Explain the Factors that affect Coronary Heart Disease.

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Explain the Factors that affect Coronary Heart Disease

          Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is a disease that affects the coronary arteries. These arteries supply the heart with oxygen and glucose (2).  When one of these is blocked, the area of heart muscle that it supplies is deprived of oxygen. This can cause a heart attack (myocardial infarction) or angina (3).  Angina is a severe pain in the chest brought on by exertion (10) and a heart attack occurs when the heart muscle beyond the blocked artery begins to die (6). There are three main reasons why blockages occur in an artery: Atherosclerosis, the build up of fatty material (atheroma) in the lining of the artery wall. This will form hard plaque with fibrous tissue and calcium salts narrowing the artery lumen. Secondly, thrombosis, the presence of blood clots in an artery, which blocks the lumen. Thirdly, a spasm could take place where the muscle in the wall of the artery contracts, causing the lumen to narrow (3). There are many factors, which affect these three events, which in turn lead to CHD. Some are controllable but others are not.

 The three major controllable factors are high blood pressure, smoking and high blood cholesterol levels (9).  High blood pressure increases the heart’s workload causing it to enlarge and weaken over time. This high pressure also damages the smooth thin delicate layer lining the coronary artery, which causes cholesterol to build up (6).  When high blood pressure exists with obesity, smoking, high blood cholesterol levels or diabetes, the risk of heart attack or stroke increases several times (9).  

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Heavy cigarette smokers are more likely to develop atherosclerosis (4), as the likelihood of fatty deposits developing on the inner lining of the arteries is greater (5).  This is due the presence of nicotine and carbon monoxide in cigarettes. Nicotine causes hormones such as adrenalin to be released which constricts arteries and makes the heart beat faster, causing the blood to get stickier and more likely to clot and an increase in blood pressure to take place. If the coronary artery has already become furred up with atheroma, the stickier blood may create a clot too. Carbon monoxide also seems ...

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