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About This Quiz
Have tightness in the chest? How about trouble breathing? Think you were a doctor in another life? It's time to test your medical knowledge with this Heart Disease Quiz.
The heart is composed of _______ chambers.
2
4
The upper chambers receive incoming blood and the lower chambers are more muscular, and pump blood out of your heart.
10
20
What is the name given to the upper two chambers of the heart?
atrium
The two upper cavities of the heart are called atria (plural for atrium). Deoxygenated blood is received into the right atrium, and the left atrium receives oxygenated blood..
ventricle
vein
artery
What is the name given to the lower two chambers of the heart?
atrium
ventricle
Blood from the right atrium enters the right ventricle and pumps it into the lungs, and blood from the left atrium enters the left ventricle where it gets pumped into the circulatory system.
vein
artery
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What is the largest blood vessel in your body?
aorta
The aorta carries oxygenated blood from the heart to all the tissues in the body.
veins
artery
capillary
What is the smallest blood vessel in your body?
aorta
vein
artery
capillary
The average adult body has about 10 billion capillaries, which connect arteries and veins.
How much blood is contained in an average adult body (with a weight of 150 to 180 pounds)?
1 pint
1.5 gallons
It is estimated that the volume of blood in a human body is roughly 7 percent of body weight.
10 gallons
10 liters
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In the United States, what is the number one cause of death for both men and women?
cancer
car accidents
heart disease
Heart disease is a term that encompasses all types of heart-related infections, irregularities, and birth defects including heart failure, coronary artery disease, arrhythmias, and angina .
stroke
According to the CDC, how many deaths are attributed to heart disease per year in the United States?
none
100,000
610,000
Each year, 1 in every 4 deaths in the United States is due to heart disease.
1,000,000
What is NOT a risk factor for developing heart disease?
eating unhealthy
eating healthy
High cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes can also increase your risk for developing heart disease.
lack of exercise
smoking
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Which of the following refers to damage or disease in the heart's major blood vessels?
cancer
coronary artery disease
The coronary artery is important for supplying the heart with blood. If it is blocked or narrowed, coronary artery disease can occur. This is the most common cause of heart disease.
hyperthermia
torn muscle
What is it called when your arteries harden and get narrow?
atherosclerosis
Damage to the lining of the blood vessel by high blood pressure, smoking, or high cholesterol can lead to the formation of plaques in your arteries that can clog the way for blood.
stroke
apoptosis
cancer
What is inside an atherosclerotic plaque?
celery
cheese
hamburgers
cholesterol deposits
Plaques start as a fatty streak on the inside of the blood vessel, and can progress to a calcified plaque.
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What is a condition in which the force of the blood against the artery walls is too high?
liver failure
kidney damage
high blood pressure
Also called hypertension, high blood pressure is defined as a blood pressure above 140/90. A healthy blood pressure is generally considered at or below 120/80.
crow's feet
What is improper beating of the heart, whether irregular, too fast, or too slow?
arrhythmia
Arrhythmia refers to any change in the electrical impulses of the heart that deviate from the normal sequence. This can lead to the inability of the heart to pump blood efficiently.
palpitation
shock
broken
What is a circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs?
numbness
stroke
peripheral artery disease
Peripheral artery disease most commonly occurs in the legs.
heart attack
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What is damage to the brain from interruption of its blood supply?
seizure
heart attack
stroke
A stroke is a kind of "brain attack" - the cells of the brain can die because if blood flow is cut off, then the cells do not receive oxygen and cannot survive.
anemia
Cerebral infarction is one way to describe:
heart attack
stroke
A type of ischemic stroke resulting from a blockage in the blood vessels that supply blood to the brain is called a cerebral infarction.
cancer
pulled muscle
How does one describe a blue skin color caused by lack of oxygen?
cyanotic
The word "cyan" comes from the Greek word for blue: kyanós.
non-cyanotic
blue
bruised
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What is a chronic condition in which the heart doesn't pump blood as well as it should.
arrythmia
congestive heart failure
There are two types of heart failure, diastolic and systolic.
stroke
ischemia
Diastolic congestive heart failure occurs when the heart:
cannot fill
In diastolic heart failure, the muscle of the left ventricle has become stiff and cannot relax, resulting in an inability to fill with blood properly.
cannot pump
breaks
shrinks
Systolic congestive heart failure occurs when the heart:
cannot fill
cannot pump
In systolic heart failure, the left ventricle cannot contract normally, so enough blood cannot get pushed into circulation and maintain a healthy body.
breaks
shrinks
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What is angina?
a flightless bird
candy
chest pain
Angina is chest pain caused by a lack of oxygen-rich blood flow to the heart. It can feel like pressure in your chest or indigestion.
stroke
Heart attack is the more common way to describe:
stroke
myocardial infarction
The myocardium is the muscular tissue of the heart, and an infarction is the obstruction of the blood supply.
arrhythmia
cancer
What is a blood-filled bulge in the wall of a blood vessel that resembles a balloon?
aneurysm
Aneurysms can occur in any blood vessel, and carry a risk of life-threatening rupture.
helium balloon
heart
stroke
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What occurs when the blood supply to the heart stops and part of the heart muscle dies?
stroke
cancer
myocardial infarction (heart attack)
Studies have shown that people who live alone are twice as likely to have a heart attack compared to people who live with others.
anemia
What is sudden, unexpected loss of heart function, breathing, and consciousness.
stroke
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops pumping as a result of an electrical problem in the heart. This is different from a myocardial infarction (heart attack).
cancer
childbirth
What is an abnormality in the heart that develops before birth?
arteries
congential heart disease
Congenital means present from birth, and can be inherited or acquired.
veins
eyes
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What medication dilates the arteries to the heart to increase blood flow to the heart?
vitamin C
insulin
nitrates (nitroglycerin)
Nitrates, commonly taken in the form of nitroglycerin, are used to relieve symptoms of angina, such as chest pain or pressure.
omega-3 fatty acids
The specialized muscle cells in the heart are called "cardiac ___________".
adipocytes
myocytes
Cardiac myocytes (the cells of your heart muscle) are dependent on the blood and electrical supply to coordinate the contractions of cells to make your heart pump properly.
fibroblasts
endothelium
What is a small device that is placed in the chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms?
catheter
thermometer
fm radio
pacemaker
Low-energy electrical pulses generated by a pacemaker will prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.
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What word is sometimes used as a synonym for fats?
Adenine
Caffeine
Lipids
Lipids are naturally occurring molecules that function to store energy and acting as structural components of cell membranes, among other things.
Nicotine
What is another word for high levels of fats (or lipids) in your blood?
Anemia
Hyperlipidemia
It is important to make healthy diet choices and increase exercise to start lowering your high cholesterol.
Hyperthyroidism
Autoimmunity
What is the "good" cholesterol?
Olestra
HDL
Exercise and moderate consumption of alcohol raise your HDL levels (which stands for high density lipoprotein), whereas obesity and smoking decrease your HDL levels.
LDL
Triglycerides
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What is "bad" cholesterol?
Omega-3 fatty acids
HDL
LDL
LDL, which stands for low density lipoprotein, mobilizes and deposits cholesterol to the tissue, where it can contribute to plaque formation and progress to heart disease.
Triglycerides
What is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids?
fish
Omega-3 fatty acids are abundant in fish oils and are beneficial, whereas (trans)unsaturated fats produced by artificial hydrogenation of polyunsaturated oils (used in baked goods and margarine) adversely affect cholesterol profiles.
potato chips
french fries
cheesburger
You Got:
/35
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