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There are five main Cardiovascular Diseases that we need to discuss for this section of the course:
Atherosclerosis
Hypertension
Heart Attack
Stroke
Congestive Heart Failure
Each of these will be discussed in sub-sections below. They all pose great concern to any individual who has been diagnosed with them.
Atherosclerosis
Below is a short video to watch (under 1 min) that shows what Atherosclerosis is in relation to an artery of an individual:
So the build up of "plaque" in an artery can:
1) cause blood pressure to increase and
2) eventually cause a heart attack or a stroke (more on these below).
Hypertension
Related to Atherosclerosis is Hypertension. We are going to step back a little bit this semester for the first part of this section. Remember that Systolic BP is the pressure exerted on your arteries when you heart is contracting (systole). And Diastolic BP is the pressure exerted on your arteries when your heart is in between beats (or relaxing) (diastole).
Here is a great (and short) video to watch about blood pressure:
If pressure stays too high for a longer period of time, the pressure can then damage an artery wall, leading to Atherosclerosis (see previous video above).
Hypertension is diagnosed when blood pressure values (either systolic or diastolic or both) are above certain criteria. These criteria are listed below:
Heart Attack
Your coronary arteries supply your heart muscle with blood and therefore oxygen. Heart Muscle tissue is an "aerobic muscle". In other words, it need oxygen in order for it to continue beating. If the heart muscle has its oxygen supply cut off (such as when Atherosclerosis build-up of plaque becomes too much to allow oxygen and blood to get through), then the heart tissue will "suffocate" and die. This is a heart attack and if medical treatment is not sought right away, the person who has a heart attack will die. Your heart will signal to you if it is experiencing limited oxygen supply. This signal is called angina ("glossary") and can be quite painful.
Here is a nice video that demonstrates what happens during a heart attack (it is about 2 minutes long) and what can be done afterward:
Stroke
Strokes are somewhat similar to heart attacks in that if a blockage occurs in an artery in the brain, a stroke can occur (and the person may die). But Strokes are unique because there are multiple types of strokes (which I won't quiz you on differences between the types) and multiple reasons for strokes and multiple outcomes of strokes.
To understand strokes, view this 3 minute video:
This is a second link that provides an understanding of strokes: What is a Stroke website
Strokes can have multiple affects on the brain depending on where the stroke occurs. The damage from a stroke can be permanent because brains cells that are damaged do not regenerate themselves. Go to this short (about 3 minutes) video on what can happen to a person if he/she has a stroke (there are numerous outcomes, not just death):
Congestive Heart Failure
This final cardiovascular disease can occur when a person's heart is "over-worked" during its lifetime... constantly beating and beating faster and more often even though a person didn't need it to do so. When a person gets stressed, his or her heart rate increases. When a person drinks too much caffeinated beverages, his/her heart rate increases. When a person is "out of shape", his/her heart rate is higher throughout the day to do simple tasks (walking from place to place for example). The causes of heart attacks described above can also be blamed for those who suffer from this type of disease. For people who constantly have a higher heart rate or who deal with higher blood pressure, he/she may end up suffering from congestive heart disease (glossary) later in life.
For a great (and short!) video on congestive heart failure, please watch this:
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