Factors leading to Coronary Heart disease

Authors Avatar
Factors leading to Coronary Heart disease

Coronary heart disease is the leading single cause of death. It took the lives of over 135,000 people in the UK, in 1998. One in four men and one in five women die from the disease. Coronary heart disease by itself is the most common cause of death in Europe: accounting for nearly two million deaths in Europe each year. Over one in five women (22%) and men (21%) die from the disease. In the European Union, coronary heart disease is also the most common single cause of death, with over 600,000 deaths every year.

The narrowing of the coronary arteries (in the heart) that feed the heart causes coronary Heart disease. Like any muscle, the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, which are carried to it by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by cholesterol and fat deposits a process called atherosclerosis. And are not able to supply enough blood to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease (CHD). If not enough oxygen-carrying blood reaches the heart, you may experience chest pain called angina. Sometimes this inadequate blood supply may cause no symptoms this is a condition called silent angina. If the blood supply to a portion of the heart is completely cut off by total blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack. This is usually due to a sudden closure from a blood clot forming on top of a previous narrowing. The blockage of the coronary heart disease begins to occur at an early age, a little bit of blockage is generally harmless. If the coronary artery becomes 50% blocked there is less blood flow than needed at periods of increased e.g. exercise which will cause shortness of breath. When the artery is 90% blocked there is generally a lack of blood supply at rest. When the artery is 100% blocked a heart attack occurs the part of the heart that does not receive oxygen begins to die, and some of the heart muscle may be permanently damaged. The diagram shows how the coronary arteries look, when they are normal, half blocked and totally blocked.

Risk factors are conditions that increase your risk for developing coronary heart disease. Some of these factors can be changed (controllable) and some cannot be changed (uncontrollable).

The risk factors that you cannot control are:

* Age (45 years or older for men, 55 years or older for women)

* Family history

In this case people are unable to control their chance of developing coronary heart disease. Fortunately, there are things you can to address most of the risk factors for coronary heart disease.

The know risk factors that you can control include:

* High blood cholesterol (high total cholesterol) and high LDL cholesterol
Join now!


* Low HDL cholesterol

* Smoking

* High blood pressure

* Diabetes

* Obesity

* Stress

* Physical inactivity

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body and that your body needs to function normally. It is present in cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body, including the brain, nerves, muscle, skin, liver, intestines, and heart. Your body uses cholesterol to produce many hormones, vitamin D, and the bile acids that help to digest ...

This is a preview of the whole essay