Is Smoking The Main Cause Of Heart Disease?

Science Y10 Coursework

Is Smoking The Main Cause Of Heart Disease…?

In this study I will look at what heart disease actually is, how it can be caused through smoking, what can be done to prevent it, what are the major symptoms of heart disease, what are the other main causes and is the government doing enough to help not only prevent smoking but heart disease as well.

By Matthew Lee 10B

Intro…

What is heart disease?

Definition: Disorders of the heart can result in decreased blood supply to the heart muscle and result in shortness of breath. These include coronary artery disease, valvular disorders, heart failure

What I am going to look at…

In this study of Heart Disease I am going to look at what heart disease actually is, how it can be caused through smoking, how it can be caused through other methods such as Diet, family genes and of course smoking, the main type of heart disease I will be looking at is CAD or Connery Heart Disease as you can see in the diagram above…

(CAD)

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a condition in which plaque builds up inside the coronary arteries. These arteries supply your heart muscle with oxygen-rich blood which is then pumped around the body to supply your muscles with the oxygen in order to do aerobic respiration. Plaque is made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. When plaque builds up in the arteries, the condition is called and it can be fatal. Coronary Artery Disease is also the most well known form of the disease.

As you can see above the artery labeled “B” has endured a build up of plaque, which can then lead to blood clots and this is known as atherosclerosis which causes this person to have a lack of oxygenated blood being allowed to reach their heart.

Copied then edited by myself.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Cad/CAD_WhatIs.html

Contents…

Page 1 – Intro and Connery artery disease…

Page 2 – How is heart disease caused and hypertension…

Page 3 – Ways of reducing hypertension and ways of aiding an abnormal heart valve function…

Page 4 – Ways of aiding an abnormal heart rhythm and weakening of the hearts pumping ability…

Page’s 5, 6 and 7 - How is smoking causing heart disease…

Page 8 – Is passive smoking another cause of heart disease…

Page 9 – Passive Smoking as serious as it sounds…?

Page 10 – Graphs on heart disease…

Page’s 11 and 12 – Are there any other causes of heart disease, diet and genetics…

Page’s 13 and 14 – Conclusion…

Page’s 15 and 16 – Bibliography…

How is heart disease caused?

Heart disease can be caused by many different things. Different diseases (Listed Above) are caused by different things…

The most common cause of heart disease is a narrowing of or blockage in the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle itself ().

Some heart diseases are present at birth (). Other causes include:

Hypertension – This is commonly referred to as “High Blood Pressure” or “HTN” this is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated…
Abnormal heart valve function – An abnormal valve may either leak, or be too tight…
Abnormal heart rhythm – Otherwise known as an arrhythmia is a disturbance of the normal rhythm of the heart, over 700,000 people in England are affected…
Weakening of the heart's pumping ability caused by infection or toxins which can enter the body in many different ways…

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Hypertension or Blood Pressure…

Hypertension, most commonly referred to as "high blood pressure" or HTN, is a medical condition in which the is chronically elevated. It was previously referred to as arterial hypertension. Hypertension can be classified as either essential (primary) or secondary. Essential hypertension indicates that no specific medical cause can be found to explain a patient's condition. indicates that the high blood pressure is a result of (i.e. secondary to) another condition, such as or certain. Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for , and . Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy.

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Ways of reducing Hypertension…

and regular aerobic (e.g. jogging) are recommended as the first steps in treating mild to moderate hypertension…
Reducing is proven very effective: it decreases blood pressure in about 60% of people…
Additional dietary changes beneficial to reducing blood pressure include the (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which is rich in fruits and vegetables and low fat or fat-free dairy foods…
Discontinuing and has been shown to lower blood pressure…
Relaxation therapy, such as , that reduces environmental stress, and can be an additional method of ameliorating hypertension...

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension#Treatment

Ways of aiding an abnormal heart valve function?

