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Cancer and cardiovascular disease - Non-communicable - OCR GatewayEvaluation of cardiovascular disease treatments

The chance of developing a non-communicable disease can be increased or decreased depending upon a person’s lifestyle or the genes they inherit. Two common types are cancer & cardiovascular disease.

Part of Biology (Single Science)Global challenges

Evaluation of different cardiovascular disease treatment methods

Drugs used alongside heart conditions and transplants prolong life.

NHS data shows the life expectancy of heart transplant patients:

Life expectancy	patient %
> 1 year	80% to 90%
> 5 years	70% to 75%
> 10 years	50%

Life expectancy	> 1 year
patient %	80% to 90%

Life expectancy	> 5 years
patient %	70% to 75%

Life expectancy	> 10 years
patient %	50%

Evaluating the treatment methods

Treatment	Advantage	Disadvantage
Change in lifestyle eg change in diet, stopping smoking, exercising	Reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease; very little cost to patient or NHS; has other health benefits	Some people may find making changes difficult.
Drugs - statins	Reduce the risk of heart attack - studies have shown a decrease in cholesterol in the blood; used to reduce high cholesterol levels that have genetic causes; may have beneficial effects on other conditions	Not suitable for people with liver disease; some side effects; must be taken for life; should not be taken if pregnant or breastfeeding
Heart transplant	Improve quality of life	Few donor hearts are available; recovery time is long; risk of rejection by the body's immune system
Stents	Widen coronary arteries that have not responded to drug treatment; recovery time is short following insertion of the stent	In a minority of cases, further treatment is required

Treatment	Change in lifestyle eg change in diet, stopping smoking, exercising
Advantage	Reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease; very little cost to patient or NHS; has other health benefits
Disadvantage	Some people may find making changes difficult.

Treatment	Drugs - statins
Advantage	Reduce the risk of heart attack - studies have shown a decrease in cholesterol in the blood; used to reduce high cholesterol levels that have genetic causes; may have beneficial effects on other conditions
Disadvantage	Not suitable for people with liver disease; some side effects; must be taken for life; should not be taken if pregnant or breastfeeding

Treatment	Heart transplant
Advantage	Improve quality of life
Disadvantage	Few donor hearts are available; recovery time is long; risk of rejection by the body's immune system

Treatment	Stents
Advantage	Widen coronary arteries that have not responded to drug treatment; recovery time is short following insertion of the stent
Disadvantage	In a minority of cases, further treatment is required

Other non-communicable diseases and their causes

Heart transplants

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