Heart Blockage

[deleted-146722]

How can I find out what causes heart blockages?

[deleted-71536]

Hello,

Welcome to Science Buddies! There are many different factors thought to contribute to heart blockage, and it is an area of open research.

Have you tried doing an internet search for something like "causes of heart blockage"? When I put that term into Google, I got several relevant hits.

Make sure you stick to reliable websites, such as NIH, clinics and medical organizations, and even WebMD. It is best to avoid sites like Ask.com, which have information posted from the public and thus may not be accurate. If you look at Wikipedia, make sure to seek the published references listed at the bottom of the article, as Wikipedia articles often contain errors as well.

Are you planning to do a project related to the causes of heart blockage? Please post again (in this same thread) if you need help with that.

Good luck!

Heather

[deleted-146722]

Thank you. Well actually I want to find out what causes blockages in the veins and arteries? Is hemophilia a major cause? I found out that it's one of the main causes of blood clots.

[deleted-71536]

Hi there,

Actually, hemophilia is a condition in which the blood does not clot properly. It is not considered a cause of blockages in blood vessels.

Again, there are various factors thought to cause blockages in arteries and/or veins, including high cholesterol and various disorders. Are you planning to do a project about this topic? Your best bet is to start with background research, and then develop a question to try to answer with your project. You can start with the Science Buddies Project Guide to help you with these steps: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... ndex.shtml

Let me know if you need help getting a project going.

Heather

[deleted-140482]

Hi Lupee,

Hemophilia is actually a blood clotting disorder in which the blood does not clot properly. People with Hemophilia are lacking one of the major clotting factors which means that after a clot or injury they will bleed for significantly longer than a person without this disorder.

When you asking about blockages in the veins and arteries you are actually asking about a fairly broad topic. One type of blockage is a blood clot which is a normal response to injury to stop blood flow. Clots can also have harmful effects, including strokes and heart attacks. There are several disorders that make a person more likely to clot (this would be the opposite type of disorder from hemophilia).

Vein and artery blockages can also be caused by other things besides clots and are broadly called plaques. Plaques are often made up of fat and cholesterol.

For more information on blockages in the veins and arteries, I agree with Heather, you should do some basic Google searches for terms like "blockage in veins and arteries" or "causes of blockages in the artery." You can narrow your searches down from there if you decide to focus on blood clotting disorders or blockages that are more caused by diet like fat and cholesterol.

I hope this helps and if you pick a project in this area, definitely post in this thread if you have any questions related to a project in this area.

JMP

[deleted-140078]

To mirror what JMP said you may want to include the term artery or coronary artery. There are actually two types of conditions that can be commonly brought up when you search heart block. The best way to think of it, is to compare your heart to your house. You have plumbing and electrical wiring. If you all of a sudden don't have hot water for your shower in the morning there can be two causes. Your hot water heater lost power and is turned off, or the pipe between your hot water heater is broken or clogged causing the hot water to never reach your shower head. Essentially your heart has a plumber and an electrician just like a home.

The most common one people think of is what I think your looking for. It is when a the blood supply to the heart itself (the blood used to "power" the actual muscle) is physically blocked. Information pertaining to that could be found by looking at what causes a "myocardial infarction" or "coronary artery blockage".

The second type is actually an electrical problem within the heart. The heart generates it's own electrical impulses that control the rhythm and rate of the contraction of the muscle. There can be blockages along that path of energy and that is referred to as a "heart block". They are usually categorized by the degree of block (first degree block, second, complete, etc). While it sounds similar to the first blockage related heart condition, it has a completely different mechanism and effect on the overall person.

I would suggest narrowing down what type of one you are looking for and then search using those specific terms. To help you out I included some sources to help you determine the difference in the results you find. Honestly both conditions are fascinating and will give you loads of information to work with.

Electrical block:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health- ... types.html

Physical "plumbing" block
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health- ... auses.html

[deleted-146722]

Thank you so much the websites are really helpful. I really appreciate it.