Coronary Heart Disease

Question 1

What are cardiovascular diseases

Answer 1

Cardiovascular diseases are diseases of the heart and the blood vessels

Question 2

Fill in the gap
Cardiovascular diseases are _______

Answer 2

Cardiovascular diseases are non-communicable

Question 3

Give an example of a cardiovascular disease

Answer 3

Coronary Heart Disease

Question 4

What is coronary heart disease (CHD)

Answer 4

Coronary Heart disease is when layers of fatty material builds up in the coronary arteries causing narrowing. This reduces blood flow through the coronary arteries resulting in a lack of oxygen to the heart muscle.

Question 5

What can coronary heart disease cause

Answer 5

coronary heart disease causes:
Reduces flow of blood through the coronary arteries. This results in a lack of oxygen for the heart muscle

Question 6

What can cause Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)

Answer 6

Smoking
High blood pressure (hypertension)
High blood cholesterol
Diabetes
Obesity
Family History

Question 7

What could coronary heart disease eventually cause

Answer 7

Coronary Heart disease could cause, pain, a heart attack and even death

Question 8

How can coronary heart disease be treated

Answer 8

Stents
Statins (drugs)

Question 9

What could happen in extreme cases of CHD

Answer 9

In extreme cases, CHD can result in a heart attack, where the heart is starved of oxygen

Question 10

What is a statin

Answer 10

A statin is a drug which reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood. This slows down the rate at which fatty material is deposited in the coronary arteries.

Question 11

How are statins used to treat CHD

Answer 11

A statin is a drug which reduces the level of cholesterol in the blood. This slows down the rate at which fatty material is deposited in the coronary arteries.

Question 12

State the advantages of statins

Answer 12

Advantages:

Statins have been proven to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.

(by reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood, statins can reduce the risk of strokes, coronary heart disease and heart attacks.)

As well as reducing the amount of LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol, statins can increase the amount of a beneficial type of cholesterol (known as ‘good’ or HDL cholesterol). This type of cholesterol can remove ‘LDL’ cholesterol from the blood.

Question 13

State the disadvantages of statins

Answer 13

Disadvantages

Statins have unwanted side-effects. For example they can cause liver problems

Statins are a long-term drug that must be taken regularly. There’s the risk that someone could forget to take them.

The effect of statins is not instant. It takes time for their effect to be noticed.

Question 14

What is a stent

Answer 14

A stent is a metal mesh placed in a blocked or partially blocked artery. They are used to open up the blood vessel by the inflation of a tiny balloon

Question 15

How is a stent fitted in to a patient

Answer 15

A stent is a metal mesh that is placed in a blocked or partially blocked artery to keep it open. A tiny balloon is inflated to open up the blood vessel and the stent at the same time. The balloon is deflated and removed but the stent remains in place, holding the blood vessel open

Question 16

When will a stent be used

Answer 16

A stent will be used when coronary heart disease causes almost a total blockage of a coronary artery

Question 17

How are stents used to treat CHD

Answer 17

A stent is a metal mesh that is placed in a blocked or partially blocked artery to keep it open. The stent pushes the artery wall out, squashing the fatty deposit. This leaves more space in the centre of the artery for blood to flow through it.

Question 18

Give advantages of stents

Answer 18

Advantages
The success rate is high.

They lower the risk of a heart attack.

They are last for a long time

Blood can flow normally through the artery

Stents can be used to open up a blocked artery almost anywhere in the body.

The recovery time from the surgery is relatively quick

Many stents also release drugs to prevent the blood clotting although some studies suggest that the benefits do not justify the additional expense

Doctors can put a stent in place without a general anaesthetic.

Question 19

Give disadvantages of stents

Answer 19

Disadvantages

There may be complications during the operation like bleeding, irregular heart beat and infection

A risk of infection from surgery

Arteries sometimes reclose

There us a risk of patients developing a blood clot near the stent (this is called thrombosis)
Drugs are needed to stop blood clotting

Stents will not prevent other regions of the coronary arteries from narrowing

Stents do not treat the underlying causes of the disease

Question 20

Advantages of fitting a stent

Answer 20

Doctors can put a stent in place without a general anaesthetic.

Question 21

What can be done in the situation where stents cannot help

Answer 21

Doctors can carry out bypass surgery. This is when the narrow or blocked coronary arteries are replaced with bits of veins from other parts of the body. This works for badly blocked arteries where stents cannot help.

Question 22

What is the disadvantage of bypass surgery

Answer 22

The disadvantage of bypass surgery is that the surgery is expensive and involves the risk associated with a general anaesthetic.

Question 23

What are the effects of coronary heart disease