Starter Pack Revision Flashcards
What is an atheroma?
A fatty deposit within the walls of an artery
Begins of white cells that have taken up LDLs
Cholesterol also deposited
(Decreases blood flow and lumen. Increases blood pressure)
What do atheromas do?
Weaken artery walls
Which swell to form aneurysms
Which burst leading to heamorrage
What is thrombosis?
The formation of a thrombus (a blood clot)
Which blocks the blood vessel
Prevents blood reaching tissues so insufficient glucose and oxygen for respiration.
What is myocardial infarction?
A heart attack
Typically caused by a blockage in the coronary arteries
What do high levels of salt in your diet cause?
Increased blood pressure increasing risk of heart disease.
What do high levels of saturated fat/cholesterol in your diet cause?
Increased LDL and hence blood cholesterol levels in blood
What decreases risk of heart disease in your diet?
Dietary fibre and antioxidants
Flavenoids
What do HDLs do?
Remove cholesterol from the blood
Take it to the liver to be excreted
What do LDLs do?
Transport cholesterol from the liver to the tissues - including the artery walls.
(They lead to the development of atheroma)
How does Carbon Monoxide (found in cigarettes) lead to CHD and strokes?
Carbon Monoxide joins with haemoglobin to make carboxyhaemoglobin
So less oxygen is carried in the blood
Therefore heart works harder
Blood pressure increases so greater chance of CHD and strokes
Blood is unable to supply sufficient oxygen during exercise causing chest pains (angina)
How does Nicotine (found in cigarettes) increase chance of CHD, strokes and thrimbosis?
Stimulates adrenalyne production which increases heart rate
Which increases blood pressure so greater chance of CHD and strokes
Nicotine makes RBC sticky and so thrombosis more likely
More likely to block flow of blood to heart
What are the causes of high blood pressure?
Genetic disposition
Prolonged stress
Poor diet
Lack of exercise
(high blood pressure can lead to atherosclerosis and congestive heart failure)
How does having high blood pressure mean increasing blood pressure?
Due to high blood pressure in the arteries, the heart must pump harder to get blood into them
The arteries are more likely to develop an aneurysm and burst
To resist the high pressure, the artery walls thicken and may harden
This restricts the flow of blood and raises the pressure still higher
