Cardiovascular diseases. Heart

 

The heart is a hollow contractile muscle. The cardiac muscle itself (myocardium) is enclosed in the pericardium; inside it is lined with a smooth membrane — the endocardium. The principal function of the heart is to pump blood from the veins into the arteries, arterioles and capillaries, and to receive it via the venules, veins and the superior and inferior venae cavae.

In order to perform this duty, the heart is divided into two separate pumps, the right side serving the pulmonary or lesser circulation, — and the left side serving the rest of the body — systemic circulation.

Each side of the heart consists of an atrium, and a ventricle. There is a septum between the two sides and an orifice between the atrium and its corresponding ventricle. These orifices are served by the tricuspid, bicuspid (mitral), pulmonary and aortic valves

This group of diseases — probably the commonest of all — involves the circulatory system, i.e. the heart with the blood vessels.

General symptoms and clinical manifestations of heart disease. Dyspnoea on effort or at rest is the most usual symptom, sometimes coming in paroxisms (cardiac asthma), and so are palpitations and precordial pain. Patients often complain of loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting and report nocturia, oliguria and albuminuria. Other signs of cardiovascular disease include hypertension, cyanosis, hepatomegaly, venous engorgement, etc.

Some of the main cardiovascular diseases. Congenital heart defects may be due to a number of causes.

Heart failure, too, has many causes, it really means than that heart fails to pump all the blood it receives from the veins into the arteries.

Cardiac arrest is failure of the heart action to maintain adequate cerebral circulation in the absence of obvious disease.

Angina pectoris and acute myocardial infarction due to coronary thrombosis come under the heading of ischemic heart disease (IHD). In IHD the blood supply to the heart muscle is impaired due to atheroma, a degeneration of the lining of the coronary arteries with loss of elasticity. Acute myocardial infarction may lead to sudden death, there may be serious complications such as cardiac arrhythmia; cardiogenic shock, cardiac rupture, etc.

The heart is normal with no detectable pathological changes.

 

Ex.10. Answer the following questions:

1.What comes under the heading of the circulatory system?

2.How would you define the heart?

3.Explain the difference between the pericardium and endocardium.

4.What is the anatomical composition of the heart?

5.What is the difference between systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation?

6.What types of heart valves are there?

7.What is the physiological difference between an atrium and a ventricle?

8.When do clinicians speak of heart failure?

9.What do cardiac patients generally complain of?

10.How do you recognise pitting edema?

11.When do we speak of cardiac arrest?

12.What does the term ischemic heart disease imply?

13.What is wrong with the patient who suffers from cardiac arrhythmia?

14.What is atheroma?

15.What are the general causes of heart disease?

 

Ex.11. Complete the following conditional sentences:

1.You will certainly get into trouble if...

2.He would develop heart disease unless...

3.You would not fail the exam if...

4.The baby will be discharged from the hospital if...

5.You would never have caught that cold, if you...

6.If this course of treatment is taken...

7.Your hypertension will not get better unless...

8.If he took more care...

9.They would have succeeded if...

10.If he had been operated on the mitral competence in time...

11.In case your temperature remains normal...

12.Arrhythmia would not have developed if...

LESSON 24. Heart diseases.

Ex.1. Read the words and translate the text.

to take the pulse прощупувати пульс

radial променевий

nervous нервовий

fast частий result результат beating биття, пульсація

to note v замічати, відмічати

deep а глибокий

rate n чистота

rhythmь n ритм

HOW TO TAKE THE PULSE

A medical worker looks after the patients in the daytime or at night and can see any changes in the patients' condition. Many of the changes are very important. You must be careful when you take the patient's pulse.¹ It is not difficult to take the pulse. Put three fingers of the left hand over the radial² artery. Many patients are nervous³ when they see a nurse or a doctor and the patient's pulse is faster as a re­sult⁵ That's why you must wait a few seconds before you begin to count the pulse. If the nurse sees any changes in the beating⁶ of the pulse she must immediately tell the doctor. Changes in the pulse are very important and you must be able to see any changes in the beating of the pulse.

