Understanding Cardiovascular Diseases - Open University Course Team

There is an enormous variation in how cardiovascular diseases affect people's lives. This is reflected in this book, which uses case studies to describe how cardiovascular diseases can affect individuals. Chapters 1 and 2 are concerned with introducing cardiovascular diseases and normal physiology of the heart and circulation. Chapters 3 and 4 look at cardiovascular diseases in the context of the risk factors, social distribution and methods of preventing these diseases. Chapter 5 looks more closely at the disease process at the vascular level whilst chapters 6 and 7 look at the different conditions that can lead to heart failure, and introduces the different diagnostic tests which can help to differentiate each condition. The remaining chapters of the book are concerned with the various ways in which cardiovascular disease may be treated, including medical management and the surgical treatments for angina, breathlessness and heart attacks. This book also considers what it means to live with cardiovascular disease, and examines lifestyle changes, practical considerations and the psychological implications of having heart disease.