Atherosclerosis, the underlying causes of coronary heart disease can affect any artery in the body. Coronary heart disease is essentially the build up of plaque which sticks to the walls of the coronary arteries. The arteries in atherosclerosis is narrowed due to the excessive build up of cholesterol-rich lipids known as plaque around the artery wall (Insull, 2009). Once the plaques around the walls of the arteries become narrow, the flow of blood will be constricted, reducing the amount of blood and oxygen that are able to reach the heart. Hence the heart becomes increasingly hypoxic, as a consequence the contraction become inefficient, thus poses serious cardiovascular complications which could result in heart attack (A&P p.687)(Insull, 2009). Despite the …show more content…
Even though at this present time, the precise cause of atherosclerosis is still unknown. The purpose of this essay is to examine how the risk factors: hypertension, abnormal blood lipids, and smoking could influence the cellular events of atherosclerosis.
There are many risk factors which can lead to the development of atherosclerosis. As can be expected, one of the risks factors for atherosclerosis is related to the abnormal level of blood lipids. The role of abnormal blood lipids in the development of atherosclerosis is providing the boost required for lipid to be transported to cells, as well as the production of reactive oxygen and free radicals (p.700). Moreover, the quantity of cholesterol carried by low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) in the arterial wall is critical in the development of atherosclerosis (McCance
It was to this respect that, the search could detect ‘’hypertension’’ as the leading risk factor for heart disease. And this preceded three quarters of heart failures cases as compared to coronary artery disease, which led to most heart failures in less than 40% of the cases. Also, an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter became a mirror to the Framingham study as incident heart diseases in the individuals who are free from myocardial infarction. Although studies have shown that, the manifestation of heart failures can be present without the left ventricular systolic dysfunction, other risk factors could lead to that. Also, they (Framingham study) were able to detect ‘’too much of cholesterol’’ as a link to cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, research believed that has elevated among certain heart diseases such as coronary heart often leads to stroke, too high blood pressure among numerous patients. Having said that, the search discovered ‘’obesity’’ also as a concomitantly with hypertension which elevates lipids and diabetes versus questions on smoking behavior. Having said that, these risk factors are believed to have attributed to heart diseases. Therefore, it became a national concern to the general US population and that of the fourth director of Framingham heart study, William Castelli
An artery is an elastic blood vessel that transports blood away from the heart. There are two main types of arteries: pulmonary arteries and systemic arteries.
LDL or bad cholesterol comes from food that is a high source of cholesterol and/or saturated fats. Plaque forms when bad or LDL cholesterol builds up in your bloodstream and attaches to the arterial wall, as more LDL builds up the plaque becomes larger, this can become a major problem for your cardiovascular system. Because plaque is a substance that has rough edges, it reduces the elastic nature of the artery which means your heart will have to work double-time to pump the necessary blood to all your limbs, that will mean your limbs won’t get the amount of oxygen that they require to function properly. Plaque can also narrow the area blood has to pass through, this means your heart has to work overtime and overall capacity of your cardiovascular system is lowered. When the LDL cholesterol embeds itself in the wall of the artery it than damages the artery then blood pressure expands it which causes an aneurysm. When an aneurysm is too weak there is a high possibility of it bursting, when that happens it leaves the cells in and around that area without oxygen. If that artery is connected to a major vital organ the person will most likely die. When the blood flow is slowed it shows a greater risk for blood clots and although blood clots are natural and important to healing broken blood vessels, if blood clots gather inside the blood vessel this proves to be a serious health risk. The clots have the possibility to get stuck and completely cut off the blood flow to cells, leaving them without oxygen and causing them to die. If a clot gets inside a blood vessel connected to a major organ this could cause the person to die. The heart is fed by the coronary artery, if plaque or a blood clot blocks off blood flow to the heart, the heart ...
Although atherosclerosis affects millions of people around the world, there are many ways to prevent and treat it once it has developed. Simple life style changes can greatly reduce the inflammation and damage to the endothelial wall of the artery. It is very important that people who have high blood pressure or diabetes get regular checkups; if atherosclerosis goes untreated, the adverse effects, such as stroke or myocardial infarction can be deadly.
Hypercholesterolemia is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is a waxy fat-like substance and is a major class of lipid, so it gets into the blood by lipoproteins [1]. A high level of lipoproteins is unhealthy. A high level can result in an elevated risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease [2]. The high levels of lipoproteins are often influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as obesity or dieting habits [2]. High cholesterol can be caused by mutations in the following genes: APOB, LDLR, LDLRAP1, and PCSK9 [3]. Mutations in the LDLR gene are responsible for causing familial hypercholesterolemia, which is the most commonly seen form of inherited high cholesterol [3]. The LDLR gene contains instructions for making LDL receptors or low-density lipoprotein receptors. LDL receptors play critical roles in regulating levels of cholesterol in the blood by removing low-density lipoproteins from the bloodstream. Mutations in the LDLR gene can make the amount of LDL receptors produced less than normal or affect their job of removing the low-density lipoproteins in the blood [4]. People who have these mutations will have higher levels of cholesterol. There are many ways that the environment can affect the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Reducing the amount of dietary fat you consume lowers the total amount of cholesterol in the blood [5]. Sucrose and fructose can raise the amount of LDL in the blood. Reducing fatty foods will however lower the amount of LDL [5]. Having a healthy body and maintaining physical exercise plays a key role in keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level. If you are overweight or obese you can lower your cholesterol levels by simply losing ...
