Heart Disease Flashcards
What are cardiovascular diseases?
Disease of the heart and blood vessels
What is atheroma?
Fatty deposits
What happens in atheroma disease?
Fatty deposits (atheroma) build up on. the inside of arteries restricting blood flow
Where do fatty deposits in an artery develop?
Where the endothelium has been damaged
What is the response to fatty deposit building up in an artery?
This causes an inflammatory response
What is atheroma made up of?
Cholesterol and white blood cells
What are atheromatous plaques?
They are made up of cholesterol, white blood cells and also calcium causing it to harden.
Where do atheromatous plaques form?
Within the wall of the artery under the endothelium
What is hardening of the arteries caused by atheromas also known as?
Atherosclerosis
What is thrombosis?
A blood clot which forms in the blood vessels.
When does a thrombosis occur?
When an atheroma breaks through the wall of the endothelium and causes a rough surface than can cause a blood clot
Explain what happens to cells when a thrombosis is formed
The blood can’t flow properly to tissues anymore
Cells do not receive oxygen or glucose to aerobically respire and release energy
The cells will therefore anaerobically respire which produces toxic lactic acid
The proteins in a cell denature and cells die
What are the consequences of a thrombosis?
Dying of cells
Heart attack
Stroke
Why do cells die when there is a blood clot
Cells cannot respire aerobically and have to respire anaerobically
The lactic acid formed will denature the proteins in the cell and cause the cell to die
What is a myocardial infarction?
A heart attack
What causes MI (myocardial infarction)?
When the coronary arteries around the heart are blocked the heart muscle in that area will not receive oxygenated blood
The heart muscle can thus not respire aerobically
Anaerobic respiration of the cells releases lactic acid which denatures proteins and the heart muscle cells die (not able to contract)
When is an MI fatal?
If a large area of the heart is affected by the blockage of the coronary arteries
What are the symptoms of an MI?
Chest pain
Pain in upper body
Shortness of breath
Sweating
What is a stroke?
A blood clot that happens in the brain
What happens in a stroke?
There is a blood clot in an artery in the brain
The brain cells do not
receive oxygenated blood anymore
The cells cannot aerobically respire and have to respire anaerobically forming lactic acid which denatures proteins
The brain cells die
What is a deep vein thrombosis?
When a blood clot occurs in a leg vein
What may cause a deep vein thrombosis?
Prolonged inactivity
Dehydration
What is aneurysm?
Weak points in the artery walls which swell to form balloon likestructures
Why does an aneurysm occur?
Forms when a thrombus (blood clot) has weakened the artery wall
