Coronary heart d|sease (CnD) |s caused by a gradua| bu||d up of fatty depos|ts |n the wa||s of your

coronary arter|es wh|ch can then cause them to narrow 1he med|ca| term for th|s cond|t|on |s
atherosc|eros|s and the fatty mater|a| |s known as atheroma
Cver Llme Lhe arLery may become so narrow LhaL lL can'L dellver enough oxygen Lo your hearL
especlally when you're exerLlng yourself 1hls can lead Lo anglna a paln or dlscomforL ln your chesL
lf a plece of Lhls faLLy maLerlal breaks away from Lhe arLery wall lL can cause a cloL Lo form whlch
wlll Lhen sLarve your hearL of blood and oxygen 1hls ls known as a hearL aLLack
What |s a stroke?
?our braln ls glven blood conLalnlng oxygen and nuLrlenLs by Lhe arLerles ln your neck lf Lhese
arLerles begln Lo narrow because of a bulld up of faLLy maLerlal lL can affecL your blood supply Lo
your braln
A sLroke happens when Lhe arLery carrylng blood Lo your braln ls blocked or an arLery bleeds lnLo
your braln
SLroke can affecL Lhe way your body works and Lhe way you Lhlnk
lf you suspecL LhaL someone ls havlng a sLroke act IAS1 IAS1 helps people recognlse Lhe slgns of
sLroke and Lake lmmedlaLe acLlon
O Iaclal weakness can Lhey smlle? Pas Lhelr mouLh or eye drooped?
O Arm weakness can Lhey ralse boLh arms?
O Speech problems can Lhey speak clearly and undersLand whaL you are saylng?
O 1lme Lo ca|| 999
What causes card|ovascu|ar d|sease?
1he followlng Lhlngs can |ncrease your r|sk
O Smoklng
O Plgh blood pressure
O Plgh blood cholesLerol
O 9hyslcal lnacLlvlLy
O elng overwelghL or obese
O labeLes
O amlly hlsLory
O Age Lhe older you are Lhe more llkely you are Lo develop Cv
O LhnlclLy cerLaln eLhnlc groups have a hlgher rlsk South As|an people llvlng ln Lhe uk are one and
a half Llmes more llkely Lo dle from CP before Lhe age of 73 Lhan Lhe resL of Lhe uk populaLlon

JhaL ls blood pressure?
9uL slmply blood pressure ls Lhe pressure of b|ood |n your arter|es Lhe Lubes LhaL carry your
blood from your hearL Lo your braln and Lhe resL of your body ?ou need a cerLaln amounL of
pressure Lo geL Lhe blood round your body
1he pressure of blood flowlng Lhrough your arLerles varles due Lo your hearL pumplng Jhen your
hearL pumps blood ouL of your hearL lnLo your arLerles Lhe pressure ln your arLerles wlll be aL lLs
hlghesL Jhen your hearL ls relaxlng before lL pumps agaln Lhe pressure ln your arLerles wlll be aL lLs
lowesL
1he flrsL (or Lop) number represenLs Lhe h|ghest |eve| your blood pressure reaches when your
hearL beaLs and pumps blood lnLo your arLerles your systo||c blood pressure An example mlghL be
130mmPg
1he second (or boLLom) number represenLs Lhe |owest |eve| your blood pressure reaches as your
hearL relaxes beLween beaLs your d|asto||c blood pressure An example mlghL be 73mmPg
1here lsn'L always an explanaLlon for Lhe cause of hlgh blood pressure buL Lhese can play a parL
O noL dolng enough physlcal acLlvlLy
O belng overwelghL or obese
O Loo much salL ln your dleL
O drlnklng Loo much alcohol
O noL eaLlng enough frulL and vegeLables or
O havlng a famlly hlsLory of hlgh blood pressure
Cho|estero| |s a fatty substance found |n the b|ood Its ma|n|y made |n the body and p|ays an
essent|a| ro|e |n how every ce|| |n the body works nowever too much cho|estero| |n the b|ood can
|ncrease your r|sk of card|ovascu|ar d|sease
CholesLerol ls carrled around Lhe body by proLelns 1hese comblnaLlons of cholesLerol and proLelns
are called llpoproLelns 1here are Lwo maln Lypes of llpoproLelns
O D (lowdenslLy llpoproLeln) ls Lhe harmfu| Lype of cholesLerol
O nD (hlghdenslLy llpoproLeln) ls a protect|ve Lype of cholesLerol
Pavlng Loo much harmful cholesLerol ln your blood can lncrease your rlsk of geLLlng cardlovascular
dlsease 1he rlsk ls parLlcularly hlgh lf you have a hlgh level of LL cholesLerol and a low level of PL
cholesLerol