Cardiovascular Disease

This lesson covers:

  1. What 'cardiovascular disease' is
  2. What 'coronary heart disease' is 
  3. How statins and stents can be used to treat coronary heart disease 
  4. The causes of, and treatments for, faulty heart values 
  5. What 'heart failure' is, and how we can treat it
Illustration showing components of the cardiovascular system including the heart, lungs, blood droplet, blood vessels, and brain.

Cardiovascular disease refers to diseases of the cardiovascular (circulatory) system. 


Which three of the following make up the cardiovascular system?

Lungs 

Blood 

Heart

Blood vessels 

Brain

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Illustration of muscle tissue showing striations and muscle fibres.

Which chemical process supplies the majority of the energy required for the contraction of muscle tissue? 

Photosynthesis 

Aerobic respiration 

Active transport 

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Coronary heart disease 


oxygen / heart / oxygenated / deoxygenated / fatty / narrower / wider / blood


  1. Coronary arteries branch out of the aorta and supply blood to the muscle.
  2. In coronary heart disease, layers of material build up inside the coronary arteries, causing the lumen to get .
  3. This reduces the flow of through the coronary arteries, resulting in a lack of and nutrients for the heart muscle.
  4. This can cause chest pain as the heart muscle is starved of oxygen, and in severe cases, can cause a heart attack. 
oxygenated
heart
fatty
narrower
blood
oxygen

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The fatty material that builds up in coronary arteries is sometimes known as fatty plaques

Illustration of a human heart with arteries and veins.

Which of the following are treatments for coronary heart disease? 

(Select all that apply)

Stent 

Statins

Chemotherapy 

Antibiotics 

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How does a stent help treat coronary heart disease?

It stimulates the growth of new arteries

It expands within the artery to widen the lumen 

It removes the fatty material from the artery

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What are the benefits of stents when treating coronary artery disease?

(Select all that apply)

There is a risk of thrombosis (blood clot)

Surgery has a risk of complications 

The stents have an almost immediate effect

Surgery is quick

The stents can last a long time 

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How do statins help treat coronary heart disease?

(Select all that apply)

They decrease the amount of HDL cholesterol in the blood 

They increase the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood 

They increase the amount of HDL cholesterol in the blood 

They decrease the amount of LDL cholesterol in the blood 

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What are the disadvantages of statins when treating coronary artery disease?

(Select all that apply)

It can take months to see the positive effects 

They have side effects such as kidney failure and headaches

No surgery is required 

The pills have to be taken every day

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Illustration of two red blood cells on a black background.

What are two problems that may be caused by faulty heart valves?

Blood can pass backwards through the valve

Blood gets deoxygenated as it passed through the valve

Not enough blood can pass though the valve

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Faulty heart valves can be replaced. valves come from other animals such as pigs or cows. Meanwhile valves are man-made, often from metal.  

Biological
mechanical

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Illustration of a heart with a red cross symbol indicating treatments for heart failure.

Which of the following are treatments for heart failure?

(Select all that apply)

Dialysis 

Replacement with biological heart 

Replacement with artificial heart

Statins 

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Which type of heart replacement might be rejected by the immune system? 

Biological heart

Artificial heart 

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