REHB1001 Chap.11 Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions
The Week 6 lectures cover coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure, then diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer and substance use.
This chapter turns them into a safety pathway for chest discomfort and stroke signs, lists the printed thresholds for blood pressure and cholesterol, explains the three types of diabetes and their complications through a counter-example about unscreened feet, compares five patterns in one grid, and covers cancer warning signs and the 5 A's for discussing substance use.
Each pattern ends with the physiotherapist's action, from emergency help to screening the feet, so the chapter doubles as a safety checklist.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Myocardial infarction and angina
- 02
Stroke signs and urgent referral
- 03
Heart failure and cardiac rehabilitation
- 04
Types and complications of diabetes
- 05
Metabolic syndrome risk factors
- 06
Cancer warning signs
- 07
Substance use and the 5 A's
Worked example · free
Deciding what to do with chest discomfort in a session
- +1The signs match the lecture's picture of myocardial infarction: distress, a pained face and a clenched fist on the sternum.
- +1The lecture labels this a medical emergency, so stop exercise and call for emergency help.
- +1Discomfort that is exertional and settles would instead raise suspicion of angina, which still needs referral for testing.
Key terms
- Angina
- Chest pain from reduced blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Myocardial infarction
- Death of heart muscle after a sudden blockage of a coronary artery.
- Heart failure
- A syndrome in which the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's demands.
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Nerve damage from diabetes that appears first in both lower limbs.
- Metabolic syndrome
- A cluster of risk factors that raises the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
- Harm minimisation
- An approach to substance use that reduces harm and keeps people engaged without requiring abstinence.
- Peripheral arterial disease
- Narrowing of the arteries to the limbs, more common and more serious with diabetes.
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Conditions FAQ
What blood pressure counts as hypertension in the course?
The coronary heart disease lecture prints systolic 140 mmHg or more, or diastolic 90 mmHg or more, and the metabolic syndrome lecture adds that it should be found on two different days. Hypertension sits with high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and smoking among the major risk factors.
How soon should someone get out of bed after a stroke?
The rehabilitation guidelines quoted in the lecture advise getting the person out of bed within the first 48 hours after the stroke began, unless that is contraindicated, for example in end-of-life care. Rehabilitation then emphasises as much scheduled therapy as possible, progressive resistance training and task-specific practice.
How much exercise does the diabetes lecture recommend?
For type 2 diabetes it recommends regular exercise of 30 to 60 minutes a day and weight loss of 5 to 7% of starting weight, with referral to a dietitian. Before prescribing walking, screen the feet, because neuropathy affects more than 60% of people with diabetes.
What are the main types of stroke?
The lecture describes an infarct, when a thrombus or embolus blocks a vessel, and a haemorrhage, when a vessel ruptures. Both interrupt the brain's blood supply and cause irreversible damage. Recovery is usually fastest in the first days, continues for months or years, and is better with early, comprehensive rehabilitation.
How does the course classify heart failure?
By the side affected, left, right or both ventricles; by chronicity, acute or chronic; and by function, from no limitation of physical activity to symptoms with any activity. Management combines medication, education, dietary advice, cardiac rehabilitation exercise, smoking cessation and a personal plan for exacerbations.
What are the complications of diabetes that matter to physiotherapists?
Microvascular damage to the kidneys, eyes and nerves, with neuropathy beginning in both lower limbs, and macrovascular disease: coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral arterial disease with ulcers and amputation. These shape screening before exercise and explain why cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in diabetes.
Exam move
Make one card per condition with its definition, key risk factors, warning signs and the physiotherapist's action, and test yourself by naming the action from the warning sign. Draw the safety pathway from memory. Learn the printed thresholds exactly, and practise the 5 A's aloud as a short conversation. Practise the stroke signs and the infarction signs as two short lists you can say in ten seconds each.
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