This document summarizes common circulatory and respiratory diseases. For circulatory diseases, it describes coronary artery disease where plaque builds up in the arteries supplying the heart, restricting blood flow and potentially causing angina, heart failure, or heart attack. It then focuses on heart attack, explaining it occurs when heart muscle dies from reduced blood supply due to blocked arteries from plaque or blood clots. For respiratory diseases, it outlines asthma where airways constrict during attacks, reducing airflow, and then bronchiectasis where damaged lung tissue leads to impaired structure and function from chronic infection and inflammation.

1. RESPIRATORY AND
CIRCULATORY
COMMON
DISEASES

2. Circulatory
Common Diseases

3. • Coronary
Artery Disease
Occurs when a substance
called plaque builds up in
the arteries that supply
blood to the heart (called
coronary arteries). Plaque
is made up
of cholesterol deposits,
which can accumulate in
your arteries. When this
happens, your arteries can
narrow over time. This
process is called
atherosclerosis.

4. Plaque buildup can cause angina, the most common
symptom of CAD. This condition causes chest pain or
discomfort because the heart muscle doesn't get
enough blood. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart
muscle. This may lead to heart failure, a serious
condition where the heart can't pump blood the way
that it should. An irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia,
can also develop.
For some people, the first sign of CAD is a heart
attack. A heart attack occurs when plaque totally
blocks an artery carrying blood to the heart. It also can
happen if a plaque deposit breaks off and clots a
coronary artery.

5. HEART ATTACK
• A heart attack, also called a
myocardial infarction, occurs
when a section of the heart
muscle dies or gets damaged
because of reduced blood
supply. Coronary Artery
Disease (CAD) is the main
cause of heart attack. A less
common cause is a severe
spasm of a coronary artery,
which also can prevent
blood supply from reaching
the heart.

6. • It is important to seek treatment for a
heart attack immediately. Otherwise,
further damage to the heart muscle can
occur and an irregular heart rhythm may
develop.
• Sudden cardiac arrest—the stopping of
the heart—occurs when the heart stops
completely. Unless treated, a person
whose heart has stopped can die within
minutes.

7. •Treatment
• People who experience a heart attack need emergency
care such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or
electrical shock (defibrillation). That's why you need to
act quickly once you notice the signs and symptoms of
heart attack.
• If you think you or someone you know is having a heart
attack, call 9-1-1 immediately. Bystanders who have
been trained to perform CPR or use a defibrillator may
be able to help the victim until emergency medical
personnel arrive. At the hospital, doctors can perform
tests to determine whether a heart attack is occurring
and decide on the best treatment.

8. RESPIRATORY
COMMON DISEASES

9. ASTHMA
• Asthma is a serious condition in
which the small airways of the
affected person's lungs suddenly
constrict when they are exposed to
certain triggers, such as dust
mites,pollen, exercise, or even dry air.
During an asthma 'attack', the
person's airway lining rapidly
becomes inflamed and swollen, the
muscles around the airways tighten,
and excess mucus is produced as the
body reacts to the trigger. This
reaction causes reduced airflow into
and out of the lungs, and the person
has to gasp for breath.

10. BRONCHIECTASIS
• Bronchiectasis is a progressive lung
disease, affecting 600,000 people
worldwide. It is often mistaken for
asthma or pneumonia and misdiagnosis is
common.In this disease the airway walls
are chronically inflamed, with poor
clearing of the increased mucus
production. Chronic inflammation of the
walls of the airway is common to all types
of bronchiectasis. This is often a result of
a vicious cycle of bacterial infection, in
which damage to the lungs further
predisposes the lung to more infections.
The body repairs the damaged lung tissue
by forming tough,fibrous material, which
leads to changes that impair normal lung
structure and function

11. • Effects include:
• Reduced lung capacity;
• Poor gas-exchange;
• Changes of the organisation of blood vessels; and
• Overall increased blood flow through the lungs.
• These changes can ultimately lead to heart
failure. Recurrent lung infections commonly
reduce patients' quality of life; progressive
respiratory insufficiency is the most common
cause of death.Most cases of bronchiectasis
develop during childhood, and can be a result of
infections such as pneumonia or the inhalation of
noxious substances.