Coronary Heart Disease

Matija Draskovic

Biology 11

1/18/2016

Coronary Heart Disease

The heart like any other muscle in the human body requires adequate blood supply in order for then it to provide the rest of the body with oxygen. This then allows the muscles to contract and to pump. Due to the blood pumping, it provides the whole body with enough blood, and not only does it do this with the rest of the body it also pumps blood to the heart itself. Since this is a very fragile process the heart is open to major heart diseases, one of them being coronary heart disease.

What is Coronary Heart Disease?

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is when the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart narrow down, and become tighter, as seen in figure 1. This is due to the buildup of plaque in the arteries that become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material within their walls. “This condition is called atherosclerosis and the fatty material is called atheroma” (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cad). Thus arteries become harden and therefore the transmission of blood through these arteries slows down or stops entirely. If blood was to stop or in other words if the arteries was clothed up angina or a heart attack are possible to occur.

Figure 1: Shows the heart and the blockage of the blood flow by the plaque (fatty acids)

What are the risk factors?

Many risk factors resulting in coronary heart disease include the diets that people intake, along with other important factors, like unhealthy blood cholesterol levels: this includes high LDL cholesterol (which is referred to as “bad” cholesterol) and low HDL cholesterol (otherwise known as “good"). Along with these risk factors others include: high blood pressure, smoking, insulin resistance, diabetes and lack of physical activities (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cad/atrisk).Foods that contain high saturation and tran fats, sodium, cholesterol and many of the other risk factors I have mentioned above can add on to the risk of obtaining coronary heart disease, which will most likely lead to a heart attack. People who are more likely to suffer from a heart disease should therefore substitute each one of these fatty acids with other healthier options. Diet is therefore the key to curing or rather treating CHD. The good and the bad news about these risk factors are that some are changeable while others irreversible.

Figure 2: Shows how cholesterol blocks the heart artery and slows down the transmission of blood

Symptoms based on CHD

Symptoms that usually/generally follow this type of disease (CHD) are chest pain or discomfort. People have told that it feels as if “you have someone squeezing your heart”. This may be felt underneath the sternum, neck, arms or stomach. This is generally known as angina. One of the ways to test your heart activity is through an EKG scan, which is the most common/reliable and least painful method (http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram). Doctors usually test your heart activity in order to receive information about your conditions.  Along with EKG scans, stress testing is a great way in order to see if there is irregularity with the way your heart beats, or generally your heart. Other ways include x-rays and blood samples.

Why is finding results for CHD difficult?
Even though we can get information data regarding CHD from animals, they do not necessarily resemble the same causes in humans. While human experiments is also possible, many people are not prone to following strict diet plans and exercises, they would rather risk their health in order to enjoy bad habits. Since DNA can also effect CHD in different people finding a group of people with similar genetic material could be close to impossible, unless the person has a fraternal twin.

Treatments and Prevention 

The best treatment and protection from this disease is to live a healthy lifestyle. Quitting smoking and eliminating fatty foods is the first step to treating CHD.  If an individual has a more severe condition, actions such as, medication, and surgery (like EKG) are crucial for further treatment of the disease.

Figure 3: Shows a normal heart in comparison to the sick one

Word count:634

Bibliography: 

   
        Allott, Andrew, and David Mindorff. IB Biology. 2014 ed. Oxford: Oxford U, n.d. Print.

     "Coronary Heart Disease: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007115.htm>.

  "Coronary Heart Disease." - Heart Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health/conditions/coronary-heart-disease>.

       "Coronary Heart Disease Risk Factors." - NHLBI, NIH. US Department of Health and Service, 23 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/hd/atrisk> 

       

        "How Can Coronary Heart Disease Be Prevented or Delayed?" - NHLBI, NIH. US Department of Health and Service, 23 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/cad/prevention>.

        "What Is an Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) Test?" WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/electrocardiogram>