Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest single cause of death in the UK.The common underlying cause of cardiovascular disease is a build up of a fatty material, called atheroma, in the walls of the arteries.

Cardiovascular diseases: Aneurysm – a ballooning of the artery due to a weakness in the wall. This requires urgent surgery because a ruptured aneurysm is usually fatal. Angina – chest pains caused by an inadequate supply of blood and therefore O₂ to the heart muscle. Arteriosclerosis – hardening of the arteries. Associated with old age, the blood vessel walls, particularly of the arteries, become less elastic and more liable to rupture. Atheroma – the fatty deposit that builds up under the endothelium lining of the blood vessels. As the atheroma gets thicker, the lumen of the artery gets smaller.…