 it is an organ system that passes nutrients, gases, hormones, blood

cells, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help
stabilize body temperature.

 involves the circulation of blood which serves to move blood to a

site or sites where it can be oxygenated, and where wastes can be
disposed.

 is made up of the vessels and the muscles that help and control the
flow of the blood around the body.

 On average, your body has about 5 liters of blood continually

travelling through it by way of the circulatory system.
Here are some common diseases that affect the circulatory
system:
 Cardiomyopathy literally means "heart muscle
disease“. It is the weakening of the function of the
myocardium (the actual heart muscle) for any
reason. People diagnosed wtih cardiomyopathy are
often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death
or both. Cardiomyopathy can often go undetected,
making it especially dangerous to carriers of the
disease. [wikipedia.org] It often occurs when the
heart cannot pump as well as it should, or with other
heart function problems.
 The most common symptom is chest pain. Mild
cardiomyopathies are frequently asymptotic; but
severe cases are associated with heart failure and
arrythmias. An echocardiogram is useful to detect
wall motion abnormalities or a pericardial effusion.

Treatment depends on the type of

cardiomyopathy. It may include medication, wearing
of a pacemaker to treat a slow heart rate or to help
both sides of your heart beat at the same time, or the
wearing of a defibrillator that sends an electrical
pulse to stop life-threatening, abnormal heart
rhythms. The goal of treatment is often symptom
relief, and some patients may eventually require a
heart transplant. Due to the severity of the disease,
treatment requires the use of numerous chemicals
and drugs, which have to be taken for the rest of the
patient's life.
Normal
Dilated
Restrictive
Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic
Cardiomyopathy
 It occurs when there is no clotting factor in the
blood. It is a hereditary genetic disorder that impair the
body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation.
Haemophilia lowers blood plasma clotting factor levels of
the coagulation factors needed for a normal clotting
process. Thus when a blood vessel is injured, a temporary
scab does form, but the missing coagulation factors
prevent fibrin formation, which is necessary to maintain
the blood clot.

A haemophiliac does not bleed more intensely than

a person without it, but can bleed for a much longer time.
In severe haemophiliacs even a minor injury can result in
blood loss lasting days or weeks, or even never healing
completely. In areas such as the brain or inside joints, this
can be fatal or permanently debilitating.

Children with mild haemophilia may not have

noticeable symptoms for many years. Often, the first sign
in very mild haemophiliacs is heavy bleeding from a
dental procedure, an accident, or surgery.
 It is the swelling and irritation of the pericardium,
the thin sac-like membrane that surrounds your heart;
simply the inflammation of the pericardium. Chest pain is
often present. Pericarditis is usually sudden and short-
lived. The sharp chest pain associated with pericarditis
occurs when the inflamed or irritated two layers of the
pericardium rub against each other. Chest pain may be
relieved by sitting up or bending forward and worsened by
lying down (recumbent or supine position) or inspiration
(taking a breath in).
 It may be caused by viral, bacterial, or fungal
infection. Symptoms of pericarditis may include dry
cough, fever, fatigue, and anxiety.

Mild Pericarditis may be treated with Aspirin, or

non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs such as
naproxen). But severe cases may require:
 pericardiocentesis to treat pericardial effusion or
tamponade
 antibiotics to treat tuberculosis or other bacterial
 causes.
 steroids are used in acute pericarditis but are not
favored because they increase chance of recurrent
pericarditis.
colchicine is a very effective treatment option. If
Aspirin and NSAIDs are not sufficient, colchicine
should be added to the regimen.
 in rare cases, surgery.
 in cases of contrictive pericarditis, pericardectomy.
X-ray of a person with
Pericarditis.
 Is chest pain. This is due to ischemia (lack of blood,
thus lack of oxygen supply and waste removal) of the
heart muscle. The term derives from the Latin angina
("infection of the throat") from the Greek ἀγχόνη ankhonē
("strangling"), and the Latin pectus ("chest"), and can
therefore be translated as "a strangling feeling in the
chest".

Most patients with angina complain of chest

discomfort rather than actual pain: the discomfort is
usually described as a pressure, heaviness, tightness,
squeezing, burning, or choking sensation. Pain may be
accompanied by breathlessness, sweating and nausea in
some cases. In this case, the pulse rate and the blood
pressure increases. Chest pain lasting only a few seconds
is normally not angina. Some experience "autonomic
symptoms" (related to increased activity of the autonomic
nervous system) such as nausea, vomiting and pallor.
Major risk factors for angina include cigarette smoking,
diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sedentary
lifestyle and family history of premature heart disease.
 The most specific medicine to treat angina is
nitroglycerin. It is a potent vasodilator that makes more
oxygen available to the heart muscle. The main goals of
treatment in angina pectoris are relief of symptoms,
slowing progression of the disease, and reduction of future
events, especially heart attacks and, of course, death.
Exercise is also a very good long term treatment for the
angina (but only particular regimens - gentle and sustained
exercise rather than intense short bursts)
Narrowing of the Artery
(Atherosclerosis) that
leads to Angina Pectoris
 Also known as arteriosclerotic vascular disease or
ASVD. A condition in which an artery wall thickens as a
result of the accumulation of fatty materials such as
cholesterol. It is a syndrome affecting arterial blood
vessels, a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of
arteries, caused largely by the accumulation of
macrophage white blood cells. It is caused by the
formation of multiple plaques within the arteries.
Atherosclerosis can occur body-wide, in the arteries to the
brain, intestines, kidneys, legs, etc. with many infarctions
involving only very small amounts of tissue. These are
termed "clinically silent" because the person having the
infarction does not notice the problem and does not seek
medical help, or when they do, physicians do not
recognize what has happened.

Atherosclerosis typically begins in early

adolescence, and is found in major arteries, yet is
asymptomatic and not detected by most diagnostic
methods during life. Atheroma in arm, or more often in
leg arteries, which produces decreased blood flow is
called peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD).
 The main cause of atherosclerosis is yet unknown,
but is hypothesized to fundamentally be initiated by
inflammatory processes in the vessel wall in response to
retained low-density lipoprotein (LDL) molecules.
Eventually, the artery becomes inflamed. The cholesterol
plaque causes the muscle cells to enlarge and form a hard
cover over the affected area. This hard cover is what
causes a narrowing of the artery, reduces the blood flow
and increases blood pressure.
 If atherosclerosis leads to symptoms, some
symptoms such as angina pectoris can be treated. Non-
pharmaceutical means are usually the first method of
treatment, such as cessation of smoking and practicing
regular exercise. If these methods do not work, medicines
are usually the next step in treating cardiovascular
diseases, and, with improvements, have increasingly
become the most effective method over the long term.
Most medicines for atherosclerosis are patented, allowing
manufacturers to enjoy higher prices than non-patented
medicines; and they may cause unwanted side-effects.
Narrowing of the Arteries