Non communicable disease

What can lead to cancer?

• viruses occupying cells can stimulate cancers

Why do allergies happen?

• Allergies e.g athsma and skin rashes can be triggered by an immune reaction to a pathogen

How can diseases supress the immune system?

• A disease that supresses the immune system e.g HIV makes individuals more likely to catching other infectious diseases

What are risk factors?

• Factors that increase the probability of developing a non communicable disease

What are the 2 types of risk factors of non communicable diseases?

• substances

• lifestyle

What are some examples of risk factors for non communicable diseases?

• smoking- lung diseases

• poor diet and lack of exercise- cardiovascular disease

• obesity- type 2 diabetes

• smoking during pregnancy- low birth weight of babies

• excessive alcohol intake- liver and brain damage

• exposure to ionising radiation- cancer

• excessive alcohol during pregnancy- brain damage in babies

What is coronary heart disease?

• a non-communicable disease

• coronary arteries become narrower

• because of a build up of fatty deposits

• reduces blood flow and leads to a lack of oxygen to the heart

What are the different types of heart valve disease?

• leaky valves

• valves that don’t fully open

What are leaky valves?

• allow the backflow of blood

• forcing the heart to do more work to circulate the same volume of blood

• creates a strain on the heart

What are valves that do not fully open?

• can obstruct blood flow

• so a greater force is required to force the blood through the body

• adds to the strain on the heart

How are faulty valves fixed?

• can be replaced by inserting either animal or artificial valves

• con- invloves major surgery and problems with blood clots can happen

What are the 2 common treatments for coronary heart disease?

• stents

• statins

What are stents?

• inserted in order to keep coronary arteries open

• cons- over time, because of irritation caused by the stent, the artery can begin to narrow again as scar tissue builds up

• cons- drugs must be taken to prevent blood clotting

What are statins?

• drugs that can be taken to decrease blood cholestrol levels which slows down the build up of fatty materials

• cons- can have side effects

What is the treatment for heart failure?

• artificial hearts to keep patients alive whilst they wait for a

• donor’s heart to be transplanted

What are pros of artificial hearts?

• unlikely to be rejected by the patient’s immune system so immunosuppressant drugs are unnecessary

• used to provide the heart with some rest to allow it to recover

What are the cons of artificial hearts?

• can result in long and expensive stays in hospital

• can cause blood clotting which can lead to strokes

What are the pros of drugs?

• often cheap to buy and do not require surgery

What are the cons of drugs?

• may have side effects and patient has to remember to take them

What are the pros of mechanical devices?

• can be used in cases where a donor organ is not available

What are the cons of mechanical devices?

• require a power supply and may eventually wear out and need replacing

What are the pros of transplants?

• successfully transplanted organs won’t wear down and will function like the replaced organ

What are the cons of transplants?

• require a suitable donor and immunosupressants which can increase the risk of the patient getting another disease

What is cancer?

• changes in cells lead to uncontrolled growth and division of cells

What are malignant tumours?

• cancerous

• can invade neibouring tissues and spread throughout the body in the blood

• creating more tumours

What are benign tumours?

• non cancerous

• stay in a specific part of the body often within a membrane

What are the lifestyle risks for cancer?

• smoking

• obesity

• excessive UV exposure

What are the genetic risks for cancer?

• can be inherited from parents