Cardiovascular Disease: Diet and Exercise

This article on Biological Sciences covers topics such as cardiovascular disease, the basic anatomy of the heart and major vessels, the relationship between nutrition and health, health promotion strategies, and the respiratory system. It also discusses major lifestyle factors influencing respiratory health and the range of approaches to health promotion.

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BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
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Cardiovascular disease; diet and exercise:
Basic anatomy of heart and major vessels
Figure: Anatomy of heart
Source: Shier, Butler and Lewis (2015)
The heart is a muscular organ that is responsible for pumping blood and ensure the
smooth functioning of the human circulatory system. The heart beats 80 times per minute and
on an average it beats 115,000 times in a single day (Netter 2017). The cardiovascular system
comprises of the heart and the associated blood vessels. The system is responsible for
circulating the blood and supplying oxygen and nutrients to different parts of the body. The

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heart comprises of four chambers, 2 auricles and 2 ventricles respectively (Gosling et
al.2016). The auricles receive the deoxygenated blood from different parts of the body to the
heart and the ventricles pump out fresh oxygenated blood from the heart to different parts of
the body. The blood vessels widely comprise a network of arteries and veins that are
responsible for circulating the blood throughout the body. It should be noted here that the
arteries transport oxygenated blood from the heart to other parts of the body while the veins
carry deoxygenated blood from the other parts of the body to the heart for the purpose of
purification. There are four valves that prevent the backward flow of the blood and facilitate
forward flow. The mitral and the tricuspid valve restrict the blood flow from the auricles to
the ventricles, whereas the aortic and the pulmonary valve control the flow of blood from the
ventricles. The SA node is also known as the pacemaker of the heart that stimulates smooth
contraction of the cardiac muscles.
What is cardiovascular disease? Describe.
Cardiovascular disorders (CVD) can be defined as a general disease condition that affects the
functioning of the heart and the associated blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is
characterized by the deposition of fats within the inner surface of the arteries that increase the
risk of forming blood clots. The disease is often accompanied with damage in organs such as
brain, heart, eyes and kidneys. Mortality related to CVD is common in UK, however risks
can be prevented by the maintenance of a healthy life style.

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Identify the interaction between nutrition and health to correlate a balanced diet and
healthy lifestyle.
Maintenance of a healthy lifestyle can help in preventing risks associated with
developing CVD. Quitting smoking and consumption of a balanced diet that includes, low
level of saturated fat, low level of salt and sugar intake can help in maintaining a healthy
heart (He et al. 2014). In addition to this, consumption of plenty of fibres and fresh fruits,
reducing alcohol consumption and increased exercising regularly can help in leading a
healthy life style.
Understand the concepts of health promotion.
Health promotion strategies related to CVD is majorly focused on preventing risks
associated with CVD. To ensure and enforce appropriate health promotion strategies, action
needs to be undertaken across five major levels that include, individual, interpersonal,
community, institutional and public policy. At the individual level, there is a need to spread
awareness about the complicated implication of CVD. At the interpersonal level, there is a
need to encourage support from family and peers to facilitate change in life style. At the
community level, there should be strict enforcement of awareness strategies through social
networking. AT the institutional and public level, there is a need to reform the existing
healthcare policies to promote positive health outcomes.
E-cigarettes: Are they worth the type?
Define the relationship of contents of the thorax in order to identify the normal
structures of the thorax.

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The thorax is located between the neck and the abdomen. It is encased inside the rib-
cage and is supported by the spine and the shoulder girdle (Bastir et al. 2013). The internal
content of the thorax include, the soft organs that is the heart, lungs and the thymus gland. In
addition to this, the major and the minor pectoral muscles, the trapezius muscle and the neck
muscle are also contained within the thorax (Baum 2016). Other internal structure such as the
diaphragm, oesophagus, trachea and the sternum are also contained within the thorax. Also,
the aorta, superior vena cave, inferior vena cava, the pulmonary artery exist within the thorax
cavity. The shoulder socket that comprises the upper part of the humerus, scapula, sternum,
thoracic portion of the spine, the collar bone and the rib cage are positioned within the thorax
cavity. The external structures can be identified as the skin and the nipples.
Fig: The Thoracic cavity
Source: Shier, Butler and Lewis (2015)

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Understand the relationship between structure and function of various components of
the respiratory system.
The respiratory system comprises of the lungs, the conducting airway passage, the
chest wall and the part of the CNS that regulates the muscles involved in respiration. The
chest wall is composed of muscles such as the diaphragm, intercostal muscles, the rib cage
and the abdominal muscles (Farsalingos 2013). The respiratory system includes gaseous
exchange, maintaining acid-base balance, pulmonary defence and metabolism, regulation of
bioactive materials and the phenomenon of phonation.
Recognise the major lifestyle factors influencing respiratory health.
A number of factors have been associated with poor functioning of the respiratory
system. The factors include, manifestation of allergic reaction, sleep abnormality, excessive
body weight, palpitation and excessive perspiration during any physical activity and
unhealthy life style characterized by excessive smoking and over-consumption of alcohol
(Shier et al., 2015).
Understand the range of approaches to health promotion.
Upper respiratory tract infection and associated respiratory disorders are extremely
common in people and accounts for 33% of the mortality rate every year in UK (Busse et al.
2014). Health promotion strategies to help patients manage URT infections would include,
spreading awareness and education to improve access to healthcare facilities. In addition to
this organising wellness camps to impart self-management techniques to people such as
imparting training about CPR techniques could facilitate prevention at an initial stage. There
should be emergency help available within community settings such as schools and work

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places to prevent complications and there should be strategies to facilitate early detection of
symptoms so as to avoid life-threatening conditions. Special considerations for the elderly
people must also be taken into account and appropriate strategies must be undertaken to
promote positive health.

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