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of multifactorial chronic heart disease. It is a consequence of plaque buildup in coronary arteries. The arterial blood vessels, which begin out smooth and elastic become narrow and rigid, curtailing blood flow resulting in deprived of oxygen and nutrients to the heart [1].
Coronary heart disease is defined by the hardening of the epicardial coronary arteries. The buildup of plaque in the arteries slowly narrows the coronary artery lumen. In order to better understand the physiology of the disease, it is important to first know the basic anatomy of the human heart. The aorta, located in the superior region of the heart, branches off into two main coronary blood vessels, otherwise known as arteries. The arteries are located on the left and right side of the heart and span its surface. They subsequently branch off into smaller arteries which supply oxygen-rich blood to the entire heart (Texas Heart Institute, 2013). Therefore, the narrowing of these arteries due to plaque buildup significantly impairs blood flow throughout the heart.
Atherosclerosis is the most common cause of CAD. Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease characterized by fat deposits in the arteries causing them to block the normal passage of blood. No one is quite sure how atherosclerosis develops. The plaque consists mostly of cholesterol, phospholipids and smooth muscle cells. They also reduce the size of the lumen of the affected artery which impairs the blood flow of this artery and later on could form a thrombus that will completely occlude the vessel. “Unfortunately, signs and symptoms of atherosclerosis usually don’t develop until at least 70% of an artery’s lumen has become obstructed. Angina is almost always the first symptom to appear.”(Journal: The killer behind CAD,2010). Modifiable factors that could prevent the occurrence of CAD include cigarette smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, atherogenic diet like diet high in cholesterol, use of contraceptive and hormone therapy replacement. “Women continue to ...
What is coronary heart disease (CHD)? It is a disease when plaque gets built up in the coronary arteries; and the job of the arteries are to provide rich-oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. Built plaque in the arteries leads to atherosclerosis and the plaque that is built can result from over the years. Throughout the years, the plaque tends to get hard or can rupture. If hardened, the arteries are now narrow and have weakened the flow of blood that travels to the heart. Blood clots can form from the plaque rupturing which can cause a great chance for the blood flow to be mostly blocked or blocked altogether. There are other names for coronary heart disease such as coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart disease, etc.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. (social inequality, 2009). Heart disease is a structural or functional abnormality of the heart, or the blood vessel supplying the heart, that impairs its functioning. (free dictionary). Heart disease is also known as cardiovascular disease. Since there are many conditions related with heart disease. The most common types are coronary artery disease or damage in the heart’s major blood vessels, stroke or damage to the brain from interruption of its blood supply, and high blood pressure or a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls in too high. These conditions may lead to a heart attack. (mayo).
(Slide 2) What is Cardiomyopathy? If we break down the word we can see “Cardio” which means of the heart, “myo” which means muscle, and “pathy” which means disease, therefore cardiomyopathies are diseases of the heart muscle. (Slide 3) There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathies; hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive. I will only be discussing dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by the enlargement of the hearts chambers with impaired systolic function. It is estimated that as many as 1 of 500 adults may have this condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy is more common in blacks than in whites and in males than in females. It is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in children and it can occur at any age (CDC).
Oxygen was first admitted to the client with chest pain over 100 years ago (Metcalfe, 2011). Chest pain is a large bracket that can contain many different conditions, but for the purpose of this analysis it is focused manly upon a myocardial infarction. A myocardial infarction is mainly referred to as a heart attack, and occurs when one or more coronary arteries leading to the heart reduce or completely stop blood flow (Tuipulotu, 2013 ). Administering high concentrations of oxygen to patients with chest pain is now embedded in guidelines, protocols and care pathways, even with a lack of clear supporting evidence (Nicholson, 2004 ). High concentration of oxygen means that up to 60% is administered (Knott, 2012). More recent research has suggested that the use of oxygen in this scenario is unnecessary and can lead to unwanted side effects, especially in normoxic cardiac patients (Moradkham & Sinoway, 2010 ). The aim of this comparative analysis is to dismantle and understand both the benefits and risks of the commonly known practice of administration of oxygen to the client with chest pain. Through completing this analysis using recent and appropriate evidence a more improved practice can be given and understood.
The tendency to build up high cholesterol may run in families, but extremely high levels are usually the result of a poor diet high in saturated fats and calories, along with little or no exercise. In some cases, high levels of cholesterol may be associated with undiagnosed medical symptoms such as diabetes or low thyroid function. According to the American Heart Association, there would eventually be a 50 percent lower rate of heart disease if Americans would lower their blood cholesterol levels by 25 percent. These statements find confirmation in a 1984 report done by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institution on the results of a 10 year study. It showed that for every 1 percent of lowered cholesterol, the chances of a heart attack are lowered by 2 percent.
Having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes also can increase your risk for heart disease. Ask your
If you're like most people, you think that heart disease is a problem for others. But heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S. It is also a major cause of disability. There are many different forms of heart disease. The most common cause of heart disease is narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries, the blood vessels that supply blood to the heart itself. This is called coronary artery disease and happens slowly over time. It's the major reason people have heart attacks.