The cardiovascular system is a system with the heart as the main organ with a network of blood vessels responsible for transporting nutrients and oxygen as well as other materials within the blood and removing metabolic waste materials.
Angina pectoris is a condition that affects the heart and is characterized by a feeling of squeezing, strangulation and excessive pressure within the chest region. This is attributed to insufficient oxygen supply within the tissues of the body, which eventually results in reduced available nutrients for the proper functioning of the heart muscles. Thus, the heart muscles are strained. It can be experienced while one is either sleeping or at rest. The disease is felt like a form of pain that proceeds from the centre of the chest and may often spread to the left of the heart, affecting the shoulders and the arms as well as the neck, back of the body or jaw of the mouth.
The primary cause of Angina Pectoris is atherosclerosis, also known as platelet et aggregation. Other reasons include- nonvascular mechanisms such as hypoglycemia, increased metabolic requirement, i.e., hyperthyroidism, as well as spasms within the coronary artery. Atherosclerosis is preceded by the formation of plaque within the arteries, leading to their blockage.
1. The Effects Of Angina Pectoris On The Cardiovascular System
The results are quite varied, with disharmonies arising between the heart, spleen, kidney, and liver. The patient may experience pain in the chest, jaw, or neck. The pain may happen so fast within the chest, or it may sound like a clenched fist in the chest. This pain at times is unpredictable, within the body the patient may experience fatigue, sweating, dizziness, mild headaches, and exercising becomes difficult, in the respiratory system, there is a challenge of breathing resulting in low oxygen supply, in the alimentary canal the patient will experience heartburn as well as indigestion problems. The appetite may also be compromised. This may be due to changes in metabolism attributed by ischemic myocardium; other experiences may include anxiety, the chest might become tight hence resulting in the fast heartbeat to supply the heart with its requirements. This may also be attributed to by the constriction of the arteries due to the presence of the plaque.
This may result in a limited amount of oxygen in the heart. This limited oxygen may result in myocardial ischemia, which the manifestation of the clinical symptoms of angina pains will further follow. The limited amount of available oxygen for heart demands increases the work of the heart to avail sufficient resources for itself, as shown by increased heart rate, which raises the blood pressure. (Chen, Wenjia, et al. 2015). Shortage of oxygen flowing within the coronary arteries will result in myocardial ischemia, which may further aggravate the fatal form of ventricular dysrhythmia. Cells affected by myocardial ischemia will produce a range of chemicals such as histamine, serotonin, adenosine, and bradykinin. Such compounds act on the intracardiac sympathetic nerves.
These nerves terminate at the cardiac plexus as well as the sympathetic ganglia. Impulses arising from the presence of these chemicals are transmitted through the spinal cord to the central nervous system. The effect of this is increased blood pressure and heartbeat observed during moments of acute angina episodes, which appear regularly before pain is felt. There will be variations of the electrocardiogram before the pain is felt. This points to the fact that the buildup of the products of metabolism arising from ischemia must precede a feeling of pain. Most of the fatal experiences during an anginal episode include tachycardia and increased blood pressure. These two feedbacks are not suitable for human health. Either of the feedback can result in sudden deaths in patients suffering from symptomatic arterial spasms as well as asymptomatic patients suffering from the same condition. Older patients with arterial spasms may suffer from cerebral emboli, which leads to stroke, or may be attacked by bacterial endocarditis as well as transient cerebral ischemia. (Yang, Mingxiao, et al. 2018).
2. Signs And Symptoms
Patient’s experiences this disease will show some symptoms:- there is a characteristic of healthy emotional reactions coupled with physical exertion, the disease starts from the back of the chest cavity and proceeds to the left arm, upwards to the shoulder and the jaw. This experience results in some form of heaviness in the patient. There may also be experiences of irregular heartbeat arising from the constriction of the chest cavity and the arteries serving the heart, paleness as the required amount of blood is not reaching all the body tissues, anxiety, and cold sweat. These kinds of experiences are similar to those of heart attack. Apart from these experiences, chest pain may also arise from other heart-related conditions, such as diseases that affect the muscles of the heart or the valves that ensure that blood only flows in one direction. Moreover, chest pain may arise from ulcers, abnormal contraction and relaxation of the oesophagus, severe anxiety, and gallstones. (Friis, Karina, et al.2016)
3. Treatment
Diagnosis
Correct treatment is dependent on the successful diagnosis of the problem. Angina Pectoris is diagnosed based on the patient’s history of chest pain arising from exertion and the use of laboratory tests which endeavour to demonstrate the presence or absence of coronary artery disease.
