Another Health tip from China Medical Team in Solomon Islands.
Dear friends in Solomon Islands, I am Dr Si, a cardiologist from the 2nd China Medical Team in Solomon Islands. I have been working in the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University for more than 13 years specializing in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, arrhythmia, and management of chronic diseases in Diabetes and dyslipidemia. Within a year of working at National Referral Hospital, I will write a series of articles on heart diseases and chronic diseases to you and wish you are happy, healthy, and lucky with a strong heart and free from chronic diseases. Today I want to share with you some risk factors for coronary heart disease and help you know about and stay away from these factors in your daily life.
Coronary heart disease is a type of heart disease where the arteries of the heart cannot deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart. It is the leading cause of death in the world for its rapid progression and the danger it poses. To know about these risk factor for the heart disease is the best way to avoid the “heath killer”.
The risk factors associated with coronary heart disease can be divided into those that can be intervened and those that cannot. The risk factors that can be intervened are as follows:
The first category of risk factors is hypertension. Long-term hypertension causes a continuous increase in intra-vascular pressure and a significant increase in the impact of blood on the vessel wall, because of which mechanical damage occurs to the vessel lining. Once the vessel lining is damaged, cholesterol and triglycerides can easily penetrate the vessel wall and deposit there to form microthrombi, which in turn continue to attract lipids and increase deposits. In addition, with high blood pressure, the blood vessels are in a state of prolonged spasm, causing malnutrition of the vessel walls, which also predisposes to cholesterol
and other lipid deposits. Positive measures to control hypertension will greatly protect the blood vessel walls and prevent or delay the progression of the disease.
The second type of risk factor is diabetes mellitus. Due to the lack of insulin secretion, glucose as a source of energy is getting loss which results in the human body relying on the decomposition of fat to supply its energy. Many triglycerides, cholesterol and free fatty acids in the blood provide the conditions for atherosclerosis and diabetic microangiopathy, promoting the occurrence and development of coronary heart disease.
The third type of risk factor is dyslipidemia. When the blood lipid content is at a high level for a long time, the regulation of blood lipids is easy to get the disorder. Under the condition of mental tension, violent mood swings, elevated blood pressure and excessive smoking, the arterial lining is damaged which leads to the lipid components penetrating into the arterial wall, and gradually depositing there, forming tiny thrombi, and making the lumen progressively narrower and blood flow obstructed. Finally, the arterial wall becomes less elastic and harder and resulting in atherosclerosis.
The fourth category of risk factors is obesity. Obesity can increase the burden on the heart and raise blood pressure. Due to excessive consumption of high-calorie food and increases blood lipids, coronary artery atherosclerosis is formed and aggravated with collateral circulation at the site of coronary artery atherosclerosis lesions impeded because of reduced physical activities in obese patients. So weight loss can not only reduce the risk factors for hypertension and hyperlipidemia but also lessen the burden on the heart. The fifth category of risk factors is smoking. When smoking into the lung, carbon monoxide preemptively combined with hemoglobin in the blood, resulting in a significant reduction in the oxygen content of the blood. Carboxyhemoglobin can cause edema in the inner wall of the arteries, preventing blood flow. In this condition
, cholesterol deposited and platelets attached are laying a path for atherosclerosis.
Risk factors cannot be interfered with including gender, age and genetics. Before menopause, the incidence of getting coronary heart disease in women is lower than in men due to the protection of oestrogen, but the incidence remains the same after menopause. Age is an irresistible factor in the incidence of coronary heart disease increasing with age. With the presence of certain susceptibility genes leading to an increased incidence in some patients, genetics is also an irresistible factor.
In the next issue, I will talk with you about the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease and the related clinical symptoms. Stay tuned！
