New News Biology #19

Cardiovascular Diseases

Coronary Heart Disease = the coronary arteries (which supply the heart with blood) get blocked

This could happen as a result of fatty material, which makes the lumen narrower than before.

If not treated properly and in time, it would over time mean less oxygen getting to the heart, and may lead to a heart attack, which isn’t that good.

Treatments for coronary heart disease:

Stents (tube inside of the artery): The benefits of implanting a tube inside the artery is that it lasts a long time and has a very quick surgery, but may result in blood clots, and having surgery has its own risks as well

Statins (medication that alters cholesterol levels): The upside is that it doesn’t require any surgery, however, it does need to be taken regularly over a longer period, and may have side-effects regarding the medication itself.

Fact: Cholesterol is a type of lipid; having less of ‘bad cholesterol’ (LDL) and more of ‘good cholesterol’ (HDL) is best for your health

Faulty Blood Valves = valves damaged or weakened

The nature of faulty blood valves is that the blood flow could be too small (valves don’t open enough), or that blood flows backward (it opens too much)

Treatments = replace with a new one (risk of blood clots)

Replace it with a mechanical valve (temporary fix until able to find a donor)

Biological valve implant (hard to find donor)

Heart Failure = heart can’t pump blood properly (quite bad)

The only treatment for heart failure is a new heart:

Biological heart; need to wait a long time for a human donor, may be rejected by immune system and seen as foreign

Artificial heart; wouldn’t be rejected, but can’t last very long and only works as a temporary fix