Diseases and Treatments for the Heart

Mindmap - click the button below to download

Actual text

  • Diseases of the heart and cardiovascular system
    • High blood pressure (hypertension)
      • Symptoms
        • High blood pressure
          • Can lead to
            • A heart attack
            • A stroke
            • A kidney failure
        • No symptoms
          • Known as the silent killer
      • Cause 
        • May have an unknown cause
        • Be caused by a medical problem or medication
      • Possible treatment
        • Avoid salty foods
        • Eat
          • Fruits
          • Vegetables
          • Whole-grain
          • High-fibre
          • Control alcohol intake
          • Take medication
    • Low blood pressure
      • Symptoms
        • Lack of energy
        • Feeling tires
        • Dizzy quickly when you get up
      • Cause
        • Too little blood circulating
      • Treatment
        • Eat more salty foods
        • Drink water
    • Stroke
      • Symptoms
        • Temporary or permanent loss of sensation to body parts
      • Causes
        • Blood clot or burst blood vessel
          • These blockages flow to the brain
            • Brain cells can’t get enough oxygen
              • Damages or kills brain cells
      • Treatment
        • Use medication that helps to prevent the blood from clotting
    • Heart attack
      • Symptoms
        • Discomfort or pain in the centre of your chest
        • Discomfort in the upper body
          • Arms
          • Shoulders
          • Neck
          • Jaw
          • Back
        • Nausea
        • Shortness of breath
        • A cold sweat
        • Feeling dizzy or light-headed
      • Cause
        • Atherosclerosis
          • Narrowing of the arteries
            • Fat (cholesterol) is deposited along the artery walls
              • Coronary arteries become blocked and there is not enough blood flowing to the cardiac muscle
                • This results in death of cardiac muscle cells
                • As the cells die, a person will have a heart attack
      • Treatment
        • Take medication to dissolve blockages
        • Undergo medical procedures
          • Stent implantation
          • Bypass surgery
        • Long-term use of medicine

 

  • Treatments of heart disease
    • Stents
      • Used
        • When the coronary artery becomes blocked
      • How
        • Tube that is expandable is inserted into the blood vessel with a deflated balloon as well as a tube
          • Tube is made out of metal
        • The balloon is inflated, expanding the stent
        • The tube is removed
    • Valve replacement
      • Used
        • When there is a faulty valve
      • How
        • Stem cells harvested from patients bone marrow
        • Stems cells grown into heart valve cells in a petri dish
        • Heart valve cells placed in a special mould to form the shape of a valve
        • After six weeks the valve is fully grown
    • Xenotransplantation
      • How
        • Animal organs are transplanted into humans
        • Pig hearts are genetically engineered to not be genetically rejected
        • Over 60 000 heart valves have been transplanted
    • Congenital conditions
      • A medical condition you were born with
    • Heart transplants
      • Used
        • When there is no other medical option to fix a diseased heart
      • How
        • Very complicated surgery
    • Pacemakers
      • Used
        • Control abnormal heart rhythms
      • How
        • A device is inserted underneath the patient's collarbone
          • The device uses electrodes to send an electric signal to the heart muscle
            • This regulates the heart beat artificially
    • Bypass surgery
      • Used
        • When there is a blocked coronary artery
      • How
        • Doctor removes blood vessel from patients leg
          • Uses it as a graft
        • Graft inserted into the aorta
        • Graft inserted into the blocked coronary artery