Discussion: Cardiovascular System Diseases
You may select a disease condition of either the cardiovascular system OR the Lymphatic/Immune systems
Using a reliable authority’s website such as the National Institute of Health, Centers for Disease Control, Mayo Clinic, WebMD, or subject matter expert websites such as the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Hematology Society, or other reputable online source for specific disease conditions.
Select a disease related to either the cardiovascular, blood, or lymphatic/immune systems that you would like to learn more about.
Document the disease condition you researched including:
- Typical signs and symptoms associated with the condition
- Common tests and procedures used to diagnose the condition
- New abbreviations, acronyms or eponyms you encounter
- Possible treatment methodologies for the condition
- Website(s) you visited to help formulate your initial posting.
Do NOT cut-and-paste from the website.
References must be specific with website link/address. “Mayoclinic.org” is not specific enough.
Coronary artery disease is a common type of heart disease caused by buildup of plaque arteries with supply blood to heart and other body parts. Plaque has cholesterol deposits and other substances within artery. Typical signs and symptoms of coronary artery disease include the chest pain and angina discomfort, weakness, nausea, light-headedness or cold sweat; shortness of breath and discomfort or pain in shoulder or arms (Mayo Clinic, 2020). Coronary artery disease can weaken the heart muscles which leads to heart failure making it a serious condition as heart cannot pump the blood in right manner.
With high risks for the heart disease or already with symptoms, there are several tests and procedures to diagnosis the coronary artery disease condition. Some of the texts include electrocardiogram, chest X-ray, exercise stress test, echocardiogram, and coronary artery calcium scan among many others. Electrocardiogram helps in measuring the electrical activity, regularity and rate of the heartbeat. Echocardiogram is a procedure which uses the ultrasound to create the heart picture. Chest x-ray helps by using x-rays to create lung, heart and other organs picture for diagnosis. Coronary angiogram helps in monitoring the blood flow and blockage through the coronary artery (Cleveland Clinic, 2021). This text uses the x-ray in detecting the dye injected through cardiac catheterization. New abbreviations, eponyms and acronyms I have encountered include CT, CAD, ECG and EKG.
The treatment of coronary artery disease is through change of lifestyle, medications, and surgery. First step of reducing the coronary artery disease is to make lifestyle changes in order to reduce the risks factors. Some things which will change include not smoking, managing the health problems like high blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes; eating healthy diet, limit on alcohol use and increase of activity level. Medications are used to lower the levels of cholesterol such as niacin, fibrates, bile acid sequestrates and statins. Medications is also used to lower the blood pressure, stop angina and reduce the risks associated with blood clotting.
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2021, June 06). Coronary Artery Disease. Retrieved from clevelandclinic.org: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16898-coronary-artery-disease
Mayo Clinic. (2020, June 05). Coronary artery disease. Retrieved from mayoclinic.org: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronary-artery-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20350613