BLOOD CIRCULATORY RELATED DISEASE
After we know the theory about our circulatory system, now let us discuss some problems related to our blood circulatory. Same with other organs in our body, circulatory system need maintenance from our self too; otherwise we could get infected by some diseases caused by the unmaintained system.
As we know that there are three major part of the circulatory system; which are the heart, the blood vessels, and the blood itself, all blood circulatory related diseases also related to these three major parts.
There are so many factors that can cause blood circulatory related diseases, external factors and internal factors. External factors are the factors that caused by our behavior. Examples of external factors are unhealthy diet, stress, too little exercising, excessive drugs usage. Aside from the external factors, internal factors such as age, heredity, and lack of hemoglobin also might affect.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. In 1997, 725,000 persons died of heart disease (31% of all deaths). Almost 2,000 Americans die of heart disease each day. That is 1 death every 44 seconds. The good news is that the death rate from heart disease has been steadily decreasing. The age adjusted death rate decreased by 3% from 1996 to 1997 and 34.6% from 1979 to 1997. Unfortunately, heart disease still causes sudden death and many people die before even reaching the hospital.
These are some diseases related to our circulatory system:
· - High Blood Pressure
· - Coronary Heart Disease
· - Anemia
· - Hemophilia
· - Heart Valve Disease
· - Leukemia
--- High Blood Pressure ---
High blood pressure which also called as hypertension is a common disease related to the circulatory system. Usually, people with unhealthy diet and little exercising increase the possibility of having high blood pressure. High Blood Pressure is when our blood pressure is rise above normal or average rate.
High blood pressure itself usually has no symptoms. You can have it for years without knowing it. During this time, though, it can damage the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver, and other parts of your body. This is why knowing your blood pressure numbers is important, even when you're feeling fine. If your blood pressure is normal, you can work with your health care team to keep it that way. If your blood pressure is too high, you need treatment to prevent damage to your body's organs.
Category | Systolic (top number) | Diastolic (bottom number) | |
Normal | Less than 120 | And | Less than 80 |
Prehypertension | 120–139 | Or | 80–89 |
High blood pressure | |||
Stage 1 | 140–159 | Or | 90–99 |
Stage 2 | 160 or higher | Or | 100 or higher |
All levels above 120/80 mmHg raise your risk, and the risk grows as blood pressure levels rise. "Prehypertension" means you're likely to end up with HBP, unless you take steps to prevent it.
Hypertension itself is divided into three classifications, prehypertension, hypertension stage 1, and hypertension stage 2. Prehypertension is when our blood pressure rise a bit above normal. Prehypertension without any medical treatment will lead us to the hypertension. Hypertension stage 1 and 2 is when our blood pressure is rise highly above normal rate.
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Unhealthy diet and lifestyle is the biggest factor of having high blood pressure. When we eat too much cholesterol-containing food, the cholesterol will enter the blood stream too. High presence of the cholesterol in the blood stream makes the blood flows slowly. To fulfill the need of the cells of getting oxygen and release carbon dioxide to the blood, the heart will pumps at a faster rate. The heart have to pumps faster because now the blood flows slowly, otherwise some cells of the body will not get enough fresh blood. This is caused us to have a high blood pressure.
There are many risk factors to have high blood pressure, such as obesity (more than 85% of cases occur in those with a body mass index greater than 25), too much salt / sodium, and alcohol intake. It is also related to aging and to some inherited genetic mutations. That’s why high blood pressure can be a hereditary disease. Stress and not enough rest also can cause high blood pressure.
To know whether we have high blood pressure disease or not, we can check our blood pressure periodically or take the laboratory test. As they have no symptoms, we have to check it even we are feeling well.
There are ways to prevent high blood pressure. We have to take care of what we eat and also do routine exercise (doing some sports) to burn up the cholesterols in our body. We can avoid stress by sleep well and take more time to rest. In this way, our work habit needs to be changed to keep us from stress.
--- Coronary Heart Disease ---
Coronary heart disease is when our blood vessels, either the arteries or the veins is blocked by the fat substances which has deposited and stick to the surrounding of the blood vessel. This cause the space for the blood to flow become smaller or even blocked the blood vessel. As the blood vessel is blocked, the blood cannot flow. This causes a shock with the heart and makes it stop to work. Blood vessel that gets smaller or even blocked makes the pressure surround the heart is higher. Because the blood is not flowing, the pressure can not be released. At the same time, the heart works harder and harder to pump the blood. This even increases the pressure more. This high pressure can damage the heart and cause death. Coronary heart disease can lead to death.
