The disease occurs in a person because there is a thickening or blockage of artery walls that occur due to the presence of fat build-up along the walls. The formation of plaque is also known as aterioscelorosis which is usually a result from cholesterol fats, nicotine, high blood pressure and unbalanced blood sugar level. The arterioscelerotic cardiovascular disease is severe and chances of development increases as people aged. Arterioslerotic heart disease, also referred to as ischemic heart disease or coronary heart disease (CHD), is a general term used for a group of disorders where there is thickening and elasticity loss, as well as hardening of artery walls. The most common form of arteriosclerosis (other term for arteriosclerotic cardiovascular …show more content…
The pain may feel like someone is squeezing your heart and it is usually felt just under your breast bone or sternum. Pain may also radiate to different parts of your body such as the neck, upper back, arms and stomach. It will also occur during activity or intense emotion, and will go away if you get some rest or take nitroglycerin. • Shortness of breath • Fatigue during exertion What are the diagnostic tests that confirm the presence of arteriosclerotic heart disease? Diagnosing arteriosclerosis does not rely on pure assessment of signs and symptoms alone. There are different tests that should be done to confirm and properly diagnose that the patient indeed have some problems with his heart. These diagnostic and definitive tests that your doctor may order include: 1. Computed Tomograpy (CT) Angiography. Coronary angiography is performed in a non-invasive method. 2. Coronary angiography/ ateriography. The heart arteries are being evaluated through an x-ray. It is an invasive procedure. 3. Electrocardiogram or ECG 4. …show more content…
Excercise stress test 6. Electro-bream computed tomography (EBCT). Used to look for calcium in the artery linings. Presence of more calcium in the linings means the increase chances of having CHD. 7. Nuclear scan What are the treatments for arteriosclerosic heart disease? Treatments may be given to target the underlying cause such as medications for high blood pressure levels, high cholesterol levels, and diabetes. If disease is already present, preventing it from getting worse will be the main objective of the treatment. In this case, it is very important that you should follow your doctor’s orders very closely. Treatments are done depending on the symptoms that you are manifesting and will often include the following: 1. Medications. There are many medications to choose from in treating your CHD case. Your doctor will choose which among the medications suit your needs: ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, nitrates, or statins. Never ever stop taking these drugs abruptly. If you want to discontinue your medication, talk to your physician first because sudden discontinue of drugs may lead to a heart attack or worsen your
Today he chooses to have a healthy life and control his diabetes. He takes one medication orally for his diabetes, Metformin. JR has a good, healthy diet as well as exercise habits like taking walks with his dog. JR takes seven medication on the daily with three being for his heart, one for his high blood pressure, one for his cholesterol, one for his diabetes and another one to prevent blood clots. After making sure there was no drug to drug interaction between any of this medications, I informed my patient that his medication can not cure diabetes and high blood pressure but control
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 ...
Atherosclerosis begins when the inner wall of the artery becomes damaged and cholesterol and fatty plaques begin to lodge in the arteries. Damage to the endothelial wall inside the artery can be caused by hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hyperglycemia (“Subclinical Atherosclerosis..” 443). When this happens, the immune system responds by sending monocytes to the damaged area. The monocytes turn into macrophages; their job is to eat up the excess cholesterol and unblock the artery. The macrophages are unable to digest all of the cholesterol, and as a result turn in to foam cells. When many macrophages are turned into foam cells, plaque results, and protrudes into the arterial wall, restricting blood flow and raising blood pressure (“Atherosclerosis Growth Process.” 8). If the plaque becomes too large it may break, releasing plaque into the blood. This can cause a great reduction in blood flow or a clot, resulting in stroke or myocardial infarction (“Stroke Risk.” 3).
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.
Cardiovascular Disease is defined by the American Heart Association as “Heart and blood vessel disease”. Atherosclerosis of the arteries, can lead to hypertension, heart failure, arrhythmias, heart valve problems, myocardial infarctions or a stroke (AHA, 2016). In this paper, all of heart and vessel diseases aforementioned, will be considered cardiovascular disease (CVD). According to
Before diagnose pleurisy, the doctor will ask about symptoms and medical history recently. It will use a stethoscope to auscultate the chest. More tests may be needed to identify the cause of pleurisy. These tests may include:
CHD is primarily due to atherosclerosis, which is the blockage of blood flow in the arteries due to the accumulation of fats, cholesterol, calcium and other substances found in the blood. Atherosclerosis takes place over many years, but when the blood flow becomes so limited due to the build up of plaque in the arteries, there becomes a serious problem. “When...
Coronary heart disease or coronary artery disease affects 16.8 million people in the United States and causes more than 607,000 deaths annually (Lemone, chap.30). It is caused by atherosclerosis which is the accumulation of fatty deposits in the arteries causing impaired blood flow to the myocardium. CAD or coronary artery syndrome is usually without symptoms but may induce heart attack, angina and acute coronary syndrome if not properly treated. There are many risk factors associated with CAD like obesity, high cholesterol diet, hereditary, physical inactivity, just to name a few. Patients with CAD may be unable to identify and manage their risks factors. It is imperative for nurses to educate the patient about CAD and measures to enhance their health.
What signs and symptoms to look for in CHD? The most common type of symptom is angina. What is angina? According to heart.org, angina is chest pain or discomfort caused when y...
Artherosclerosis is characterized by fatty deposits that develop as streaks inside the lining of arteries and some streaking can be found in teenagers and then by an increasing proportion of the population from then on. If you were to ask the experts what causes arteriosclerosis the answer would depend on the expert. Researchers do not agree on the causation but they have agreed on possible risk factors such as smoking, a high fat diet, high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, high iron levels, inflammation and bad genes. None of which appear to be the primary cause because if you were to eliminate one possible cause you should eliminate the disease. Many researchers have begun to think that many diseases including cancers originate as a composite of risk factors and that approach does not make sense because it suggests that Human arteries are so fragile that any one or combination of the...
Often times there are no symptoms of the underlying disease of the blood vessels. More times than not, a heart attack or stroke is the first warning or sign of the underlying disease. Since signs and symptoms of cardiovascular disease are not always apparent, it is important to know the symptoms of a heart attack so medical attention can be sought out immediately. According to...
of fatty substances on the inside wall of the arteries). It is not caused by
Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and heart defects. The major cause of this is a build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries. Plaque build-up thickens and stiffens the vessel walls, which can inhibit blood flow through the arteries to organs and tissues.
Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is an outcome of rheumatic fever, and involves inflammation and damage to parts of the heart, especially the valves (Eagle 313). RHD is one of the most common acquired childhood diseases, especially in regions where poverty is high. It is caused by rheumatic fever, which is attributed to streptococci infection in the throat, lungs and heart. Acute RHD affects the heart joints and central nervous system (Lie et al. 861). An estimated 15.6 million people worldwide suffer from RHD, which causes more than 200,000 deaths annually. Children and young adults living in developing countries account for the greatest number of victims (Sliwa et al. 719). Liu et al. (862) note that the worst affected areas are