Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)

Coronary heart disease

The heart pumps blood around the body which contains glucose and oxygen however in order for this to happen the heart muscle cells also need blood. On the outside of the heart there are vessels called coronary arteries and these deliver the blood to the heart itself. Coronary heart disease, a type of CVD, is when these arteries become narrowed by fatty deposits due to poor lifestyle choices such as a bad diet. This reduces the amount of blood and oxygen reaching the cells which can then lead to heart attack.

A way to treat Coronary Heart Disease is through the use of a stent. This is a wire mesh that is inserted in the arteries of the patient along with a balloon. This ballon is then inflated pushing on the wire mesh and widening the artery. The ballon is then deflated and removed however as the wire mesh is made from a memory shape polymer it remains in postion keeping the artery widened. As a result of the stent platelets in the blood will begin to accumulate around it as cause a clot, this is known as thrombosis, therefore the patient would have to take anticoagulants for the rest of thier life.

Another effective treatment that would be neccessary if the arteries are so severly damged that a stent wouldnt work is called a heart bypass. This is where the blood is re-routed around the blockage through surgery. 

Causes of fatty deposits:

           Cholesterol - This is an essential lipid that is made in the liver. It is needed in cell                                              membranes and also to make some steroid hormones. Its transported                                   …