This dysfunction or disease can be cured through operation…

Heart valve repair or replacement surgery is a treatment option for valvular heart disease. When heart valves become damaged or diseased, they may not function properly. Conditions which may cause heart valve dysfunction are valvular stenosis and valvular insufficiency (regurgitation). When one (or more) valve(s) becomes stenotic (stiff), the heart muscle must work harder to pump the blood through the valve. Some reasons why heart valves become stenotic include infection (such as rheumatic fever or staphylococcus infections) and aging. If one or more valves become insufficient (leaky), blood leaks backwards, this ...

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This dysfunction or disease can be cured through operation…

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http://www.stanfordhospital.com/healthlib/greystone/heartcenter/heartprocedures/heartvalverepairreplacementsurgery

Ways of reducing and aiding an abnormal heart rhythm…

Cardiac arrhythmia is any of a group of conditions in which the electrical activity of the is irregular or is faster or slower than normal.

What Causes an Arrhythmia? Arrhythmias may be caused by many different factors, including:

.
Electrolyte imbalances in your blood (such as sodium or potassium).
Changes in your heart muscle.
Injury from a .
Healing process after heart surgery.

Irregular heart rhythms can also occur in "normal, healthy" hearts. Some arrhythmias are life-threatening that can cause cardiac arrest and sudden death. Others cause aggravating symptoms, such as an awareness of a different heart beat which can be annoying. Some are quite minor and can be regarded as normal. In fact, most people have felt a skip of a beat or a sudden , which are usually not a cause for alarm but a healthy lifestyle and a good standard of living all aid towards having a healthier heart and therefore less chance of a serious arrhythmia…

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Weakening of the hearts pumping ability…

A weakening of the hearts pumping ability can be caused by so many different infections viruses or maybe the person with the problem was born naturally with it, there are s many different possibilities and one of those possibilities is Smoking which leads me on to the next part of my study…

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How is Smoking causing Heart disease?

In this section I will look at how Smoking causes heart disease, what it does to your heart and how smoking increases the risk of getting heart disease…

Source 1 - Smoking is the biggest risk factor for sudden death; up to 18 in every 100 deaths from heart disease are associated with smoking. People who smoke cigarettes have twice the risk of a heart attack as those who do not. If you are under 50 and a smoker, your risk of heart disease is ten times greater than for a non-smoker of the same age. The more you smoke and the younger you started, the greater your risk.

Passive Smoking…

Cigarette smoke not only affects smokers. When you smoke, the people around you are also at risk for developing health problems, especially children. Environmental tobacco smoke (also called passive smoke or second-hand smoke) affects people who are frequently around smokers. Second-hand smoke can cause chronic respiratory conditions, cancer and even heart disease. It is estimated that around 35,000 nonsmokers die from heart disease each year as a result of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke from people smoking around them…

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http://www.heartpro.co.uk/heart-attack-smoking-p-26.html

Smoking and heart disease…

Source 2…

Smoking is one of the major causes of cardiovascular disease. People who smoke are almost twice as likely to have a heart attack as people who have never smoked. Smoking can also increase the risk of developing several different types of cancer and is the main cause of some lung diseases.

How does smoking damage your heart?

Smoking damages the lining of the arteries, which can lead to the build-up of atheroma (fatty material) in the arteries. The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the amount of oxygen that the blood can carry to the heart and around the body. The nicotine in cigarettes stimulates the body to produce adrenaline, which makes the heart beat faster and raises blood pressure, which makes the heart work harder. Smoking may also make the blood more likely to clot. All of these things increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease, or of having a heart attack or a stroke.

What is second-hand smoke?

Second-hand smoke or passive smoking is where non-smokers inhale other people’s smoke. Second-hand smoke can also be harmful. Research shows that non-smokers who live with smokers have a greater risk of heart disease than those who don’t live with smokers.

