Cardiovascular Disease Flashcards

All 6 cards in this deck

What effect does smoking have on the risk of cardiovascular disease?

It increases it: nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure and carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen carried by the blood, so arteries are damaged and fatty deposits build up.

How do statins reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease?

They lower blood cholesterol, slowing the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries.
They must be taken for life and can have side effects such as muscle pain.

What is a stent and how does it treat cardiovascular disease?

A mesh tube pushed into a narrowed coronary artery to hold it open, restoring blood flow to the heart muscle.
The effect is immediate, but surgery carries risks such as infection or blood clots.

Give two lifestyle changes used to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Stopping smoking, eating less saturated fat and salt, taking regular exercise, or losing excess body mass.
These are cheap and have no side effects, but depend on the patient keeping to them.

True or false? Data showing heart disease is more common in smokers proves that smoking causes heart disease.

False. The data show a correlation; cause can only be concluded with further evidence, such as a biological mechanism or controlled studies.

What is coronary bypass surgery?

An operation in which a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body is attached so that blood flows around the blocked part of a coronary artery.