Cardiovascular Disease Flashcards
Cardiovascular Disease
- major killer in North America
* hypertension, stroke, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease
Congestive Heart Failure
- direct result of hypertension
- heart can’t maintain adequate cardiac output for daily function
• many reasons
- chronically elevated MAP
- structural damage
- a heart attack may damage ventricle and affect proper pump ability
2 groups of patients:
- Diastolic dysfunction: heart doesn’t fill as much as normal
- Systolic dysfunction: heart doesn’t contract as hard as normal (less blood pumped out)
Treatment: heart transplant (diseased heart removed and donated heart transplanted into recipient)
Stroke
• loss of blood flow to areas of the brain
Causes
1. Increased MAP can cause rupture of cerebral vessels (aneurism)
- rupture prevents O2 delivery to brain areas
2. Narrowing/blockages of vessel
- plaque causes narrowing
• leads to lack of O2 supply to brain areas
Hypertension
• high BP ~ 140mmHg/90mmHg
• caused by high resistance to flow of blood
- high blood pressure/resistance to flow leads to high MAP
• in most cases it is due to an increase in TPR as a result of decreased arteriolar radius
• heart needs to work harder
• oveerworking heart leads to congestive heart failure (can’t keep up)
• risk factors include
- obesity
- smoking
Coronary Artery Disease
• major cause of death in North America
- b/c its presence is unknown until symptoms show (usually a heart attack)
Causes include:
1. Plaque Buildup
• build-up of plaque in coronary arteries
2. Blood Cholesterol
• due to poor diet choices (high saturated fats)
• elevated levels of LDL (low density lipoproteins)
3. Genetic Predisposition
• plaques just develop even though you have a good diet
• genetic predisposition of high LDL
End Result
• decreased blood flow through coronary arteries
• chest pain (angina)
• myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Risk Factors
• obesity
• diabetes
• stress
• smoking
**exercise decreases 1-3
