COMMON AILMENTS OF CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Hypertension. or high blood pressure. It is a chronic medical condition in which the

blood pressure in the arteries is elevated. High blood pressure can be caused by several
factors like over-eating, worry, anxiety, and tension. The common symptoms are headache
and dizziness. With the help of instrument called sphygmomanometer, we can measure our
blood pressure. This instrument measures two pressures the systolic and the diastolic.
Systolic pressure is the highest pressure the heart produces as it pumps blood into the
arteries. Diastolic pressureor low reading is a measure of the pressure that remains in the
arteries just before the next heartbeat takes place.

Low Blood Pressure. Low blood pressure, or hypertension, is a disease caused by poor
diet or by some chronic disease. Symptoms are weakness, headache, shortness of breath,
dizziness, inability to concentrate, and digestive disturbances.

Coronary Heart Disease or heart attack is the number one disease that causes death and
invalidism. Too much cholesterol in the blood and uncontrolled high blood pressure are the
cause of these disease. These happens when the supply of blood to parts of the heart is cut
off. The blood cannot reach the heart. The arteries that carry blood to the heart are
clogged. Cholesterol is a normal part of the tissue and blood of the body.

Anemia. Anemia is mainly due to iron deficiency or a person lacks hemoglobin in the
blood. This may be caused by a diet that does not contain enough iron. Certain foods like
raisins and liver are rich in iron. These foods may be included in the diet to prevent this type
of anemia. Another type of anemia is pernicious anemia. In this type, the digestive tract does
not absorb enough vitamin B12, which is essential to the formation of RBCs.

Leukemia. Leukemia is also known as cancer of the blood. An abnormal increase in the
leukocytes (WBC) of the blood causes these disease. In leukemia, there is an uncontrolled
production of leukocytes either in red bone marrow or in the lymphoid tissue. The WBCs
count is high but nonfunctional. The person with leukemia is prone to infections.

Atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a hardening of the arteries caused by the buildup of a

fatty substance (cholesterol) on their walls. Such buildup is called plaque. As they develop,
they tend to protrude into the blood vessel and interfere with the flow of
blood. Atherosclerosis begins in early adulthood. This develops progressively through
middle age. Symptoms may not appear until an individual is 50 or older.