What is CHD?
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the blocking of the arteries that directly supply the heart muscle, with it's necessities such as oxygen rich blood which the cells need in order to function. Without this oxygen rich blood the cells cannot function hence, they die. In the heart we have 2 main coronary arteries, one on the right, the other on the left. They then branch off into many smaller arteries which then provide the heart with the oxygen. Coronary heart disease is usually caused by a condition called atherosclerosis, which occurs when fatty material and other substances form a plaque build-up on the walls of your arteries. A diet high in fat and cholesterol can cause a deposit of plaque to form on the inside of the artery, making it narrower and preventing blood supply. As a result of these we can feel pain otherwise known as angina.
How does CHD develop? (The process)
- Your arteries are shaped like hollow tubes and normally, when healthy their inner walls are smooth and elastic, as shown in Figure 1.
- CHD develops at a very young age; before a child reaches their teen years the blood vessel walls begin to show streaks of fat.
 |
| Figure 1: The process of CHD |
- As you get older the far on the walls builds up which causes injury to the blood vessel. The cells attempt to heal the walls by releasing chemicals which make the walls stickier so when other substances like proteins, cellular waste products etc. flow through they stick to the walls. However the fat and these other substances then begin forming a material known to us as the plaque. (See Figure 1)
- As time passes the plaques on the walls develop to different sizes. A plaque is soft to the touch however has a hard cap layer around the outside. If broken, and the inner tissue is exposed platelets (particles in the blood which prevent clotting) travel to the area.
- If this occurs the arteries narrow even more.
It is possible for a narrowed artery to produce new blood vessels which form around the blockage and allow the blood passage into the heart. Regardless, during increased exercise activity the newly formed arteries still may fail to supply a sufficient amount of oxygen needed.
Causes of CHD?
Certain factors which may be a benefactor to the destroyed inner walls of the artery are;
- smoking (chemicals in the tobacco harm our blood cells)
- high levels of fats/cholesterol in the blood (when there is too much cholesterol in our blood it builds up in the walls of the arteries)
- high blood pressure (also known as hypertension; it stresses our blood vessels which causes them to clog)
- high sugar in the blood (diabetes/insulin resistance; increase the chances of the build up of plaque)
- lack of exercise (when we exercise our circulation increases which clears the arteries)
- family history of CHD
How do we prevent it?
There are multiple ways in which to prevent or delay the risk of developing CHD. Some of these include lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This is achieved through numerous ways.
One of the key ones is managing and withholding a healthy and balanced diet. A low fat, high fibre diet is the way to go. It should include a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grained goods. Limits should be put on spices such as sat as sat increases blood pressure.
We enjoy two types of fat; saturated or the ''bad fat'' and unsaturated, the ''good fat''. To decrease the risk of CHD, saturated fats should be avoided as they increase cholesterol levels in your blood. Some foods with high saturated fats are; butter, cream, hard cheese, cakes, palm oil, meat pies etc. The unsaturated fat, or the ''good'' fats are found in foods like oily fish, avocados, nuts and seeds, vegetables oils etc.
Although it is important to have both, a decrease in the intake of sugar will also decrease the risk of diabetes which dramatically increase the development of CHD.
Bibliography:
No comments:
Post a Comment