What Is Heart Disease?
Heart Disease
• What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is any disorder which affects the heart. Almost half of heart diseases are from coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is responsible for 82,000 deaths in the UK each year – an average of 224 people a day. o Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease affects the coronary arteries, which supply the heart muscle itself with the glucose and oxygen that it requires for respiration.
• Atheroma
Atheroma is a fatty deposit that forms within the wall of an artery. It begins as fatty streaks that are accumulations of white blood cells that have taken up low density lipoproteins (LDLs). The streaks can enlarge to form an irregular patch, or atheromatous plaque. Atheromatous plaques most commonly occur in larger arteries and are made up of deposits of cholesterol, fibres and dead muscle cells. They bulge into the lumen of the artery, causing it to narrow so that the blood flow through it is reduced.
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This may result in the formation of a blood clot, or thrombus, in a condition known as thrombosis. The thrombus may block the blood vessel, reducing or preventing the supply of blood to tissues beyond it. The region of tissue deprived of blood often dies as a result of the lack of oxygen, glucose and other nutrients that the blood normally provides. Sometimes, the thrombus is carried from its place of origin and lodges in, and blocks, another
• What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is any disorder which affects the heart. Almost half of heart diseases are from coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is responsible for 82,000 deaths in the UK each year – an average of 224 people a day. o Coronary Heart Disease
Coronary heart disease affects the coronary arteries, which supply the heart muscle itself with the glucose and oxygen that it requires for respiration.
• Atheroma
Atheroma is a fatty deposit that forms within the wall of an artery. It begins as fatty streaks that are accumulations of white blood cells that have taken up low density lipoproteins (LDLs). The streaks can enlarge to form an irregular patch, or atheromatous plaque. Atheromatous plaques most commonly occur in larger arteries and are made up of deposits of cholesterol, fibres and dead muscle cells. They bulge into the lumen of the artery, causing it to narrow so that the blood flow through it is reduced.
• …show more content…
This may result in the formation of a blood clot, or thrombus, in a condition known as thrombosis. The thrombus may block the blood vessel, reducing or preventing the supply of blood to tissues beyond it. The region of tissue deprived of blood often dies as a result of the lack of oxygen, glucose and other nutrients that the blood normally provides. Sometimes, the thrombus is carried from its place of origin and lodges in, and blocks, another