Iman Moazakar
Learning Aim A
Coronary heart disease - Respiratory System disorders
Description:-
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a crucial condition in which the blood vessels that
supply the heart blood, rich in oxygen, are narrowed or even blocked. Due to this
consequential shortage of blood rich with oxygen, the vital organ, the heart, can face
many damages, such as heart failure. The reason as to why heart failure occurs is
because of blood vessels being blocked due to the build-up of fatty materials.
Causes:- (CHD)
1. Inherited Traits
Coronary heart disease can be caused by numerous inherited traits. One of them
includes a family history of heart disease. If an individual's relatives have suffered from
heart disease it is most likely they will inherit this trait. This is due to the genetics that
follow on from a parent to their children.
2. Lifestyle Choices
Lifestyle choices can affect your chances of having a heart disease by a big majority.
An individual who is not active enough and does not exercise much can become very
inactive, and this can lead to an unhealthy body. This is because the excess fat that is
unable to be burnt off by exercise is built up in the arteries, which therefore lead to
artery blockage. Due to this, exercise is very beneficial in keeping the body healthy and
enabling for excess fats to be burnt off, therefore making the heart more safe.
Secondly, smoking can increase the risks of heart disease. This is because the
dangerous fumes can be inhaled into the lungs creating oxygen that is not fresh and is
polluted. As blood mixed with the polluted oxygen enters the heart, the impure oxygen
blocks the blood vessels as it is not clean and healthy.
3. Diet
Diet is a very important factor that can contribute to the cause of coronary heart
disease. If an individual eats a diet that is full of trans fat, saturated fats, and
cholesterol, which is consumed very excessively, it can lead to coronary heart disease.
Additionally, eating too much salt can lead to increasing your chances in CHD.
Therefore it is important to keep a healthy dietary routine and decrease amounts of fats
in the food. Eating oily foods such as fried foods can contribute to the increase of fats in
the body. Secondly, eating cakes and biscuits, sweet foods which contain added salts
and sugars can be very unhealthy and can lead to an unhealthy body, which can also
cause fat to build up in the vessels if an individual does not exercise regularly.
4. Environmental factors
Environmental factors can contribute to a result in many symptoms to a patient who is a
patient of Coronary Heart Disease. The first, most common factor is outdoor pollution,
1
,Iman Moazakar
such as traffic. Traffic is a result of particle pollution and the increased levels of Carbon
Monoxide which is omitted by vehicles. Due to this, the particles can increase the fatty
plaque inside the heart, which can lead to blood clotting, and therefore less oxygen
travelling to the heart. Another environmental factor leading to CHD is indoor air
pollution. Victims of indoor air pollution, the elderly, are more likely to increase the
chances of CHD because they spend about 90% of time indoors, as stated by the US
Environmental Protection Agency, 2009. (However, this statistic could differ from the
UK’s.) Indoor Air Pollution is generated by many factors, such as house cleaning
products, the pollution from outdoors, and can also be a property of old smoke. As
many spend their time indoors, it can mean that the oxygen we breathe is not
completely safe to breathe due to the many contaminants - even inside your own home.
Signs:-
There are many signs that can indicate that a person may suffer from coronary heart
disease:
A person who may have swollen ankles can indicate the risk of having coronary heart
disease. This is because there is a build up of oedema, which can possibly be caused
by blood pressure medicine intake. However, the swollen ankle can be a sign of heart
failure - thus taken seriously and should be checked out by a doctor.
However, the signs of coronary heart disease aren’t very known as it can happen
unknowingly without recognising signs.
Another visible sign for having coronary heart disease is an individual having blue or
pale lips and hands. This is due to the shortage of oxygen being able to travel into the
heart and the blood. If a person has blue lips without a reason it is best to call
emergency services as it could be a sign of the individual having a heart stroke.
Finally, another sign of CHD is an individual having seizures. This is simply because the
heart beats too fast, or too slow, which causes the heart pressure and this also leads to
the brain unable to supply itself with enough oxygen, which therefore causes the
stroke.Therefore, the individual who has a seizure can be likely to have CHD.
Symptoms:-
A very common symptom of Coronary Heart Disease is Angina. Angina is also known
as chest pain. It is a feeling of tightness in the chest and is similar to the feeling of
indigestion. If it is taken to extreme measures, Angina can even spread to the arms,
neck and jaw. The cause of this symptom is a stressful situation or a heavy workout.
Another common symptom of Coronary Heart Disease is breathlessness. This is when
a person feels out of breath for a long period of time and can find it difficult to be able to
breathe normally in order to pass oxygen into the lungs. This symptom happens
because the heart becomes too debilitated to pump blood around the body. Due to this,
the bodily fluids begin to build up in the lungs, resulting in difficulty breathing.
