HEART DISEASE The heart pumps blood around the body, supplying oxygen to all the organs, including the heart itself.

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HEART DISEASE

The heart pumps blood around the body, supplying oxygen to all the organs, including the heart itself. The vessels that carry blood to the heart muscle are called coronary arteries (1). There are two sides to the heart, each of which acts as a separate pump. The two halves are sub-divided into four chambers, so there are four chambers in all (2).  A healthy heart will function in this way, but disruptions along the cardiac cycle can cause serious problems to the heart and lead to conditions, such as Heart disease.

Coronary heart disease or (CHD) is more common in the elderly and affects 4 times more men than women according to recent studies (2). Coronary heart disease comes in two main forms: heart attack and angina.

The coronary arteries become narrow with the build-up of fatty deposits, which may build-up over the course of 20-30 years. This will reduce the flow of blood to the heart and increases the chances of a blood clot blocking the artery, and becoming lodged in the coronary vessel. The blood cannot reach the heart muscle beyond this clot and a section of the heart then dies. This is also known as thrombosis (4).

Thrombosis is one of the central problems in coronary heart disease. It is the cause of sudden deterioration in angina and most heart attacks. Fatty deposits known as ‘plaques’ are made up of many substances including a fatty substance called cholesterol.  

Cholesterol is a type of fatty substance that’s naturally made in the body and is needed to help build up sex hormones in the body.  Several different lipoproteins are responsible for the transport of cholesterol in our bodies. Two in particular are important in CHD –low –density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs).

 High levels of LDL cholesterol are linked to the development of atherosclerosis and CHD, and are known as ‘bad cholesterol’.  High levels of HDL cholesterol have a protective effect and so cholesterol transported by HDLs is called ‘good cholesterol (1).

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The fatty deposits (lipids) are made up of decaying muscle cells, cholesterol, calcium and other substances. These fatty deposits are also known as Atherosclerosis (3) and are due to thickening of the arterial wall caused by fat, fibrous tissue and salts being deposited on it. This condition is sometimes referred to as hardening of the arteries, and is the process that leads to coronary heart disease.

Atherosclerosis occurs when the heart muscle does not receive enough oxygen due to a narrowing of one of the arteries that supply blood to the heart. The condition is usually brought ...

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