Once the disease has been diagnosed, it’s important to seek proper medical attention. Just as the disease affects a patient while sleeping or resting, some of the symptoms can be controlled through mere resting, such as strong emotional reactions and physical exertion; the patient is also advised to lie down with their head slightly raised to ensure that blood is flowing to the vital organs of the body. If the patient is not allergic to penicillin, it is advisable to take aspirin. These are precautionary measures that the patient should receive even before they plan to visit a medical facility just to ensure that the patient is a bit safer. Some of the treatments may also involve feeding on the right kinds of food. ( Degerud, Eirik, et al. 2018)
Angina Pectoris can be treated using drugs, which is sufficient. If drugs may not achieve the desired levels of health, then surgery is recommended. The drugs that are available for treating this disease include:-
Calcium-channel Blocking Drugs. Calcium is a structure that strengthens salts. When deposited in the walls of the arteries, they impair their elasticity. The use of these drugs ensures that the arteries contract and expand voluntarily, and hence, blood can flow freely without causing plaque. The use of these drugs ensures that the arterial lumen is wide enough to allow blood flow. If it were narrow, this would cause unnecessary heart pressure when pumping blood, thus resulting in the disease.
Beta-blocking Drugs. When a patient is under stress and anxiety, the sympathetic nervous system may be triggered, resulting in an increased heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and increased oxygen demand, which will enable the patient to face the problem at hand. The presence of these drugs counteracts the effects of the said experiences and arrests any occurrence or prevalence of the disease or its precipitating factors.
Nitrates. They work by reducing the oxygen demand of the heart muscles. They are administered in different forms, such as nitroglycerine tablets, which are placed under the tongue with an anticipated attack or after the attack, the ointment, which is rubbed on the skin, or tablets, which have a long-lasting effect on the body.
If the drugs don’t work, then the following surgical measures may be pursued: angioplasty will be useful for dealing with chest pains or challenges of shortness of breath, while coronary bypass graft surgery may be sufficient for narrowings in more than one coronary artery.
4. Does Angina Pectoris Cause The Narrowing Of The Arteries, Or Does The Narrowing Of Arteries Caused
Angina Pectoris
Angina Pectoris does not cause narrowing of the arteries. It is the narrow artery that causes Angina Pectoris. Atherosclerosis or blocked arteries arise from the deposition of fibrous, calcium, and fatty materials inside the lumen of the artery. This leads to thickening and hardening of the arteries; thus, they lose their elasticity. Over time, the fatty materials combine with the calcium, other cellular wastes and other deposits to form a plaque. The plaque formed obstructs the flow of blood in the vessel, leading to coronary heart disease and other diseases in the circulatory system. Atherosclerosis affects mainly the arteries that serve the brain, the heart, and the legs. The effects of the prevalence of these experiences are chest pain (angina) or may lead to fatal conditions such as heart attack or cerebral thrombosis.
5. Risk Factors
People need to be conscious of some factors that may predispose them to Angina Pectoris. Some of these factors include lifestyles such as heavy intake of cholesterol, hypertension, cigarette smoking, lack of general body exercise, obesity, diabetes mellitus, family history, and male sex.
Exercise- it should be emphasized once a patient has been diagnosed with the disease, as the patient may be a bit resistant to engaging in physical activity as a lifestyle. Standard advice on exercise should be available to the patient. This may be informed of electronic or pamphlets to ensure that the right task is being carried out, as it can turn out to be counterproductive. (Anderson, Lindsey, et al. 2016).
Cholesterol- it increases the chances of reducing the elasticity of the arteries because when it combines with other deposits and calcium, it reduces the diameter of the lumen. People should be encouraged to use plant oil and avoid cholesterol.
