Lesson 2: Cardiovascular disease Flashcards
What builds up in coronary arteries when people have coronary heart disease?
- Fatty Material
What is the build up of fatty material in arteries often caused by? (2)
- Lack of exercise
- Eating a lot of food (obesity)
What is the impact of fatty material building up in coronary arteries?
- Narrows the artery
- Reduces blood flow through coronary arteries
- Less oxygen supplied to the heart.
- Build up of lactic acid = heart attack.
What do statins do?
- Statins lower blood cholsterol levels which slows down fatty deposit build up.
What is meant by cardiovascular disease?
- Anything related to the heart and blood vessels.
Give 2 advantages of statins.
- Reduce risk of stroke, heart attack, coronary heart disease. (effective treatment.)
- Increases healthy cholesterol (this gets rid of unhealthy one.)
Give 2 disadvantages of statins.
- Negative side- effects ie. kidney failure/ memory loss.
- Isn’t instant –> takes time.
What is a stent?
- A metal mesh that expands arteries + pushes fatty deposit.
What is the impact of the stent?
- Expands artery, making it easier for blood to flow through.
- Supplies oxygen to the heart muscle.
Give 2 advantages of stents
- Reduce risk of coronary heart disease (allows blood to flow normally)
- Surgery recovery time = quick
Give 2 disadvantages of stents.
- Stent could break
- May lead to blood clot near stent.
What happens during blood clotting when you get a cut?
- Platlets fill the gap where the cut has been made, ensuring blood doesn’t get lost.
Why are blood clots in arteries negative?
- Means that blood isn’t flowing and carrying oxygen well.
What are 2 incidents where the heart valves are faulty?
1.) Not opening properly
2.) A gap that devolops a leak (causing backflow)
What are the consequences of faulty valves?
1.) Less blood going through
2.) Backflow (making it inefficient.) from a leak.
3.) Patient may feel tired and weak because of this.
What is the solution to faulty valves?
- Replace with mechanical/ biological valves.
What 3 things may cause a heart valve to be weakened?
- Infection
- Old age
- Heart attacks
If there is heart failure what can be done to solve this issue?
- Transplant donor heart and lung.
What is an artifical heart?
- A mechanical device that is temporarily used to pump blood around body
- Used ocasionally to keep patient alive whilst waiting for heart transplant or to allow heart to rest as recovery.
What are the 2 cases where artifical hearts are used?
- Waiting for donor heart
- Resting heart after heart attack
Give 1 advantage of artificial hearts.
- Less likely to be rejected by body because made of metals/ plastic
Give 3 disadvantages of artifical hearts.
- Bleeding (patient needs to take anticlotting.)
- Unreliable (may break)
- Blood clots
during surgery = infection
Give 2 advantage of heart transplants.
- Reliable and healthy (blood flows smoothly.)
- Long- term solution
Give 2 disadvantages of heart transplants.
- Patient needs to take drugs to stop heart from being rejected.
- Not enough donated hearts for everyone.
Why is bleeding an issue when fitting artifical heart?
- Blood is thinned to reduce clots
- This means there will be a lot of bleeding if there was an accident.
Why does a high blood pressure increase likelihood of coronary heart disease?
- High pressure puts extra strain on the heart muscle.
High blood pressure requires more energy to push
What is coronary heart disease?
- The narrowing of the coronary arteries due to a build up of fatty deposit.
Give 1 advantage and disadvantage of mechanical valves.
A: Lasts a lifetime
D: Clot may form, patient needs to take anticlotting drugs.
Give 1 advantage and disadvantage of biological valves.
A: Don’t need to take anticlotting drugs
D: Doesn’t last a lifetime, needs to be replaced.
More likely to need to be rejected by body.
What is heart failure?
- When patient’s heart can’t transport enough blood around the body.
Why would blockage in coronary arteries cause heart cells to die? (2)
- less blood flowing through the heart.
- Less oxygen supplied to the cells.
Q.)
Explain why only having one ventricle makes the circulatory system less efficient than having two ventricles.
- Blood will mix
- Less oxygen will be transported to cells and tissues.
