Cardiology After Your Myocardial Infarction!

Cardiology

After Your Myocardial Infarction!

Your cardiovascular system moves blood through a closed tubular system comprised of arteries, capillaries and veins. The system is designed to transport nutrients and oxygen via blood vessels to the tissues of the body, while at the same time removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. When that system is suddenly deprived of blood, you suffer a heart attack.

A number of factors can cause this deprivation, including but not limited to; hypertension, arteriosclerosis, and cigarette smoking. This pamphlet is designed to help you understand how these three things can affect your body, and what you can do to ensure that your risk is decreased in suffering another episode.

Hypertension, otherwise known as high blood pressure, is a silent condition that can cause blood vessel changes in the retina of the eye, a fattening of the heart muscle, kidney failure and brain damage. "Many people with hypertension are unaware of their condition, and many more are untreated or inadequately treated" (Burt, 1995, p. 60). The surest method of treatment is a constant vigilance by having your blood pressure monitored on a consistent basis. If it measures high, it can be treated with aerobic exercise, weight reduction, salt restriction and medications.

Chronically elevated blood pressure can be a cause of hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries. Arteriosclerosis is what occurs because of fatty deposits on the inner lining and calcification due to that elevated blood pressure. This thickening, hardening, calcification and the fatty deposits all work together to block the arteries causing the deprivation of blood.