Cardiovascular Disease

What Cardiovascular Disease covers

Cardiovascular Disease is examined in Unit AS 2, Diet, Lifestyle and Health — examined, compulsory. It covers Defining CVD and how atherosclerosis develops, non-modifiable risk factors for CVD, smoking, inactivity, alcohol, obesity and Type 2 diabetes, blood cholesterol, fatty acids and soluble fibre, hypertension, sodium, antioxidants and homocysteine and preventing CVD through diet and lifestyle.

The 6 subtopics

Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Nutrition and Food Science students sit this topic in the first year.

• Defining CVD and how atherosclerosis developsCardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis from LDL and foam cells to plaque, angina, heart attack, stroke, TIA, peripheral arterial disease, thrombosis and embolism.Open →
• Non-modifiable risk factors for CVDFamily history and familial hypercholesterolaemia, gender and oestrogen, age, socio-economic status, ethnicity, low birth weight and Barker's fetal origins hypothesis.Open →
• Smoking, inactivity, alcohol, obesity and Type 2 diabetesHow smoking, inactivity and sitting, excess alcohol, obesity and Type 2 diabetes damage the heart and blood vessels.Open →
• Blood cholesterol, fatty acids and soluble fibreCholesterol targets and ratios, triglycerides, the evidence on saturated fat and SACN 2019, polyunsaturated fats, fish oil trials, soluble fibre, beta-glucan and plant sterols.Open →
• Hypertension, sodium, antioxidants and homocysteineHypertension and stroke, sodium, salt limits and hidden salt, potassium, antioxidants and supplement trials, and homocysteine and B vitamins.Open →
• Preventing CVD through diet and lifestyleJustified advice on fats, fish, salt, fruit and vegetables, fibre, wholegrains, alcohol, smoking, activity and weight, and the Mediterranean and DASH diets.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Cardiovascular Disease further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Modifiable risk factor vs Non-modifiable risk factor

  Modifiable risk factor: a contributor to disease that a person can change, such as smoking. Non-modifiable risk factor: a contributor to disease that a person cannot change, such as age.

• LDL vs HDL

  LDL: the lipoprotein carrying cholesterol from the liver out to the tissues. HDL: the lipoprotein carrying cholesterol from the tissues back to the liver.

• Ischaemic stroke vs Haemorrhagic stroke

  Ischaemic stroke: a brain injury caused by a clot blocking an artery. Haemorrhagic stroke: a brain injury caused by a burst blood vessel.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Define cardiovascular disease.

   Model answer

   Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. The main forms are coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease and aortic disease.

2. 2

   What is atherosclerosis?

   Model answer

   Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty plaques in the walls of arteries. Plaques narrow and harden the arteries, reducing blood flow.

3. 3

   What starts the process of atherosclerosis?

   Model answer

   Atherosclerosis begins with damage to the endothelium, the inner lining of an artery. High blood pressure, smoking, high blood glucose and high LDL cholesterol can all cause this damage.

4. 4

   Describe the role of LDL cholesterol in the early stages of plaque formation.

   Model answer

   LDL particles pass through the damaged endothelium into the artery wall. Once there, LDL becomes oxidised and triggers an inflammatory response.

5. 5

   How do foam cells form in an artery wall?

   Model answer

   White blood cells called monocytes enter the artery wall and become macrophages. Macrophages engulf oxidised LDL and fill with lipid, becoming foam cells.

6. 6

   What is a fatty streak, and when can fatty streaks first appear?

   Model answer

   A fatty streak is an early, flat collection of foam cells in the artery wall. Fatty streaks can appear in childhood and adolescence.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Cardiovascular Disease revision questions

Is Cardiovascular Disease examined at AS in CCEA Nutrition and Food Science?

Yes. It sits in AS 2, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.

What does Cardiovascular Disease cover in CCEA AS-Level Nutrition and Food Science?

6 subtopics: defining cvd and how atherosclerosis develops, non-modifiable risk factors for cvd, smoking, inactivity, alcohol, obesity and type 2 diabetes, blood cholesterol, fatty acids and soluble fibre, hypertension, sodium, antioxidants and homocysteine and preventing cvd through diet and lifestyle. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Cardiovascular Disease organised?

By the CCEA 3310 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.