Coronary Heart Disease

BIOLOGY COURSEWORK

Coronary heart disease remains the most common cause of death in the United Kingdom. A statistic from the American Heart Association is that heart disease claims a life every 24 seconds. [www.americanheart.org] Another is that it is the largest single cause of premature death in the United Kingdom, responsible for 180 000 deaths annually. [www.americanheart.org] Some cases are related to family history, but in my opinion the majority of cases are self-inflicted i.e. they are related to diet and lifestyle and I intend to investigate the factors that contribute towards the development of Coronary Heart Disease.

Coronary Heart Disease is caused by the narrowing of the arteries due to the build up of fatty deposits in the lining of the arteries [atherosclerosis]. The presence of a blood clot in these arteries can lead to a blockage, which cuts off the supply of blood to the heart, and to a subse4quent heart attack [coronary thrombosis]. Stroke is the sudden loss of brain function mostly due to a blood clot in the artery supplying the brain. [P.M. Gaman and K.B. Sherrington, the science of food, 4th Edition] Many factors are known to increase the risk of Coronary Heart Disease. Some are major risk factors that can’t be changed, e.g. a genetic predisposition to the disease.

Smoking is a major contributor and increases the likelihood of fatty deposits arising on the inner lining of the arteries, which causes the lumen to narrow, so restricting the movement of blood through them. When this narrowing occurs in the coronary artery it can lead to a heart attack. Narrowing the carotid artery may lead to a stroke. [Toole, G. & S. (1999) Understanding Biology for Advanced Level 4th edition, Stanley Thrones].

Cholesterol is another contributory factor towards atherosclerosis. Cholesterol is carried in the blood by specific proteins, which direct its metabolism. In particular Coronary Heart Disease is linked to low density lipoproteins (LDLs) which carries 70% of blood cholesterol. A high level of LDL cholesterol in the blood [especially if oxidised] can lead to deposits in the arteries, which cause narrowing. High density lipoproteins (HDLs) on the other hand are beneficial as it transports cholesterol from places where there is too much to the liver where it can be disposed of.

Much attention has been focused on the correlation ...

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Much attention has been focused on the correlation between a high intake and the incidence of Coronary Heart Disease. Overweight and obese people are the most likely to be at risk especially those who have extra weight around there middle which is ‘apple shaped’ as opposed to those who have much of their weight around their hips and thighs, these people are said to be ‘pear-shaped’.

A factor corresponding to obesity is the role of exercise. Many people in the UK lead very inactive lifestyles – few people have physically active jobs or do significant amounts of exercise out of work. [www.nutrition.org.uk] Therefore, any form of exercise is encouraged to increase energy output, as well as reducing energy output obtained from the diet.

High Blood Pressure, or Hypertension, has been related to the development of Coronary Heart Disease. The heart pumps blood around the body pushing it through some small blood vessels, which may produce resistance. The pumping of the heart against the resistance creates the blood pressure needed to keep the blood circulating. When the pressure is persistently high, this is called high blood pressure. It tends to be raised in people who are overweight, drink a lot of alcohol, take little exercise, smoke cigarettes and eat a lot of salt.

Considering which of these factors are relevant and altering them accordingly, can help reduce blood pressure.

People who consume large quantities of alcohol, especially those who binge are at the greatest risk of contracting heart disease. [] Stress is an added factor that is suspected of increasing the risk e.g. people under stress may over eat, start smoking or smoke more than usual, but there is insufficient evidence to support this theory- stress levels are difficult to measure accurately.

In contrast to all the above factors, there appears to be several inherited factors that affect the development of Coronary Heart Disease. [Biological Sciences review – May 1993 issue] As mentioned earlier, body shape plays an important role in which gender contracts the disease. Men tend to be more ‘apple shaped’, whereas women tend to be more ‘pear shaped’, therefore men are at greater risk in comparison to women.

Individuals with a family history of heart disease are more susceptible to development, as are older people as opposed to younger people.

It is obvious from the research that the majority of factors are changeable and several methods of prevention can be under taken to hinder the development of Coronary Heart Disease.

Smoking is one factor that can be difficult to approach because the body has become addicted. Gradually reducing the daily intake can be beneficial, even if it is decided not to withdraw cigarettes completely from the body. []

Alcohol is similar in many respects in that the body becomes addicted; however it is not necessary to extract it entirely. Excessive amounts should be avoided, only limited and sensible amounts should be drunk in moderation.

Achieving a healthy well balanced diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fibres and low in fat, salt and sugar is advisable, as in increasing activity levels thus increasing energy output. A healthy and sensible weight puts less strain on the hips, thighs, knees and therefore makes the bones less vulnerable to injury.

Reducing the risk of high blood pressure will also help reduce the risk of Coronary Heart Disease. [Biological Sciences review – January 1995 issue] It cannot be cured, only controlled and there are several ways to do so, such as cutting down on smoking, watching body weight, being sparing with salt, taking regular physical activity, drinking less alcohol.

It is evident that Coronary Heart Disease is an issue that must be dealt with promptly as it is currently a major killer in Northern Ireland and indeed throughout the UK. [Biological Sciences review – November 2000 issue] It is also obvious that the majority of these incidences can be prevented and therefore I feel there is an increasing necessary for Health Promotion. The public need to be made aware of the dangers that Coronary Heart Disease poses and that they must be encouraged to alter the current trend. The current situation must be addressed immediately and if action is not taken towards the present trends, then Coronary Heart Disease will continue to destroy thousands of lives each year and remain the largest killer in Northern Ireland.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Toole, G. & S. (1999) Understanding Biology for Advanced Level (4th edition) Stanley Thrones.

Toole, G. & S. (1998) Understanding Biology for Advanced Level (3rd edition) Stanley Thrones.

P.M Gaman and K.B Sherrington, The Science of Food 4th edition, (2000)

Biological Sciences Review –

November 2000 issue
January 1995 issue
May 1993 issue

.org.uk

7. www.americanheart.org

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

pictureperfect

6th of Aug 2012

Quality of writing

This is a reasonably well written essay, the candidate has demonstrated a good understanding of the topic, they have used appropriate medical terms and there are no errors with spelling or grammar.

Level of analysis

It is clear that the candidate has undergone independent research, this demonstrates an interest in your subject which is always a good thing. Furthermore, the additional information this enables you to include in your work can make your essay more enjoyable to read. To add to this, the candidate has included references to the various resources they have used which is important as this shows the steps you have taken to prepare for your essay and providing you have written up the information in you own words this shows that your work is not plagiarised. However the way in which the candidate has sited resources is not really appropriate, it is more acceptable to write a bibliography at the end of your essay in which you can include links to webpages and the names of books you have looked at. On a final note, the candidate fails to ends this piece work with an appropriate conclusion. When concluding an essay, you should write a summary of the key points you have mentioned and explain why this are important, this helps to tie together any loose ends and draw you essay to a close.

Response to question

The candidate starts off with a good introductory paragraph, they have attempted to engage the reader by giving interesting facts related to coronary heart disease and they have stated what they plan to discuss, which is important as you want to make the purpose of your essay clear to the reader. The one thing this introduction is lacking is a brief description of what coronary heart disease actually is, you need to include a few sentences that introduce your topic as this helps start off the essay. Overall the candidate has given a good response to this topic, though they have not looked at any statistical data or scientific reports, therefore have not really considered the evidence relating to the causes of coronary heart disease. This is something you should consider if you discussing causes of a disease, you need look for evidence that backs up the theories.

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