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http://www.bhf.org.uk/keeping_your_heart_healthy/preventing_heart_disease/smoking.aspx

As you can see from the two sources above, British Heart Foundation and the Healthy Heart Programme, both have the same beliefs in what smoking can do to your heart and body. They both obviously believe that smoking is a major cause of heart disease which I’m sure many other charities and businesses believe the same thing but one thing both and many other websites I have looked at on the internet believe Second Hand Smoke or Passive Smoking is a major cause of deaths throughout the UK as it says in the first source from HeartPro.Co.Uk “35,000 people die from Passive Smoking each year” which is a massive amount. It also says “When you smoke, the people around you are also at risk for developing health problems, especially children” This is a key point “Especially children” it is a known fact the children are very prone to developing certain problems such as asthma and wheezing. The BBC Website reads “Their lungs are still developing, and at that stage they are much more susceptible to infection” Which is a serious concern for parents who do smoke or should be anyway…

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1114132.stm

The build up of plaque in this artery from smoking and maybe a bad diet can mean less blood to the muscles and if there is a major build up of plaque that could mean no oxygen and blood supply to the muscles or heart which then means…A heart attack…

As you can see in this diagram there is a blockage in the artery due to a blood clot and plaque. We then have below that dying muscle; this muscle is dying because no oxygen is able to get to that part of the heart. This will lead to a heart attack…

http://pbm.tnw.utwente.nl/master/master/Bat.doc/Bat-1.jpg

Is passive smoking another major cause of heart disease?

Passive smoking is the involuntary inhalation of smoke from products. It occurs when tobacco smoke permeates any environment, causing inhalation by all people within that environment. Such smoke is called secondhand smoke or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS). Current scientific evidence shows that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke causes death, disease and disability.

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What effect does it have on the passive smoker? – Source 1 on passive smoking…

Breathing in other people's smoke can cause eye irritation, headache, cough, sore throat, dizziness and nausea. Just 30 minutes exposure can be enough to reduce blood flow through the heart. There is also evidence to show that people with asthma can experience a significant decline in lung function when exposed. Whether or not passive smoking can trigger new cases of asthma is a hotly debated issue…

What about in the longer term?

Non-smokers, who are exposed to passive smoking in the home, have a 25% increased risk of heart disease and lung cancer and in fact 35,000 people have died from heart disease because of passive smoking...

Researchers from London's St George's Medical School and the Royal Free hospital have recently found when you include exposure to passive smoking in the workplace and public places the risk of coronary heart disease is increased by 50-60%. A major review in 1998 by the Government-appointed Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) concluded that passive smoking is a cause of lung cancer and ischemic heart disease in adult non-smokers, and a cause of respiratory disease, cot death, middle ear disease and asthmatic attacks in children...

There is also some evidence to suggest that passive smoking may affect children's mental development. SCOTH has looked at the data since 1998 and concluded second hand smoke is damaging. However, it is true that the health risks of breathing in other people's tobacco smoke are much smaller than those posed by actually smoking.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/3235820.stm

Passive Smoking is as serious as it sounds…

Source 2…

Passive smoking will not kill you; give you heart disease or lung cancer, according to a study which will inflame the controversy over tobacco bans in restaurants and the pariah status of smokers at work.

The findings from a California study, published as the lead paper and cover story of the highly-regarded British Medical Journal, provoked anguish and anger from campaigners, public health officials and the cancer society whose data it analyzed.

The findings also fly in the face of a pronouncement by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, that inhaling second hand cigarette smoke causes a number of forms of cancer, including lung cancer.

There were also claims that the authors had failed to declare the extent of their involvement with the tobacco industry.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/may/16/smoking.medicineandhealth

As you can see we have 2 contrasting issues, we have one from the Guardian Online and one from the BBC website. Personally I believe the BBC website is right in what it says and that the Guardian is not correct in what they say. As you can see “There were also claims that the authors had failed to declare the extent of their involvement with the tobacco industry.” Obviously the authors of the theory declined to declare the extent of their involvement with the tobacco industry this maybe suggests that the authors of this text have very little knowledge of the tobacco industry and don’t really know what they are discussing…

In the diagram below taken from the UK only 1% have died from passive smoking but if you look at the graph on the next page you will realise how serious this situation is…

http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/04fig1.21.gif

This graph above is based on figures taken from the U.K in 2004. As you can see in the graph above it is the 3rd column on the right of either graph we are looking at, it’s quite obvious to see that cardiovascular disease is far more common in females than it is in males in all 4 countries in the U.K.

