Cardiovascular Diseases Flashcards
What are cardiovascular diseases?
Diseases of the heart and blood vessels
What are congenital diseases?
Cardiovascular diseases that are inherited from parents (hereditary)
What are the main causes of cardiovascular diseases?
They can be congenital
They can be caused by poor life choices
What kind of lifestyle choices can cause a cardiovascular disease?
A diet high in fat Smoking Excessive alcohol intake Stress Not enough exercise
What are five cardiovascular diseases?
Hypertension Hypotension Stroke Heart attack Arrhythmia
What two heart conditions involve blood pressure?
Hypertension
Hypotension
What is blood pressure?
The force that is exerted by the circulating blood on the blood vessels walls
When does blood pressure reach its maximum?
When the ventricles contract
What is this maximum blood pressure called?
Systolic pressure
When does blood pressure reach its minimum?
When the cardiac muscle is relaxed
What is this minimum pressure called?
Diastolic pressure
What instrument measures blood pressure?
Sphygmomanometer
How does a sphygmomanometer measure blood pressure?
The height of a column of mercury indicates the pressure in the arteries
What unit is used to measure blood pressure?
Millimetre Mercury
mmHg
What is the normal blood pressure of a resting, healthy adult?
120 mmHg systolic
80 mmHg diastolic
How is blood pressure written?
As systolic pressure over diastolic pressure
What kinds of things can influence blood pressure?
Stress
Medication
Disease
What is hypertension?
High blood pressure
What is high blood pressure?
When there is an abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries fro a considerable time
What is high blood pressure also known as?
The silent killer
Why is hypertension called the silent killer?
Because clear symptoms of the condition are not always evident
What can high blood pressure cause?
Damaged blood vessels
A stroke
A heart attack
How can hypertension be treated?
Medication
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle
What is hypotension?
Low blood pressure
What is low blood pressure?
The opposite of high blood pressure
What are symptoms of low blood pressure?
Weakness
Dizziness
What is a stroke?
A loss of brain function
How does a stroke occur?
When there is a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain
What can cause a shortage of oxygen supply to the brain?
A blood clot that blocks a blood vessel
What does a blood clot in a blood vessel which leads to the brain cause?
Bleeding in the brain tissue
What can a stroke lead to?
Paralysis of one or more limbs (usually on one side of the body)
Speech impediments (either understanding or communication)
Partial blindness
Permanent neurological damage, complications and death
What is an aneurysm?
A localised blood-filled bubble
What raises the risk of a stroke?
Advanced age High blood pressure Diabetes High cholesterol Smoking
What is a heart attack?
When the supply of blood to the cardiac muscle is interrupted
What happens when the supply of blood that leads to the heart is interrupted?
Part of the cardiac muscle tissue dies
Which arteries transport oxygen to the cardiac muscle?
Coronary
What is atherosclerosis?
When arteries narrow because of fat deposits in their walls
What kind of fat is usually responsible for atherosclerosis?
Cholesterol
What are blood clots made of?
Blood cells
What is another name for blood clots?
Thrombi
What is one way in which thrombi form?
When artery walls are narrowed due to atherosclerosis
Blood cells accumulate in these openings
What is coronary thrombosis?
Blood clots which form in a coronary artery
What is thrombosis?
The formation of blood clots
What is the singular form of thrombi?
Thrombus
What is a coronary embolism?
When a blood clot forms in another part of the body
And breaks off
Travels to the coronary artery
And causes a blockage there
What is angina?
When the coronary arteries are only partially blocked
What are symptoms of angina?
Chest pain
Shortness of breath during exercise and times of stress
What can angina mean?
It can be the precursor to a heart attack
What is arrhythmia?
Any disturbance in the rhythm of the heartbeat
What may have to happen if a person has arrhythmia?
They might need a pacemaker
What does a pacemaker do?
Sends electrical impulses to the heart instead of the SA node
What other issue could a person have with their heart?
Their valves might be inefficient
What happens if a person’s valves have a problem?
They may need a valve replacement
What are five possible treatments of cardiovascular diseases?
Medication Angioplasty Bypass operation Heart transplant Stent
What could medication do to improve a cardiovascular disease?
Dissolve a blood clot
Thins the blood (which prevents the formation of new clots)
Controls high blood pressure
What is angioplasty?
A procedure that is carried out
To stretch a narrowed artery
And remove the blockage
What is a bypass operation?
A surgical procedure
What happens during a bypass operation?
A blood vessels is cut from another part of the body (often the leg)
And is used to create an alternative route for blood to flow around the blocked part of the artery
What is a stent?
A procedure where an inflatable balloon is used to open up a blocked blood vessel
What is a heart transplant?
An operation where an unhealthy heart is removed from a person’s body and replaced with a healthy heart
Where are some possible places that a heart transplant could come from?
A dead donor
A brain dead donor
A pig
Could be replaced by a machine
What is a brain dead person?
Someone who is kept alive artificially by machines
Their brain has not shown any activity for a certain amount of time
What is a possible risk of having a heart transplant? (in addition to those of any operation)
The body could reject the new heart
This means the immune system will attack it like a pathogen
