SAVING LIV

ES THROUGH

TECHNOLOGICAL

ADVANCES

E L I M I N A T I N G T H E N U M B E R T WO K I L L E R : H E A R T D I S E A S E

Steven O’Keefe

MEDICINE & TECHNOLOGYOver the last century, technologies in the medical field have been advancing to the point where infections and diseases do not concern people as much as they once use to. Diseases such as small pox and polio have virtually disappeared. As we continue to pursue these technological advances, many other diseases, illnesses, and life threatening medical concerns may one day be eradicated.

THE NUMBER 2 LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH

WHAT IS HEART DISEASE?

Your heart is a muscle that gets energy from blood carrying oxygen and nutrients. Having a constant supply of blood keeps your heart working properly. Most people think of heart disease as one condition. But in fact, heart disease is a group of conditions affecting the structure and functions of the heart and has many root causes. (Heart & Stroke)

HEART DISEASE:

FACTS o In Canada, every 7 minutes someone dies from heart disease or stroke

o Responsible for an estimated 29% of deaths in Canada (28% of all boys and 29% of all girls)

o Leading cause of hospitalization in Canada

o Cost Canada about 20.9 billion dollars each year in services and medical cost

o Nine in 10 Canadians have at least one risk factor for heart disease or stroke (smoking, alcohol, physical inactivity, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, diabetes) (Heart & Stroke)

o Less than 5% of people who have cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive

(Heart and Stroke)

THE HEART & OUR TECHNOLOGY

The heart is one of our body’s most vital organs and muscle. As our society encounters new illnesses and diseases that danger the heart, we are scrambling to find new innovative technologies to prevent and ‘fix’ these medical issues. In the last decade technology has rapidly advanced in the medical field. We continue to explore the human body and all its wonders and whilst doing so, technology is growing alongside these learning curves.Society is fighting tooth and nail to save the lives of individuals suffering from heart disease. As the amount of equipment and procedures grow, we are saving lives as we move towards the goals of complete heart disease prevention.

A LOOK INSIDE THESE LIFE-SAVING TECHNOLOGIES

1. THE DEFIBRILLATOR2. THE PACEMAKER

3. THE EKG4. THE HEART TRANSPLANT

o The defibrillator is a device that delivers an electrical shock to people suffering from cardiac arrhythmias, ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia. The shock revives the hearts sinoatrial node (responsible for the hearts contractions).

o  For every 1 minute delay in defibrillation, the survival rate of a cardiac arrest victim decreases by 7% to 10%

THE DEFIBRILLATOR

(What is a Defibrillator)

o Pacemakers are an artificial sinoartial node(SA)responsible for keeping the heart from beating too slow. Some pacemakers are temporary while others may be permanent.

o The pacemaker is inserted to prevent heart failure by maintaining the natural rhythms of the organ.

THE PACEMAKER

o Electrocardiography o The EKG is a device

that analyzes and interprets the electrical patterns of the heart

o This piece of equipment is utilized by health care professionals to understand a patients cardiovascular health.

o This is the initial test conducted on an individual who is suspected of having heart problems (i.e. heart attack)

THE EKG

(J,Dwyer)

o The heart transplant is a procedure performed on individuals with end-stage heart diseases.

o Amazingly, a heart from a donor can replace a damaged heart; saving lives.

THE HEART TRANSPLANT Province Number of

transplantsBritish Columbia

22

Alberta 33Ontario 68Québec 39Nova Scotia

5

TOTAL 167

(Heart and Stroke)

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Heart disease is the one of the leading causes of death in the world and although the death rate is currently at an all time high, there is no doubt that the statistics are much lower than they once

were. The amount of research and technology that is

being addressed to heart disease will unquestionably save lived and drastically reduce the number of individuals suffering from this

catastrophic disease.

Canadian mortality rates caused by heart disease

(Statistics Canada)

The only con related to medical advances may just be

the exponential costs. And yes, technology is

expensive. But, can we really put a price on someone’s life?

REFERENCESDwyer, J. (n.d.). Pacemakers save lives and make living more

comfortable. Retrieved from nahealth: http://www.nahealth.com/NewsAndEvents/HealthEducationArticles/HeartHealth/Pacemakers

Fogoros, R. N. (n.d.). The Electrocardiogram. Retrieved from heart disease: http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/ekgecg/a/ECG.htm

N/A. (n.d.). Mortality Rates. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-503-x/2010001/article/11543/c-g/c-g005-eng.htm

N/A. (n.d.). Statistics on Heart Disease and Stroke. Retrieved from Heart and Stroke: http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.3483991/k.34A8/Statistics.htm

N/A. (n.d.). What is a defribillator. Retrieved from news-medical: http://www.news-medical.net/health/Defibrillator-What-is-a-Defibrillator.aspx