Factors Affecting Coronary Heart Disease.

There are many factors that affect the development of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). Cigarette smoking, Unhealthy Diet causing Obesity, physical inactivity and also Psychological Implications. There are many biological factors that are linked to all of these. There are genetic factors, gender and age factors to consider.

It affects more than 1.4 million people in the UK in some form. It kills more than 1,100,000 people in England, of whom nearly half are under the age of 75.

Coronary Heart Disease is the narrowing of the coronary arteries that are linked to the heart. The heart is a muscle and it needs all the essentials any other muscle would need such as constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the arteries are narrowed down or clogged by fat, a process called Atherosclerosis takes place and doesn’t supply enough blood to the heart. If not enough oxygen reaches the heart, an experience of chest pain called angina comes into play. If the blood to the heart is cut off completely, then the result is a heart attack.

This could be due to unhealthy dieting. Eating fast foods that have a high cholesterol level, increase the fat in the body and start to deposit them in the inner walls of the coronary arteries. People with high blood pressure have a greater risk of getting CHD and stroke. Blood pressure tends to be raised in people who are obese, drink too much alcohol, take little or no exercise and who smoke. Eating lots of salt can also increase the blood pressure in people. This all causes Obesity. Obesity is on an increase around the world. We now live in a world with 9 to 5 work hours and fast foods. Obese people tend to have increased levels of blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and an increased risk of diabetes. People gain weight if the amount of energy obtained from food and drinks is greater than the amount of energy used up. Inactive people use up less energy than people who exercise regularly. There is no doubt that high marketed companies such as McDonalds, Burger King etc. have had a massive impact on the climbing rise on obesity levels. Physical inactivity can also lead to the high risk of getting CHD. An inactive lifestyle is a risk factor. Regular physical activity helps prevent heart and blood vessel disease. The more vigorous the activity, the greater your benefits. However, even moderate-intensity activities help if done regularly and long term. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as help lower blood pressure in some people. Keeping fit and staying fit helps to metabolize the fats coming into the body in an efficient way.

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of heart attack. Smoking causes 120,000 deaths per year in the UK. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, many of them known poisons. Nicotine and carbon monoxide play a role in the process leading to heart and blood vessel disease. Tar in tobacco contains dozens of chemicals that cause cancer. Smokers have a 70 per cent greater risk of death from coronary heart disease than non-smokers. By smoking you increase your risk of heart attack by two to six times. Tar is one of the components that clog up the arteries. There are ...

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There have also been psychological studies to state that Stress has a profound role in the development of CHD. There were 2 cardiologists, Friedman and Rosenman, and they came up with the fact that different people have different personality types. Type A was the Competitive, impatient and restless personality. Type B lacked the characteristics of Type A and was more relaxed. Type C was a nice sociable person but tended to Repress its personal emotions. They assessed the personality type by means of interview. They interviewed 3200 people. They focused on two main areas, the answers given to the question and behavior by the loudness and speed of their speaking. Impatience was also assessed by the interviewer deliberately interrupting the interviewee. Their findings 8 and a half years later showed that 257 of the men interviewed had developed Coronary Heart Disease and 70% of them had been classed as Type A. These findings tell us that people who are competitive and impatience and have a constant feel of pressure are more likely to develop CHD. So stress is another factor to consider.

But all of these factors are able to be controlled. We have to consider aswell the uncontrollable factors.

The biological factors are also important. For instance Gender, males tend to be more at risk because they take part in more unhealthy practices such as going down the pub, eating out more than women. Before passing the menopause, women have a variety of hormones that are able to protect the arteries, whereas men between the ages of 35 and 44 are 6 times more likely to sustain a heart attack than women. But after the age of 65, women are just as likely to develop a heart disease as men are.

Also as we get older, our chances of developing Coronary Heart Disease increase aswell.

Also Coronary Heart Disease can be hereditary and could be passed down from generation to generation. Coronary heart disease is much more common in some families than in others. As DNA tells us the sizes of the arteries then it is likely that every characteristic of all parts of the body are passed on to the children.

Nowadays, there are many treatments for CHD. Generally, treatments maybe either Lifestyle changes, Medication or even surgery. A lifestyle change may include and low fat diet to keep down cholesterol levels and eating more healthy foods like fish. Reducing the intake of Sodium, to keep the blood pressure under control. An exercise regime to keep physically active to help metabolise foods more efficiently and also a complete stop to smoking. There are many medications for CHD. There are cholesterol-lowering medication and also medication to keep the blood pressure low.

Bibliography

Daily Telegraph Article

Coronary Heart Disease Leaflet