Hypertension- it results in the heart having more pressure than it can hold. The heart gets overworked, and this may result in its failure. Hypertension may occur in ruptured arteries and capillaries. If blood vessels in the brain burst, a stroke may arise, and brain cells in the affected areas will die. This causes paralysis, which if prolonged may result in stroke, regular exercise is key to ensuring that the heart is working regularly.
Cigarette smoking- it damages the lining of the arteries, which allows for the buildup of fatty materials, which reduce the lumen of the artery. Its intake also results in high blood pressure. This increases the risk of developing circulatory diseases, which may end up as angina, stroke or heart attack.
Lack of general body exercise limits the adequate flow of blood within the body.
Obesity- it results in high blood pressure, and very high levels of cholesterol precipitate cardiovascular diseases as the cholesterol reduces the diameter of the artery lumen as it gets deposited and combines with other materials and deposits.
Male sex- sex for men is sufficient exercise, and hence, blow flow is kept at optimum:
Sex, being a form of physical activity, engages one’s body, and burns carry, which is useful in reducing high blood pressure and other precipitants of angina disease. During sexual intercourse, one’s blood pressure increases and normalizes after the experience. This is healthy in addressing circulatory diseases. Mental health and hormonal and physical imbalance may affect the flow of blood in a male. Such a man may suffer from erectile dysfunction, a condition which will affect the normal flow of blood. This may trigger the prevalence of circulatory diseases in such a male. If a person experiences chest pain after sex, it is advisable to visit a health facility as this may be a signal of the presence of angina pectoris. Clinical interventions such as the use of Viagra during sexual intercourse have shown that sex is appropriate in addressing circulatory diseases. Viagra increases the urge for sex and causes a good volume of blood to flow into the male organ.
It has been discovered that the frequency of sex is critical in addressing circulatory diseases. It is like a pipe which is meant to accommodate flowing water. If it happens that there is some dirt in the pipeline and the amount of water streaming is minimal, this may result in obstruction of the pipe. Therefore, sex ensures that blood flow in the body is maintained.
Family history- if a member of the family had fallen sick, especially with diabetes mellitus, the offspring of such a family may also suffer from the same. There is a definite correlation between family history and the prevalence of circulatory diseases. Apart from diabetes mellitus, families that have been brought up by drunk parents have also resulted in drinking in their adult age, a condition that predisposes them to circulatory diseases. The members should, therefore, be encouraged to desist from lifestyles that can compromise their health.
People in old age are more susceptible to the disease than the young ones. (Anderson, Lindsey, et al.2016) Found that angina’s grade of the patient’s had a positive relationship with all aspects of the perceived status of their health. Angina patients had a bad health-related quality of life as compared to patients without angina. For patients suffering from angina, their mortality risk increased while they experienced lower health-related quality of life levels.
6. What Needs To Be Done
A segment of society that is physically active, such as coaches and athletes, needs to be diagnosed with the disease and put under preventive measures beyond treatment. Such measures include taking drugs which will reduce oxygen dependence by their heart muscles.
Since circulatory-related diseases are fatal, there is a need to mitigate their occurrence by subscribing to insurance coverage since the cost of health may be out of reach of many poor households. (Li, Suhui, et al., et al. 2015) Notes that since circulatory diseases are fatal, there is a need for improved disease prevention measures through the use of health insurance coverage and preventive care. He noted that potential health public benefits from such efforts include improved hypertension treatment rates due to insurance expansions, and this would prevent 174,000 to 408,000 new coronary heart disease and stroke cases by 2050, a 0.61% to 1.43% decline from the baseline.
Regarding scientific, social, and cultural measures, society should be enlightened about the causes and effects of circulatory diseases.
Scientifically, there should be the development of curative means that may lead to the transfer of some triggers of circulatory diseases from one generation to the next. Socially, people are supposed to engage in activities that will enhance their physical fitness, while culturally, they should check on their lifestyle and eating habits, which may compromise their physical fitness. Hypertension, as one of the risk factors for circulatory diseases, should be mitigated through regular physical exercise. (Shimada, Yuichi J., et al. 2016).
Works Cited
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