L1 - Introduction and overview of Cardiovascular disease and plasma lipoproteins Flashcards
What types of disease does the term CVD cover?
heart disease (angina, heart attack) and stroke
What is the link between all the diseases covered by the term CVD?
They are all caused by atherosclerosis
Describe atherosclerosis.
The narrowing of blood vessels due to a build up of fatty deposits (LDL and foam cells) within the tunica intima. This narrowing means that the tissues downstream of the atheroma are not getting enough blood and therefore nutrients and oxygen.
What is Ischaemia?
A restriction in blood flow to certain tissues. This causes a shortage of oxygen and nutrients that the cell needs in its metabolism.
Where is CVD most prevalent?
Lower income countries. Despite popular belief that it is a rich man’s disease. A ‘rich disease’ refers to the lifestyle of the individual and not the country.
What is the definition of CVD?
Cardiovascular disease is a degenerative process that occurs widely in the vascular tree and includes;
- The coronary arteries
- Around the heart valves
- Aorta
- Cerebral blood vessels (stroke)
- Peripheral blood vessels (legs)
What are the ‘traditional’ primary risk factors of CVD?
What other risk factors are now considered primary?
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Hypertension
- Smoking
and other risk factors that are now considered primary; - Low exercise
- Poor diet
- obesity
- Type 2 diabetes
When does CVD start?
Some studies have shown that early plaques are present even before birth and that the majority of teenagers have fatty streaks.
Where are the highest rates of CVD in the UK and what could be causing this?
Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and these could be due to economic and social factors. There is also a clear north south divide in England and this could be due to the same reasons. East London also has high rates of CVD.
What is the biggest killer in the UK?
As stated on the BHF website, ‘Heart and circulatory disease is the UK’s biggest killer. in 2007, cardiovascular disease (CVD) caused 34% of deaths in the UK, and killed just over 193,000 people.
Is there a difference in the incidence of heart disease between males and females?
Yes, the incidence of heart disease in females in 2-3 lower than in males in all countries studied.
Is CHD under control?
The number of people dying from CHD has halved from 1961 to 2009 BUT the number of overweight and obese children has doubled in a generation from 10% in 1974 to 23% in 2003.
What is the main form of CVD?
CHD, it causes over 80,000 deaths a year in the UK. 1 in 5 deaths in men and 1 in 6 deaths in women.
Describe the anatomy of a normal artery, starting from the lumen and working outwards.
Blood is in the lumen, endothelial cells line the lumen and sit on a basement membrane, the tunica intima is next and contains collagen and proteoglycans. The tunica intima also contains the internal elastic lamina. Next is the tunica media which contains the smooth muscle cells. Finally is the tunica externa or the adventitia.
What does the Tunica Initima consist of?
extracellular connective tissue matrix containing collagen and proteoglycans.
