Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
What is cardiovascular disease? |
It's a general term which describes diseases associated with the heart and blood vessels. |
|
|
What do cardiovascular diseases include? |
Aneurysms Thrombosis Myocardial Infarction Stroke |
|
|
How do atheromas form? |
The endothelium of an artery is damaged causing an accumulation of fatty deposits under the endothelium at the site of the damage. Over time, this hardens, forming an atheromatous plaque. This restricts blood flow, causing blood pressure to increase. |
|
|
What can cause endothelium damage? |
Smoking, stress and more |
|
|
What can fatty deposits include? |
Cholesterol from LDLs |
|
|
What is an LDL? |
Low density lipoprotein |
|
|
What is an aneurysm? |
A balloon like swelling of the artery |
|
|
What causes an aneurysm? |
It starts with atheroma formation. The plaque damages and weakens arteries and narrows them, increasing blood pressure. When blood travels through a weakened artery at high pressure, it may push the inner layers of the artery through the elastic layer to form an aneurysm. |
|
|
What may then happen to the aneurysm? |
It may burst causing a haemorrhage (bleeding) |
|
|
What is thrombosis? |
This is the formation of a blood clot. An atheroma plaque can rupture (burst through) the endothelium of the artery, damaging the wall. Platelets accumulate at the site of damage forming a blood clot. This clot can cause complete blockage of an artery lumen. |
|
|
What else can the clot do? |
It may break off, blocking a blood vessel further down. |
|
|
What is a myocardial infarction more commonly known as? |
A heart attack |
|
|
How does a myocardial infarction come about? |
If a blood clot blocks the coronary artery, the heart muscle is starved of blood so it receives no oxygen or glucose. This is a heart attack |
|
|
What are symptoms of a myocardial infarction? |
Pain in the chest and upper body, shortness of breath, sweating. |
|
|
What happens if large areas of the heart muscle are affected? |
Complete heart failure can occur which is often fatal. |
|
|
What is a stroke? |
This is the death of part of the brain tissue due to the lack of oxygen and glucose delivered to tissue. |
|
|
What causes this? |
Blockage caused by a blood clot travelling to the arteries in the brain resulting in a loss of blood flow to parts of the brain. An artery bursting (haemorrhaging) |
|
|
What are stroke symptoms? |
Face distortion (usually on one side) Weakness of limbs( arms) on one side. Difficulty speaking Sudden confusion FAST Time to call the hospital |
|
|
What are the risks factors for cardiovascular disease? |
Age, gender, smoking, hypertension, obesity, physical inactivity, high concentration of LDLs, diet high in salt, diet high in saturated fats, lack of vitamins, type 2 diabetes, stress, family history of cardiovascular disease |
|
|
Why does age increase risk? |
As age increases, damage to artery walls increases overtime, leading to atheromas forming. |
|
|
How does gender affect the risk of cardiovascular disease? |
Men under 50 have a higher risk of developing heart disease than women of the same age. |
|
|
How does smoking increase the risk of CD? |
Cigarettes contain nicotine and carbon monoxide. CO damages arterial walls and reduces oxygen flowing to tissues increasing risk. It also reduces antioxidants, making cell damage in coronary artery walls more likely, leading to an atheroma. |
|
|
What is hypertension? |
High blood pressure |
|
|
How does hypertension increase CD? |
It increases the risk of damage done to arterial walls, leading to the formation of atheromas |
|
|
How does obesity and inactivity lead to CD? |
It increases blood pressure which leads to the formation of atheromas. |
|
|
How does a diet high in saturated fats increase CD? |
It leads to high cholesterol which aids in the formation of atheromas
|
|
|
What does a diet high in salt do? |
It raises blood pressure |
|
|
How does stress increase CD? |
It raises blood pressure which could damage arterial walls and form atheromas. |
|
|
Why are people with Type 2 diabetes at a higher risk of developing CD? |
They usually have high blood pressure which also increases with obesity and inactivity. The sufferer also usually has abnormally high LDL levels which increase the risk of atheromas forming. |
|
|
What is the formation of atheromas called? |
Atherosclerosis |
|
|
What is CHD? |
Coronary heart disease. A multi factorial disease which means coronary arteries have lots of atheromas in them. |
|
|
What is a multi factorial disease? |
This means that a number of different risk factors contribute to the development of the disease. |
|
|
What should you do if asked to determine whether a conclusion is valid? |
Look at the sample and its size/composition etc |
|
|
What should you do if asked to draw conclusions from data? |
Try to find positive or negative correlations |
|
|
What should you do if asked to describe data? |
Give data with units |