REMEMBER: When you take the pulse you must note:¹

1. If it is deep² or shallow

2. the rate³

3. the strength of the beating

4. the rhythm⁴

 

Ex.2. Answer the questions:

1. Is it difficult to take the pulse?

2. How do you take the pulse?

3. What must you remember taking the pulse?

4. How must the nurse count the pulse?

5. What must the nurse do if she sees any irregularity in the beating of the pulse?

Ex.3. Find the English equivalents:

міряти температуру; провітрювати палату; стан хворого; помічати будь-які зміни; рахувати пульс; негайно; частий; нерегулярний; поверхневий; глибокий; ритм; частота; променева артерія; пам’ятати

 

Ex.4. Read and memorize the words;

 

1. to check the BP — виміряти кров’яний тиск

2. hypertension — підвищений кров’яний тиск

3. heartache — біль в серці

4. hypotensive — який відноситься до пониженого кров’яного тиску

5. hypertensive — який відноситься до підвищеного кров’яного тиску

6. hypotension — понежинений кров’яний тиск

7. anaemia — анемія

8. To cause — спричиняти

9. pressure — тиск

Ex.5. Translate the text:

BLOOD PRESSURE

The blood pressure¹ (BP) is the pressure of the blood in the arterial wall.

The blood pressure can be normal, high and low. The nor­mal BP is between 110-140 (the systolic pressure) over 70-90 (the diastolic pressure).

When you check the patient's BP² you must think of his, her) age. If a person of 20 has a blood pressure of 140-150 it is dangerous. And the nurse must immediately take care of such a patient. But if the same BP has a person of 50 it is not so dangerous.

If a patient has hypertension,³ he may often complain of headaches, nosebleedings, heartaches.⁴ The doctor prescribes him hypotensive⁵. Hypertensive⁷ patients must not work hard.

Hypotension⁸ or low BP is caused by different conditions. Anaemia⁹ may be a cause of hypotension. Great fatigue may also cause hypotension. In all cases it is very serious and the nurse must be very attentive to the patient.

Ex.6. Read the words and word-combinations to the text:

 

complication — ускладнення

emergency aid — екстрена допомога

coronary insufficiency — коронарна недостатність

to administer — надати (допомогу)

considerable headway — значне поширення

ambulance — машина швидкої допомоги

cause of hypertension — причина гіпертонії

rehabilitation — відновлення працездатності

to accompany — супроводжувати

recuperation — відновлення здоров'я
stage-by-stage — поетапний

Ex.7. Read and translate the text:

 

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

At present the scientists consider that much attention must be paid to the treatment of the cardiovascular diseases. They are arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, whose gravest complication is the infarction of the myocardium and cardiac insufficiency caused by various diseas­es of the heart.

Mass scale epidemiological check-ups of the population show that people contract coronary insufficiency and hypertension from 40 to 60 years of age. Hypertension, especially symptomatic hypertension, which is a symptom of diseases of some organs or systems, for example, of kidneys or the endocrine glands, may set in at an even earlier age than that.

Considerable headway has been registered lately in the diagnostics of symptomatic hypertension. This is of great importance for the successful combat­ting of arterial hypertension,

Definite success has also been achieved in the treatment of athero­sclerosis and of coronary insufficiency and infarction of the myocar­dium which are closely related to it.

Ex.8. Make up the summary to the given text using the following expressions:

1. to be of great importance; at present; the scientists consider; the cardiovascular diseases;

2. to give gravest complication; arterial hypertension and athero­sclerosis of the coronary arteries;

3. check-ups of the population; mass scale epidemiological; to show that; not only old people; to have coronary insufficiency and infarction of the myocardium; but young people of 20—30 years of age;

4. in the treatment of some cardiovascular diseases; to have been achieved; definite success.