2
,Iman Moazakar
Lastly, another symptom of having CHD is feeling excessive fatigue. This is because as
the heart is able to pump less and less blood due to the artery blockage and narrowage,
it is not able to transport enough oxygen into the body's muscles and tissues. As this
happens, the body does not get enough energy to be able to stay active and therefore
feel a lot of fatigue.
Body systems and functions:- How the disorder changes the function of the cells,
tissues, organs or whole systems in the body
When an individual has coronary heart disease, their body cells can be affected
negatively. As the heart is unable to take enough oxygen from the blood, as well as
many nutrients, the heart cells die and this therefore leads to the damage of heart
tissues. This can result in an even weaker heart, making the risk of a heart stroke
increase even more as it is not able to function accurately. The effects of CHD, that lead
to heart attacks, can introduce a process in which scar tissues replace the damaged
area of the heart muscle and this can reduce the hearts capacity to pump blood as
regularly as a healthy heart does and will not be able to pump blood effectively.
Due to the effects of coronary heart disease, the heart's arteries are blocked by a
buildup of plaque, fatty materials known as atheroma. Due to this, the arteries are
narrowed, therefore the blood flow to the heart is limited.
As the narrowed arteries lead to a decrease in blood flow towards the muscles of the
heart, there is less oxygen being transported to the heart. This can cause a change in
the body's cardiovascular system and can therefore lead to angina. Due to the shortage
of oxygen levels, the body cells are unable to work properly, leading to the individual
feeling fatigue and shortness of breath. This can also lead to long term effects on the
brain, as the heart is unable to process fresh,oxygenated blood into the brain, making it
lack the required nutrients to work efficiently to administer the body systems, for
example, the nervous system.
The severity of the immediate physical health effects
The severity of a stroke, which is a sudden effect when having coronary heart disease,
can be very severe. This is because it is very life threatening as an individual's heart
stops working normally, which can lead to the blood being unable to transport oxygen
around the body, leading to a person becoming lifeless.
Another immediate physical effect of CHD is difficulty breathing. This can be very
severe as oxygen is unable to get into the lungs, and it cannot be transported to the
brain and muscles in order to work properly.This can be very frightening for the
individual as they feel they are unable to access any air and this can be very severe for
both physical and emotional health.
Another immediate effect is swelling in the lower limbs, and this can be very severe
for the individual as it can be very painful. However, the severity of this immediate effect
3
, Iman Moazakar
can be based on how bad the swelling is. For example, if an individual’s swelling is
increasingly bad to the point where they may feel numbness in the leg, for example, it
can be very painful and severe.
The severity of the long term physical health effects
One long-term physical effect of CHD is angina. Angina, as mentioned before, is severe
chest pain. It can be very severe as it affects an individuals daily life negatively, causing
random chest pains throughout the day. Due to the extreme pressure felt in the chest, it
is very hard to be able to participate in physical activity. This pressure felt in the chest is
described as a truck standing on top of your chest.Therefore, Angina, being one of the
most common health effects of CHD, is very severe to all individuals.
Another long term effect of CHD is heart failure. Heart failure is a very fatal effect. This
is because the heart is unable to pump blood throughout the body, and can therefore
result in heart failure. This is because the heart has to beat even faster and this can
decrease the strength of the heart muscles.
Thirdly, another long term effect is Cardiac Arrest. This is when the heart completely
stops working due to irregular heartbeat and also because of the weakness of the heart
muscles due to the blood clotting in the vessels.This can therefore result in death. This
is very severe for an individual as there can be a low chance of doing CPR in order to
revive the heart as it is going through cardiac arrest.
Evaluation - Impacts on an individual's P.I.ES
Physical -
Coronary heart disease has many different impacts on an individual's health and
wellbeing. This can lead to many physical effects, both internal and external, that can
affect the individual. Firstly, angina, a very common effect of coronary heart disease,can
be very painful. This is because the individual experiences tightness in their chest and
feels as if they are unable to fill their lungs with enough oxygen. This affects the
individual's physical ability as they cannot get through their day to day life normally as
they can always be expecting a probability of sudden angina, which can distract them
from their activities of daily living. *For example, an individual may be travelling to work
and can suddenly experience angina, and this will lead to the individual unable to
physically travel normally to work, and may have to alternate.
Another example can be excessive fatigue, which can affect the individual’s physical
health very negatively. As an individual is very tired throughout their day, they may not
want to partake in physical activity such as running or going to the gym. Therefore,
fatigue can cause an individual to stop physical activity as they are unable to feel the
physical motivation, because they fear they will become exhausted.
However, Coronary heart disease can cause a very uncommon physical effect. This is
the fact that an individual may increase their physical activity as they want to try and
4
