1. This presentation is included for reflection by practitioners in planning for learning and teaching. It is intended for exemplification purposes only. It may be appropriate for some teachers/lecturers to adapt these materials for use within their own context.

2. Heart Disease
Causes

3. Introduction
Heart disease is a huge killer in a lot of MEDCs (More Economically Developed Countries) .
The British Heart Foundation has worked very closely with the government and health agencies since it was set up in 1961.
The one fact that must be remembered before you look at statistics is that the number of deaths has reduced since the British Heart Foundation was set up.
It should be remembered that there are several associated heart diseases:
angina
strokes
heart attacks.

4. Heart disease
© Copyright SASI Group (University of Sheffield) and Mark Newman (University of Michigan).
The map above gives a representation of heart disease cases. Therefore, the larger the country the more cases of heart disease it suffers from.

5. Causes Smoking Fatty diets Stress Being overweight or obese Diabetes
Family history
Lack of exercise

6. Smoking
If you smoke you are twice as likely to suffer from a heart disease.
The nicotine in cigarettes can lead to blood clots.
When you smoke you produce adrenaline, which makes your heart beat faster, making it work harder.
Heart attacks and coronary heart disease are two consequences of smoking.

7. Fatty diets
The consumption of too many saturated fats can increase cholesterol and your chances of heart disease.
Foods that are particularly high in saturated fats are cheese, cream, butter and chocolate.

8. Stress Blood pressure can increase if you become stressed.
A main cause of this can be work. This can happen in high-stress jobs where workers do not eat, rest and sleep properly.

9. Being overweight or obese
Your weight makes a significant difference to your risk of heart disease.
Being overweight puts you at higher risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes.

10. Diabetes
Diabetes is what happens when your body doesn’t produce enough insulin, leading to high glucose (sugar) levels in your blood.
Diabetes increases the damage done by some of the major risk factors for coronary heart disease such as:
smoking
high blood pressure
high blood cholesterol.

11. Family history
Genes from a family member can pass on the risk of cardiovascular disease.
It is possible to inherit high cholesterol from your parents.
High blood pressure can also be inherited.
Both high cholesterol and high blood pressure can contribute to heart disease.

12. Lack of exercise People can become overweight if they do not exercise.
Blood pressure can also go up.
Cholesterol can increase.