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What is heart disease?

For example, in an exam if it says, what causes heart disease? (3 marks)

Would I say:
The lining of the artery is usually smooth so when a person has a diet high in saturated fat and smokes, it can cause an atheroma to develop, an atheroma consists of white blood cells & lipids clumped together. This atheroma stays under the lining the artery, narrowing the coronary artery lumen, decreasing its volume and causing blood to flow through at a high pressure. This can cause an aneurysm in the inner lining of the artery to push through the outer layer, causing a balloon like swelling which if bursts leads to a haemorrage or alternatively, the atheroma can rupture through the artery causing thrombosis (then I'd explain about blood clots etc). Is this too much?
Reply 1
Original post by Magenta96
For example, in an exam if it says, what causes heart disease? (3 marks)

Would I say:
The lining of the artery is usually smooth so when a person has a diet high in saturated fat and smokes, it can cause an atheroma to develop, an atheroma consists of white blood cells & lipids clumped together. This atheroma stays under the lining the artery, narrowing the coronary artery lumen, decreasing its volume and causing blood to flow through at a high pressure. This can cause an aneurysm in the inner lining of the artery to push through the outer layer, causing a balloon like swelling which if bursts leads to a haemorrage or alternatively, the atheroma can rupture through the artery causing thrombosis (then I'd explain about blood clots etc). Is this too much?


Heart disease is simply narrowing of the lumen anything else is embellishment :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by Magenta96
For example, in an exam if it says, what causes heart disease? (3 marks)

Would I say:
The lining of the artery is usually smooth so when a person has a diet high in saturated fat and smokes, it can cause an atheroma to develop, an atheroma consists of white blood cells & lipids clumped together. This atheroma stays under the lining the artery, narrowing the coronary artery lumen, decreasing its volume and causing blood to flow through at a high pressure. This can cause an aneurysm in the inner lining of the artery to push through the outer layer, causing a balloon like swelling which if bursts leads to a haemorrage or alternatively, the atheroma can rupture through the artery causing thrombosis (then I'd explain about blood clots etc). Is this too much?


The question is asking you what causes heart disease, you seem to be describing mechanisms of how these causes escalate. You could definitely remove most of this, and simply state what you've learnt which causes heart disease. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise, smoking, drinking, and even genetic factors should be enough to give you 3 marks.

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