Coronary heart disease caused by the deposit of the fat substances that enter the blood stream from the food that we eat. Therefore, we have to take care of our diet and also do more exercising to burn up the fat in our body.
If the buildup of plaque has progressed, surgical procedure is often necessary. The most common procedure is coronary artery bypass surgery. Bypass surgery is the cutting of the blood vessels which is blocked by the fat. Then, the blood vessel is next join together again. The function of this surgery is to take away parts of the blood vessel that is blocked.
Another way is to use a ring which mainly made up from platina in the blood vessels which is blocked by the fat to make the blood vessels keep open.
Other than coronary heart disease, there is also coronary artery disease . Coronary artery disease is caused by a blockage in one of the coronary arteries. When a coronary artery is partially blocked that artery cannot supply enough blood to the heart muscle to meet its needs during exertion. When someone with coronary artery disease exerts himself or herself, it causes chest pain. This is due to lack of blood and oxygen to that part of the heart muscle. This is called angina. Angina may feel like pressure or squeezing in your chest. The pain also may occur in your shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. A heart attack occur when a coronary artery is completely blocked and no blood or oxygen is getting to the heart muscle served by that artery. This also causes chest pain and causes death to the heart muscle served by that artery.
--- Anemia ---
Anemia, from Ancient Greek ἀναιμία anaimia, meaning "lack of blood", is a disease that might occur when our body do not have enough red blood cells or when we do not have enough hemoglobin in our blood. For men, anemia is typically defined as hemoglobin level of less than 13.5 gram/100ml and in women as hemoglobin of less than 12.0 gram/100ml.
Anemia is caused by many causes. Decreasing in RBC or hemoglobin production, blood loss, kidney failre, problems with bone marrow where the RBC is produced, blood clots in small blood vessels, side effects from medications, and problems with our immune system that cause the destruction of blood cells. Anemia can be also caused by inherited disorders, nutritional problems (such as iron or vitamin defiency), and infections.
There are many types of anemia, such as hemolytic anemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, G-6-PD deficiency, hereditary spherocytosis, etc.
One type of anemia is hemolytic anemia. Hemolytic anemia occur when our bone marrow is unable to increase the production of RBC to recover our blood from the premature destruction of the red blood cells. The premature destruction of RBC can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, infections or certain medications — such as antibiotics or antiseizure medicines — are to blame.
Differ with hemolytic anemia, autoimmune hemolytic anemia occurs because of the immune system mistakes RBCs for foreign invaders and begins destroying them. Other kids inherit defects in the red blood cells that lead to anemia; common forms of inherited hemolytic anemia include sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency, and hereditary spherocytosis.
Anemia goes undetected in many people, and symptoms can be minor or vague. The signs and symptoms can be related to the anemia itself, or the underlying cause. Most commonly, people with anemia experienced a non-specific symptom like feeling of weakness, or fatigue, shortness of breath, and sometimes poor concentration. In very severe anemia, the body may compensate for the lack of oxygen carrying capability of the blood by increasing cardiac output.
As a treatment, a patient with anemia can eat anemia medicine to increase red blood cells or can be by blood transfusion.
--- Hemophilia ---
Hemophilia is a disease in which our body is unable to control and form blood clotting or coagulation to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Patient with hemophilia can die because of continuous bleeding. Hemophilia is classified as hereditary genetic disorders.
Hemophilia is more likely to occur in males rather than females. This is because females have two X chromosomes while males have only one, lacking a 'back up' copy for the defective gene the defective gene becomes manifest more easily in males. Because females have two X chromosomes and because hemophilia is rare, the chance of a female having two defective copies of the gene is very low, thus females are almost exclusively asymptomatic carriers of the disorder. Female carriers may inherit the defective gene from their mother, father, or it may be a new mutation. Only under rare circumstances do females actually have hemophilia.
