterol causes fatty deposits to form inside arteries-coronary heart diseases.

Question 7

Statins

Answer 7

Are drugs that reduce the amount of cholesterol present in the bloodstream. This slows down the rate of fatty deposits forming.

Question 8

Statins advantages

Answer 8

• Reducing the amount of cholesterol in the blood, reduce the risk of strokes, heart attack
• increase the amount of a beneficial type of cholesterol, which remove bad cholesterol
• some studies show that statins may also prevent other diseases

Question 9

Statins disadvantages

Answer 9

• long-term drug, must be taken regularly, risk of forgetting to take it
• side effects-headaches, kidney failure, liver damage, memory loss
• the effect of statins is not instant, it takes time for their effect

Question 10

Artificial heart

Answer 10

Mechanical devices that pump blood for a person whose own heart has failed. Used until new heart is found. In some cases for permanent use.

Question 11

Advantages of artificial heart

Answer 11

Less likely to be rejected by body’s immune system, since it’s made of plastic and metal so the body does not recognize it as foreign and attack it.

Question 12

Disadvantage of artificial heart

Answer 12

Surgery can lead to bleeding and infection
Electric motor could fail
Blood doesn’t flow that smoothly which can cause blood clots and lead to stroke
Patient needs to take drugs

Question 13

Replacement of faulty heart valves

Answer 13

Damaged valves can be replaced by other human’s valve or other mammal’s valve. Mechanical are man-made. Replacing valve is much less drastic than a whole heart transplant, but it is still major surgery and there can be problems with blood clots.

Question 14

Artificial blood

Answer 14

Is a blood substitute(e.g. slat solution), which is used to replace the lost volume of blood. It’s safe if no air bubbles get into the blood and keep people alive. This may give a time to patient to produce new red blood cells.