Yet in this graph it seems to believe that heart disease is more common in males, so we have 2 contrasting issue’s in which I will review…

http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa04/images/38a_heart_disease_by_age_sex.gif

Personally I believe that the bottom graph is more reliable the only explanation I could possibly give for this, is that the bottom graph is concentrating on heart disease, and heart disease only, whereas the top graph is concentrating on cancer, heart disease and ischemic heart disease…

Are there any other causes of heart disease...?

Diet…

Poor diet and physical inactivity are the most common risk factors for heart disease. The role of diet and nutrition is influenced by a range of social, cultural, economic and physiological factors, including the available food supply, cost and family income.

The role of fat intake in heart disease is now fairly clearly established. The direct protective effect of specific diets or dietary changes is less clear but there are general health benefits in promoting healthy eating.

Overweight and obesity are established risk factors for heart disease. Strategies to reduce the prevalence of overweight include interventions affecting behaviour, physical activity, diet and combinations of all three approaches. These interventions include salt reduction, dietary fibre increase, and an adequate intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.

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So as you can see from the above diet is a major cause of heart disease, salt intake, saturated fat and an inadequate intake of fresh fruit and vegetables all increase the risk of having CAD or Connery heart disease…

Genetics…

Inheritance of Heart disease refers to whether the condition is inherited from your parents or "runs" in families. The level of inheritance of a condition depends on how important genetics are to the disease. Strongly genetic diseases are usually inherited, partially genetic diseases are sometimes inherited, and non-genetic diseases are not inherited.

Family History
Even if you have no genetic abnormalities (or don't know whether you do), you may be at increased risk for coronary heart disease if your grandfather, father, or brother developed heart disease before the age of 55, or your grandmother, mother, or sister developed it before the age of 65. Perhaps genetics is to blame for your family history -- or simply bad habits like smoking and poor eating. Either way you have the ability to lower your own risk.

Age and Sex
More men than women develop coronary heart disease. And on average, men develop it 10 years before women do. But in the end, 47 percent of all heart attacks occur in women.

Ethnicity
Race plays a role in your risk of coronary heart disease. For instance, some African Americans with coronary heart disease appear to have a genetic trait that increases the danger of high triglycerides, particularly in women. One study found that African Americans produce less nitric oxide in response to stress; this substance is critical for opening blood vessels and increasing blood flow. Native Americans, particularly those in North and South Dakota, also face a much higher risk of coronary heart disease than Caucasians, while Hispanics have a lower risk than all of these groups. Whether race-related risks are mostly attributable to genetics or lifestyle habits is uncertain.

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So as you can see genetics is a key part to the puzzle of CAD, different things can affect different people. We see Age and Sex, Ethnicity and Family History can all play key roles in weather a certain person may develop CAD…

Conclusion…

And finally I conclude. Personally I believe that smoking is an unbelievably serious issue and it must be dealt with by not only the government but the people of Britain, the smoking ban is key to the nation moving forward in this department. If people throughout the country do realise that smoking is very serious issue and realise smoking is causing so many problems (Heart Disease, Lung Cancer E.T.C) and giving up is the only way forward then it is key for everyone to move forward. Another issue which has to be talked about is passive smoking; this is again a massively serious issue many people are dying each year because of someone else’s smoke. But more needs to be done in the future to end this situation that the country has seemed to have got itself in, a country where exercise is the last thing on peoples minds and sitting in with a McDonalds, a cigarette in one hand and a Pepsi Max in the other is a serious problem. The government, in my opinion, need to do more to get not only young but the older section of the nation as well involved in exercise on a regular basis. Let me ask you, if you go out and walk through your nearest town or city near you and you take a look around and see how many people are sat in the Pub or McDonald’s and then have a look and see how many people are in the Gym or out on a run, I think you will realise what I am trying to get through to you…? The government just simply has to pump more money into the problem and into sports camps and sites but at the moment if we keep going at the rate we are going at by 2020 Heart Disease will be almost an un-talked about issue. Which is what we as a nation must strive for. But for weather smoking is the main cause of heart disease, I believe it is not the main cause of heart disease. I personally believe that diet and fat intakes and little exercise is the main cause of heart disease for the simple reason…