Hemophilia lowers blood plasma clotting factor levels of the coagulation factors needed for a normal clotting process. Thus when a blood vessel of a hemophilia patient is injured, a temporary scab does form, but the missing coagulation factors prevent fibrin formation, which is necessary to maintain the blood clot. Thus a hemophiliac does not bleed more intensely than a normal person, but can bleed for a much longer amount of time. In severe hemophiliacs even a small injury could result in blood loss lasting days, weeks, or not ever healing completely. In areas such as the brain or inside joints, this can be fatal or permanently debilitating.
Until now, medicine to cure hemophilia hasn’t been found yet. The only thing that we can do is infusion
--- Heart Valve Disease ---
Heart valve disease is a disease in which one or more of your heart valves don't work properly. The heart has four valves: the tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral, and aortic valves. These valves have tissue flaps that open and close with each heartbeat. The flaps make sure blood flows in the right direction through your heart's four chambers and to the rest of your body.
There are some type of heart valve diseases, valvuvar stenosis and valvular insufficiency.
Valvular stenosis. This occurs when a valve opening is smaller than normal due to stiff or fused leaflets. The narrowed opening may make the heart work very hard to pump blood through it. This can lead to heart failure and other symptoms (see below). All four valves can be stenotic (hardened, restricting blood flow); the conditions are called tricuspid stenosis, pulmonic stenosis, mitral stenosis or aortic stenosis.
Valvular insufficiency. Also called regurgitation, incompetence or "leaky valve", this occurs when a valve does not close tightly. If the valves do not seal, some blood will leak backwards across the valve. As the leak worsens, the heart has to work harder to make up for the leaky valve, and less blood may flow to the rest of the body. Depending on which valve is affected, the conditioned is called tricuspid regurgitation, pulmonary regurgitation, mitral regurgitation or aortic regurgitation.
You can be born with heart valve disease, or you can acquire it later in life. Heart valve disease that develops before birth is called congenital heart valve disease. Congenital heart valve disease can occur alone or with other congenital heart defects.
Congenital heart valve disease usually involves pulmonary or aortic valves that don't form properly. These valves may not have enough tissue flaps, they may be the wrong size or shape, or they may lack an opening through which blood can flow properly. Acquired heart valve disease usually involves the aortic or mitral valve. Although the valve is normal at first, disease can cause problems to develop over time. Both congenital and acquired heart valve disease can cause stenosis or backflow.
Currently, no medicines can cure heart valve disease. However, lifestyle changes and medicines can relieve many of the symptoms and problems linked to heart valve disease.
--- Leukemia ---
Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming cells in the bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of blood cells, usually leukocytes or the whit blood cells. Leukemia is divided into two major classifications, which are Acute leukemia and Chronic leukemia
Acute Leukemia is characterized by the rapid increase of immature blood cells. This crowding makes the bone marrow unable to produce healthy blood cells. Immediate treatment is required in acute leukemia due to the rapid progression and accumulation of the malignant cells, which then spill over into the bloodstream and spread to other organs of the body. Acute forms of leukemia are the most common forms of leukemia in children.
Chronic Leukemia is distinguished by the excessive build up of relatively mature, but still abnormal, white blood cells. Typically taking months or years to progress, the cells are produced at a much higher rate than normal cells, resulting in many abnormal white blood cells in the blood. Chronic leukemia mostly occurs in older people, but can theoretically occur in any age group.
People with chronic leukemia may not have symptoms. The doctor may find the disease during a routine blood test. Differ from people with chronic leukemia; people with acute leukemia usually go to their doctor because they feel sick. If the brain is affected, they may have headaches, vomiting, confusion, loss of muscle control, or seizures. Leukemia also can affect other parts of the body such as the digestive tract, kidneys, lungs, heart, or testes.
Common symptoms of chronic or acute leukemia may include Swollen lymph nodes that usually don't hurt (especially lymph nodes in the neck or armpit), fevers and night sweats, frequent infections, feeling weak or tired, bleeding and bruising easily (bleeding gums, purplish patches in the skin, or tiny red spots under the skin), and pain in the bones or joints.
People with leukemia have some treatments options. The options are watchful waiting, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, radiation therapy, and stem cell transplant. If your spleen is enlarged, your doctor may suggest surgery to remove it. Sometimes a combination of these treatments is used. But, chemotherapy is the most treatment chosen by the patient with leukemia. The choice of treatment also depends mainly by the type of leukemia; whether you have acute or chronic leukemia, your age, and whether the leukemia cells were found in your cerebrospinal fluid.
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9. 9. Biology Text Book
