Topic 2 Cardiovascular disease + Flashcards
What is cardio vascular disease
Term used to describe disease of the heart or blood vessels
What is coronary artery disease
When the coronary arteries that supply blood to the muscle of the heart get blocked by layers if fatty material building up
Causing the arteries to narrow and blood flow to be restricted and a lack of oxygen to the heart
What can coronary artery disease lead to
A heart attack
What are stents
Tubes that are inserted inside arteries
What do stents do
Keep arteries open making sure blood can pass through to the heart muscles and keeps the heart beating
Advantages of stents
a way of lowering the risk of a heart attack in people with coronary heart disease
Effective for a long time and the recovery time from the surgery is relatively quick
Disadvantages of stents
Risk of complications during the operation (heart attack)
Risk of infection from surgery
Risk of patients developing blood clot near stent called thrombosis
What is thrombosis
Blood clot formed near the stent
What are statins
Are drugs that can reduce the amount of bad cholesterol present in the blood stream
This slows down rate if fatty deposites forming
What is cholesterol
An essential lipid that your body produces to function
Why is having too much bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) not good for your health
Can cause fatty deposits to form inside arteries which can lead to coronary heart disease
Advantages of statins
Reduce the risk if strokes, coronary heart disease and heart attacks
Can increase the amount of a beneficial type of cholesterol (good/ HDL cholesterol) which can remove the bad cholesterol
Prevent some other diseases e.g dementia
Disadvantages of statins
Long term drug that must be taken regularly, risk of forgetting to take them
Sometimes cause negative side affects (headaches) and some can be fatal (kidney failure! Liver damage and memory loss)
Effect of statins isn’t instant , takes time for effects to kick in