More people die from obesity linked diseases (Heart Disease) each year, than smoking diseases…

http://regional-institute.buffalo.edu/includes/TempFiles/Chart1467.gif

This pie chart here quite clearly explains my point, this pie chart is showing us that more people die from heart disease whilst being obese than those who are not obese…

Therefore I now believe that the government must concentrate on obesity and CAD as it is taking more lives each year than smoking is doing but again we cannot let it slip our minds, smoking is still a major cause of heart disease and measures must still be taken to try cut the number of deaths through smoking whilst taking measures to cut the number of deaths through obesity…

Bibliography…

Page 1 - - A very reliable source coming from the East Carolina University. A very reliable University which specialise in Heart operations and offer consultation for evaluation and diagnosis.

- A sincerely reliable source as the whole association is dedicated to Heart Disease and solving the problems involved with heart disease hence the title “National heart lung and blood institute”

Page 2 - - A not so reliable resource, yet I only copied 4 lines will not make a massive difference to my study.

- Wikipedia, a very informative site yet the text on it can be edited by anyone therefore I believe (Although what I pasted off the site was the same as all the other sites I looked at) it is slightly unreliable.

Page 3 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertension#Treatment – Again Wikipedia, the same topic as what I looked at on the above, I still believe it is slightly unreliable.

http://www.stanfordhospital.com/healthlib/greystone/heartcenter/heartprocedures/heartvalverepairreplacementsurgery - A very reliable source as Stanford Hospital actually specialises in Heart failure and has a whole centre dedicated to the problem.

Page 4 - - As before I do believe this source is slightly unreliable but again it did say the exact same as other websites I looked at.

Page 5 - http://www.heartpro.co.uk/heart-attack-smoking-p-26.html - I believe that this website tells us all in the name “Heart Pro” This website gives you tips advice and help on all there needs to be known about heart disease.

Page 6 - http://www.bhf.org.uk/keeping_your_heart_healthy/preventing_heart_disease/smoking.aspx - The most reliable source to go to, the British Heart Foundation but this source may be slightly biased as the BHF is all for the smoking ban.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1114132.stm - Again a reliable resource coming from the BBC website which is not biased in most things it says and is heavily reliable on up to the minute news and articles.

Page 7 - http://pbm.tnw.utwente.nl/master/master/Bat.doc/Bat-1.jpg - This a reliable diagram coming from a Dutch website which is a special university which is involved in heart problems.

Page 8 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/3235820.stm - As i said in the lines above a reliable and non-biased source.

Page 9 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2003/may/16/smoking.medicineandhealth - A quite unreliable resource, coming from a newspaper and of course we all know newspapers can speak a different language at times! But of course we must respect the source and I believe it is non-biased but not as factual and reliable at times.

Page 10 - http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files/04fig1.21.gif - A very reliable, non-biased, intelligent graph, coming directly from the government it can be relied upon.

http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa04/images/38a_heart_disease_by_age_sex.gif – A source which is slightly reliable, but coming from a health bureau we must respect this source and that what it says is likely to be correct which is not biased in the article I used to get the information.

Page 11 - - Although this may be coming from an Australian Government website what I did copy off the site was simply what diet did to your heart and how it affected you so really I could have got the same info off any website, but of course coming from a government website it is very reliable.

Page 12 - - This piece of text was taken from a magazine called “Readers Digest” this source will not be biased because it is a magazine which is trying to inform all its readers and not just one section but I think it is not very reliable due to the fact it is not a very well known magazine.

Page 13 - http://regional-institute.buffalo.edu/includes/TempFiles/Chart1467.gif - My last and final source coming from the university of Buffalo, not that amazingly reliable but what I would call a trustable source which is not biased I do not think in any given way.

☺ By Matthew Lee ☺

10B

Science Coursework