Factors that affect the development of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).

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 for example a permanent 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 there isn’t enough blood going through to the heart. If not enough oxygen reaches the heart, an experience of chest pain called angina comes into play. If the blood is cut off completely to the heart it results to a heart attack. This could be due to unhealthy dieting.

A constant consumption of foods that have high cholesterol levels, increase the fat in the body and the fat starts to deposit them in the inner walls of the coronary arteries. If a large amount of salt is consumed regularly or daily then it can increase the blood pressure in people. People with high blood pressure are more at risk of getting CHD and stroke. Blood pressure rises in people who are obese, drink too much alcohol, take little or no exercise and who smoke. People gain weight if the amount of energy obtained from food and drinks is greater than the amount of energy used up. People who do not exercise can put themselves to the high risk of getting CHD. Regular physical activity helps prevent any kind of diseases. The more vigorous the activity, the greater your benefits. Exercise can help control blood cholesterol, diabetes and obesity, as well as help lower blood pressure in some people. Keeping to a regular regime of exercise helps to metabolize the fats coming into the body in an efficient way. We now live in a world with 9 to 5 work hours and fast foods. 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.

Cigarette smoking is a major cause of heart disease. Smoking causes 120,000 deaths per year in the UK. You might not of known it but the smoke in a cigarette contains more than 4,000 chemicals and they contain many known poisons. 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 in tobacco contains dozens of chemicals that cause cancer. It is one of the components that clog up the arteries from the result of smoking. There are now ...

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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. The interviewer deliberately interrupting the interviewee also assessed impatience. 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 can 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. Treatment maybe in the form of a lifestyle change, 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.

So as we can see there are many ways that CHD can develop, biologically or environmentally. It is one of the biggest killers in the world and is on the increase.

Bibliography

Daily Telegraph Article

Coronary Heart Disease Leaflet

Psychology book (M.W. Eysenck & C. Flanagan)