Coronary heart disease (CHD) Flashcards
What are the coronary arteries?
Blood vessels that deliver blood, gaining oxygen and glucose and providing it to muscle cells in the heart.
What is coronary heart disease?
When the coronary arteries get clogged by fatty diposits.
Name 2 treatments for CHD?
Stents and statin
What does a treatment CHD have to do?
Needs to clear or open up the artery, to improve the blood flow
What is a stent?
A tiny mesh tube that is inserted into the blocked artery to open it up.
How does a stent work?
The stent is inserted via keyhole surgery into the blocked artery.
At the blockage the stent is expanded using a small balloon
The stent then remains in place keeping the blockage open
This improves blood flow
The balloon is then taken out through the keyhole
When would get prescribed statins?
If you are at risk or in the early stages of CHD
What do statins do?
They prevent the build up of fatty deposits
How often are statins taken?
Daily
What are the pro’s of stents?
Key hole surgery
Prevents future heart attacks
Quick fix
What are the pro’s of statins?
Reduce risk of blood clot
No risk of infection
No surgery
Prevention not cure
Con’s of stents?
Risk of blood clot
Risk of infection
What’s the process of getting CHD?
To much fat in diet
Coronary arteries clogged and narrowed
Less blood gets to heart muscle
Muscle cells don’t get enough oxygen
This causes them to stop respiring
This causes a heart attack as a result
con’s of statins?
Ongoing cost
Have to be taken daily
Not instant
Do statins work?
There is a lot of evidence that they help prevent CHD
Scientists have carried out large scale studies
The data collected is valid, reliable, reproduceable and biased
