Over the past century, medical technologies have advanced significantly, allowing many infectious diseases and conditions to be eradicated or controlled. Heart disease remains the second leading cause of death worldwide. New technologies like defibrillators, pacemakers, EKGs, and heart transplants have helped save many lives and lower mortality rates from heart disease, though it remains a major health challenge. Continued research and technological progress are needed to further reduce the impact of heart disease.
2. MEDICINE & TECHNOLOGY
Over 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.
4. 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)
5. 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
(Heart and cardiac arrest outside of a
Stroke)
6. 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.
7. A LOOK INSIDE THESE LIFE-SAVING
TECHNOLOGIES
1. THE DEFIBRILLATOR
2. THE PACEMAKER
3. THE EKG
4. THE HEART TRANSPLANT
8. THE DEFIBRILLATOR
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%
(What is a Defibrillator)
9. THE PACEMAKER
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.
10. THE EKG
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.
(J,Dwyer)
heart attack)
11. THE HEART TRANSPLANT
Province Number of
transplants
British 22
Columbia
Alberta 33
Ontario 68
Québec 39
Nova 5
Scotia
TOTAL 167
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
(Heart and damaged heart; saving lives.
Stroke)
12.
13. 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.
15. 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?
16. REFERENCES
Dwyer, 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.3
4A8/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
