Healthy Heart
Heart failure is the term used to describe the state of a patient whose heart is not pumping adequately. The consequences of this is the accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary congestion or oedema) or in the legs (ankle oedema). Some diseases directly weaken the strength of the heart muscle. This condition is called … Read more
Congenital defects are malformations of the heart or major blood vessels which are caused by abnormal development of the fetus and which are present at birth. Some are the consequences of German measles (Rubella) or exposure to chemical poisons during pregnancy. The most common defects are holes in the wall dividing the right side from … Read more
One or other of the one-way valves in the heart may become diseased so that it does not fully open (stenosis) or does not fully close (incompetence or regurgitation). The heart has to pump harder to eject blood through a stenosed valve, or it has to pump twice as much blood out if half of … Read more
A stroke occurs when there is a sudden interference with the blood supply to part of the brain. Brain cells must have a continuous supply of oxygen-rich blood. If deprived of blood even for a few minutes, they cease to function and then die. Brain cells control sensation and movement and thinking. When nerve cells … Read more
(i) Angina. -When the heart is called upon to work harder, as it is during exercise or excitement, its need for energy (and oxygen) is increased. Normally this increased need is met by increased blood flow through the coronary arteries. If one of the coronary arteries is furred up by atheroma, part of the heart … Read more
Blood in the arteries is under pressure, like water in a hose-pipe with the tap turned on. Blood pressure is pulsatile, rising to a systolic peak with each heart-beat and falling to a diastolic trough in between beats. Just as the pressure in the hose pipe (the strength of the jet) gets higher if the … Read more
This slow degenerative disease of arteries is our major health hazard today. It accounts for a quarter million deaths from heart attacks and strokes each year in Britain. Patchy deposits of fatty material are laid down within the inner lining of the arteries. As a result (i) arteries get furred up, and narrowed, (ii) the … Read more
Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death and disability in Britain today. They kill nearly 350,000 men, women and children annually-more than all the other causes of death combined. Some diseases affect primarily the arteries. Other affect the heart directly. The biggest single problem is coronary artery disease. Britain has the unenviable distinction now … Read more
Every organ in the body needs to be supplied continuously with blood carries away unwanted carbon dioxide and other waste products. The blood to function properly. Fresh blood brings oxygen and food to the tissues and heart is the pump which pumps it around. It is a 4-chambered pump with a circulates around the body … Read more
RIGHT HEART: … Read more