Coronary Heart Disease

Chapter 3: “The Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Health, or, ‘They Call it “Poor Health” for no reason’”

Coronary artery disease remains number one killer of the western civilization despite 40 years of aggressive drug and surgical interventions (Esselstyn). Usually, pharmaceutical drugs, such as statin, are given to try to slow the progression, but may provide uncomfortable side effects. In fact, the majority of patients discontinue statins within 1 year of treatment initiation (Maningat). Furthermore, surgery is performed to circumvent clogged arteries and literally bypass the symptoms. In the last year, 500,000 coronary bypass procedures were performed (Swaminathan et al). However, these surgeries can have significant risks, including the potential to cause further heart damage, stroke, and brain dysfunction. Thus, it is evident that these way of treatments may not be enough on its own, and that getting to the

This is a disease that is caused by the narrowing of arteries. These blood vessels are the vessels that supply oxygen and blood to our hearts. This disease is usually caused by atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis “is the buildup of plaque inside the coronary arteries. These plaques are made up of fatty deposits and fibrous tissue” (“Coronary artery disease,” 2013). When your coronary arteries start to narrow it decreases the blood supply to the heart muscle, which will trigger a certain kind of pain that we call an angina. Another problem that Atherosclerosis can cause is blood clot, which will cause someone to have a heart attack, know as a Myocardial Infarction. Some risk factors this particular disease can cause is Diabetes, Obesity, lack of proper daily exercise, Hypertension, smoking, high blood pressure, and having high levels of LDL (bad cholesterol) and low levels of HDL (good cholesterol). All of these things can impact a person’s heart. In an article I found it says, “CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) is the most common chronic, life-threatening illness in most of the world’s developed nations” (“Coronary artery disease,”

Improving lifestyle was given more of an emphasis after statistics showed the trends in obesity and learning that it was causing 9,000 premature deaths per year in the UK. It was also shown to cause heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer. Link this up with deaths caused by CHD in the UK shows that people need to learn more about healthy living. Due to these statistics some people are finally starting to realise problems between lifestyle choices and health and therefore quite a few are attempting to alter their lifestyle so as to maintain or proceed with a

Coronary Artery Disease, also known as CAD, is the most common form of heart disease. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Coronary Artery Disease obstructs the blood flow in vessels that provides blood to the heart which is caused by the buildup of plaque on the artery walls. (Rogers, 2011, p.87) (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque is a yellow substance that consists of fat substances, like cholesterol, and narrows or clogs the arteries which prevents blood flow. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009) Plaque can build up in any artery but usually favors large and medium sized arteries. (Heart and Stroke Foundation, 2009)

Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease and the #1 cause of death for both men and women in the United States resulting in about 375,000 deaths a year. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2014). This disease refers to “any vascular disorder that arrows or occludes the coronary arteries leading to myocardial ischemia” (Huether & McCane, 2012). It occurs when the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart becomes hardened and narrowed. Also, factors such as smoking, high levels of fat & cholesterol in the blood, hypertension, high levels of sugar in the blood, and blood vessel inflammation damage the inner layers of the coronary arteries. “This disease is prevalent in younger and elderly individuals. Coronary artery calcium is highly predicative of coronary heart disease event risk across all age groups” (Tota-Maharaj et al, 2014). Coronary artery disease is caused by the buildup of cholesterol and fatty deposits, or plaque, in the inner walls of the coronary arteries in a process called atherosclerosis. Normally, the coronary arteries are smooth and elastic, lined with a layer of cells called the endothelium. The endothelium acts as a physical barrier between the blood stream and the coronary artery walls.

Many studies have shown that socioeconomic status that people have is associated with their health status, which means the differences among people’s socioeconomic status would therefore lead to health inequality in this society. This essay addresses the relationship between socioeconomic positions and the incidence of type 2 diabetes and obesity, and discusses the reasons why health inequality exists by applying to four explanations, including material&structural resources, natural&social selection, culture&behaviour and historical context.

