Cardiovascular Disease

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Cardiovascular Disease
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Understanding Cardiovascular Disease

• Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
• Refers to any of a number of conditions that
  damage the heart or the arteries that carry blood
  to and from the heart
• Leading cause of death in the U.S. (652,000/yr
  2004)
• Coronary arteries
• Large blood vessels that carry blood to and from
  the heart
• Heart attack
• Occurs when the coronary arteries become diseased
  or blocked
• Infarction
• When the cells of the heart do not receive a
  continual supply of blood and oxygen and the
  cells die
• Ischemia

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Arteriosclerosis and Atherosclerosis

• Arteriosclerosis
• Atherosclerosis
• Form of arteriosclerosis that begins with damage
  to cells of the hearts arteries and leads to the
  formation of a fibrous, fatty deposit called
  plaque
• Plaque
• Angina Pectoris

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Stroke

• 3rd leading cause of death in U.S. (150,000/yr
  2004)
• Form of CVD that affects the arteries supplying
  blood to the brain
• Stroke can affect any part of the brain, thus a
  person who has a stroke can lose the ability to
  speak, become paralyzed in an arm or leg or both
• Effects of strokes vary greatly, ranging from
  mild or unnoticed symptoms to paralysis to sudden
  death
• Aneurysms
• Weak spots in arteries that balloon out and
  rupture
• Cerebral thrombosis and cerebral embolism
• The most common causes of strokes (70-80 of all
  strokes)
• Caused by clots that plug an artery

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Risk Factors

• Uncontrollable Factors that Increase Risk for CVD
• Heredity
• Sex
• Age
• Controllable Factors that Increase Risk for CVD
• Smoking
• High blood cholesterol
• High blood pressure (HBP)
• Physical Inactivity
• Diabetes
• Obesity

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Alcohol and Cardiovascular Disease

• Research
• 275,000 middle-aged adults
• 1 or 2 drinks a day over 12 years reduced their
  risk of dying from a heart attack by about 20
  compared to men who did not drink alcohol
• Best Practice
• Healthy Eating
• Regular Physical Activity
• We already discussed this! ?

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Group Questions

• Imagine your grandfather died of a heart attack.
  Your grandmother recently died of a stroke. Your
  father has congestive heart failure. Now think
  about your current lifestyle (health habits)
• What if any changes do you make?
• Why?
• Same scenario, but for a friend or someone at
  work
• What do you do with your armor of knowledge
  about reducing risk of cardiovascular disease?