Cardiovascular disorders correct answer: Cardiovascular disorders are prevalent in primary care. Many of the disorders develop over several years, due to
... [Show More] the risk factors to which individuals have been exposed. For each disorder covered in this unit, a discussion of risk factors will be included. For the concepts covered below, clinical application of each disease will be provided so that students can understand the importance of pathophysiology in diagnosing and treating the disease.
Prerequisite knowledge:
For this content, you should have a basic knowledge of cardiac anatomy; know the differences between the right and left sides of the heart, in terms of structure and function. You should also possess solid knowledge of the unidirectional blood flow through the heart. For example, deoxygenated blood arrives to the right side of the heart, travels to the pulmonary arteries to release CO2 and pick up oxygen. At this point, the oxygenated blood is carried from the lungs through the pulmonary veins to the left side of the heart where it eventually reaches the aorta to carry oxygenated blood out to the body organs. The cellular physiology related to cardiac contraction is another important basic concept to know, as electrolytes (sodium, potassium and calcium) play a major role in muscle contraction. Finally, the concepts of preload, afterload, and contractility are essential to understand, as all of these can be affected in some way when a person has cardiovascular disease.
What is Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)? correct answer: CAD is considered the leading cause of death in the United States (U.S.). It is the result of longstanding atherosclerosis.
Atherosclerosis begins with damage to the endothelium. It is the endothelium, under normal functioning that maintains balance between the vasoconstrictive and vasodilation actions, prevents platelets from aggregating and control of the production of fibrin. When the endothelium becomes damaged, our familiar inflammatory processes occur. Macrophages attach to the endothelium, setting up phagocytosis; plaque formation and vasoconstriction also occurs marking the beginning of atherosclerosis. The plaque lesions located in the vessels become enlarged which allows the plaque to progress within the enlarged vessel lumen. The plaque lesion disrupts n [Show Less]