Obstruction is the action of obstructing or the state of being obstructed. An obstruction disease is a disease that impedes or prevents passage or progress of blood through the veins or arteries inthe body. Coronary artery disease, also known as atherosclerotic heart disease, is damage or disease to heart's major blood vessels, the arteries. Coronary artery disease is usually caused by a buildup of plaque. This buildup of plaque causes the arteries to become narrow and harder, which limits blood flow to the heart. People that get coronary artery disease can be asymptomatic and not experience any symptoms. But people may experience chest pain, indigestion or nausea, light headness, or sweating, fast heart rate or shortness of breath. CAD has

Coronary artery disease (CAD; also more simply referred to as coronary heart disease) is a specific type of atherosclerosis, which is in turn a form of arteriosclerosis (Dulson, Fraser, LeDrew, & Vavitas, 2011). All of these medical conditions entail the same problem, which hinders proper blood flow of oxygenated blood in the arteries: the sclerosis (that is, hardening) of arteries in the circulatory system (Sclerosis [medicine], 2016). Arteriosclerosis is a general term used to describe the stiffening of arteries particularly resulting from the process of mere ageing, but may also occur due to the presence of other aspects such as hypertension and/or the accumulation of plaque in and/or on the arterial walls, which consists of numerous components including lipids (cholesterol in particular), calcium, and other substances present within the bloodstream; atherosclerosis is specifically associated with plaque buildup in the arteries (if it occurs in one of the coronary arteries, which supply oxygenated blood to the myocardial tissue itself, it is further classified as CAD) (Difference between arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis, 2014; Dulson et al., 2011). CAD is a common, serious condition that may be fatal; hence, it is imperative that one understands the pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease in order to help decrease its prevalence. This report is concerned with explaining the physiological effects of CAD on the body, latter-day

About 610,000 Americans die from heart diseases each year, which is about 1 in every 4 deaths. The most common type of heart disease is coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is buildup of plaque in the arteries, which restrict the flow of the oxygen rich blood and nutrients to the heart. This can cause major problems such as angina or heart attack. If the blood supply to the heart is disturbed or if the blood supply is not able to keep up with the energy demand. That can result in permanent damage to the heart muscle. The development of coronary artery disease is not spontaneous, it starts in your early teen years. The blood vessel walls start to show fatty deposits also known as plaques. As you get older, the plaque builds up and

1. Coronary heart disease is a condition when a plaque is formed in a coronary artery. The plaque stuck in the coronary artery can narrow the artery and therefore the oxygen-rich blood flow is reduced. In another case, the plaque can break open and a blood clot can be formed which blocks the artery and prevents the supply the heart with oxygen rich blood. In such situation a heart attack may occur. Coronary Heart Disease is usually caused by poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Coronary artery disease happens when blood cannot flow properly through the arteries due to the accumulation of plaque along the artery walls. This causes pressure on the heart, which cannot get all of the blood, oxygen and important nutrients that is needed. As plaque builds up and the arteries narrow, chest pain and other symptoms arise. Extensive exposure to plaque build up may weaken the heart and cause heart failure. When the blockage from plaque becomes bad enough, blood may begin to clot from being unable to pass through the arteries, resulting in a complete blockage. This kind of blockage can produce a heart attack.

Coronary heart disease occurs due to the built up of plaque within coronary arteries. Coronary arteries play an important role in supply the oxygenated blood to cardiac muscles in the heart. The oxygenated blood supplies the cardiac muscles with oxygen and nutrients, so that the muscles are able to continue contract and relax and prevent them from tetanizing. Plaque is a waxy substance that blocks the coronary arteries, thus reducing rate of blood flow to heart muscle. This condition may lead to ineffective functioning of heart due to lack of nutrients and oxygen. To make the matter worse, accumulated plaque becomes atherosclerosis where this substance grows and eventually cause damaging effects which is

This report will focus how smoking tobacco can result in individuals with poor health and wellbeing outcomes. The report with the first overview of the Victorian public health and wellbeing plan 2015-2019, outlining how the determinants of health can influence at-risk population groups. Afterwards, one of the priority area, tobacco-free living, will be selected along with the two at-risk groups, those who are lower on the social gradient ladder and Aboriginal Victorians, then one at-risk group will be analysed with three different determinants describing why they are experiencing poorer health and wellbeing outcomes.

Marmot, Michael, and Richard G. Wilkinson. Social determinants of health. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford U Press, 2006. Print.