Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the most common causes of human death. In 2007, CVD caused approximately 193000 people to die in the UK. That is one-third of all deaths. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the main cardiovascular diseases, and it caused over 90 000 of these deaths. CHD is not only the single most common cause of death, it is also very costly. It imposes a huge annual burden on the NHS and UK economy, with yearly healthcare costs alone of over £1.7 billion.
The root cause of CHD is a process called atherosclerosis. This starts in the first 10 years of life. During atherosclerosis, cholesterol and fats accumulate in blood vessel walls. This accumulation leads to thickening and narrowing of the blood vessel (Figure 1). There are several risk factors that increase the chances of developing atherosclerosis. These include increasing age, being male, smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), hypercholesterolaemia (high cholesterol), diabetes, obesity and genetic factors.
Your organisation does not have access to this article.
Sign up today to give your students the edge they need to achieve their best grades with subject expertise
Subscribe
