BIOLOGY PROJECT CRONARY HEART DISEAS (CHD)

BY AHMAD ALMAGHRABI

- What is it ?
There are arteries called coronary arteries that supply the heart with oxygen and nutrients needed ,coronary heart disease occurs when atheroma , cholesterol and fatty deposits builds up in the walls inside the coronary arteries narrowing its lumen ,this condition occur over many years and is called atherosclerosis .

- How it occurs :
The Plaque is made of cholesterol ,fat ,calcium and other substances found in the blood , the plaque narrows the lumen and restrict the blood flow inside the arteries and hardens it by blood clotting when an area of the plaque ruptures (breaks open) . this leads to the blockage of the artery and blood can no longer flow to supply that part of the heart with enough oxygen and vital nutrients .

When coronary arteries get blocked a pain rises in the chest usually when physical activity called angina ,this pain might be felt in the neck ,shoulders ,arms ,jaws ,or the back sometimes . the person feels like a heavy weight or squeezing sensation , its similar to indigestion pain and may eases when resting . angina rises more as the artery gets more narrowed and pain is felt with little exertion and eases much slower ,and when blocked the angina becomes unstable and called crescendo and is very serious and will increase the risk of heart attacks when coronary arteries get blocked a heart attack or also called myocardial infarction (MI) will occur ,this is because the part of the heart that was supplied with oxygen by blocked artery will no longer have the enough supply of the oxygen and nutrients ,this part will weaken over time and dies . when heart cells dies heart cardiac muscles will get weakened and will work inefficiently in pumping the blood to the whole body ,this condition is called heart failure or arrhythmias (problems in the heart beats ). Heart attacks happens suddenly and frequently without warning but there are some usual symptoms of a heart attack just like severe ,persistent ,crushing chest pain radiating to the arms ,sweating ,nausea ,vomiting and breathlessness . if a person is suspecting some of them ,he should call an ambulance or go to the hospital and rest with out any exertion to avoid more stress on the heart . It must be treated quickly because its fatal and causes a lot of sudden death .

- causes :
It's high. CHD is the most common cause of death in the UK, accounting for around 117,000 deaths a year and for approximately one in four deaths in men.

There are about 178,000 cases of angina among men every year in the UK. MI affects six in every thousand men per year. Although death rates have fallen 4% per year since the 1970s, the death rate in the UK is still high compared with, say, the USA or Australia.

Since the early 1990s the death rate among professional men has been much lower than among unskilled men.

- Risk factors :
There are risk factors that increases possibility of the coronary heart disease ,some of them cannot be changed ,they are :

age. The risk of heart disease increases with age. gender. Men have a higher risk of getting heart disease than women who are still getting their menstrual period. After menopause, the risk for women is closer to the risk for men. genes. If your parents or other close relatives had heart disease, you are at higher risk. race. African Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, Hawaiians, and some Asian Americans also have a higher risk for heart problems.

Other important risk factors are listed below :

Diabetes is a strong risk factor for heart disease. High blood pressure increases your risks of heart disease and heart failure. Extra cholesterol in your blood builds up inside the walls of your heart's arteries (blood vessels). Smokers have a much higher risk of heart disease. Chronic kidney disease can increase your risk. People with narrowed arteries in another part of the body (examples are stroke and poor blood flow to the legs) are more likely to have heart disease.

Substance abuse (such as cocaine) Being overweight Not getting enough exercises, and feeling depressed or having excess stress are other risk factors.

- TESTS AND OBSERVATIONS:

There are different ways and tests used by doctors to observe CHD if its in the person or not, some of them are listed below :

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) is a graphic record of the electrical activity of the heart as it contracts and rests. Abnormal heartbeats and some areas of damage, inadequate blood flow, and heart enlargement can be detected on the records. A stress test (also called a treadmill test or exercise ECG) is used to record the heartbeat during exercise. This is done because some heart problems only show up when the heart is working hard. In the test, an ECG is done before, during, and after exercising on a treadmill; breathing rate and blood pressure may be measured as well. Exercise tests are useful but are not completely reliable; false positives (showing a problem where none exists) and false negatives (showing no problem when something is wrong) are fairly common. Nuclear scanning is sometimes used to show damaged areas of the heart and expose problems with the heart's pumping action. A small amount of radioactive material is injected into a vein, usually in the arm. A scanning camera records the nuclear material that is taken up by heart muscle (healthy areas) or not taken up (damaged areas). Coronary angiography (or arteriography) is a test used to explore the coronary arteries. A fine tube (catheter) is put into an artery of an arm or leg and passed through the tube into the arteries of the heart. The heart and blood vessels are then filmed while the heart pumps. The picture that is seen, called an angiogram or arteriogram, will show problems such as a blockage caused by atherosclerosis.

- Treatment :
Lifestyle changes and reversibility
Lifestyle changes have been shown to be effective in reducing (and in the case of diet, reversing) coronary disease:

A plant-based diet has been shown by Caldwell Esselstyn and T. Colin Campbell among others to be hugely effective as a treatment of coronary disease, and generalized atherosclerosis. In numerous peer reviewed studies the progression of heart disease has been shown to halt, and in some cases, the disease process may be reversed. Information recommending the reduction of animal based foods and an increase in plant based foods has been established for over 50 years. Weight control Smoking cessation Avoiding the consumption of trans fats (in partially hydrogenated oils) Exercise Fish oil consumption to increase omega-3 fatty acid intake

Medications to treat coronary disease

Cholesterol lowering medications, such as statins, are useful to decrease the amount of "bad" (LDL) cholesterol. Nitroglycerin ACE inhibitors, which treat hypertension and may lower the risk of recurrent myocardial infarction Calcium channel blockers and/or beta-blockers Aspirin

Surgical intervention

Angioplasty Stents (bare-metal or drug-eluting) Coronary artery bypass Heart transplant