Welcome to Week 3

In week 3, you’ll be concentrating on four types of cardiovascular diseases. You’ll also investigate the effects of a weak and overstretched heart in a practical exercise you can complete at home.

We already know that one in four of us is expected to die of cardiovascular diseases, and that many more live with it. Last week, you looked at three cardiovascular diseases, angina, heart attacks, and strokes. This week, you’ll be looking at four more: heart failure, hypertension, valvular diseases, and arrhythmias.

Heart failure

Heart failure is the progressive failing of the heart as a mechanical pump. It affects over 700,000 people in the UK, typically people over the age of 75. A greater percentage of men than women have heart failure however because it occurs later in life and because women typically live longer, there are actually more women with the condition. Heart failure is caused by damage to the heart from acute damage such as a heart attack or by overwork, for example, from prolonged hypertension or valvular diseases.

Hypertension

Hypertension or high blood pressure affects over 30% of adults in England, and levels rise with ageing, affecting 7 out of 10 adults over the age of 75. Despite being one of the biggest predictors of cardiovascular disease, nearly half of all hypertensive adults remain untreated.

Valvular diseases

Valvular diseases, or damage of the heart valves, affects around 12% of adults over 75 in the UK. Valvular diseases can affect any of the four heart valves and disrupts their ability to ensure the blood flows through the heart in the right direction.

Arrhythmias

Arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats, can originate in different parts of the heart, for example, the atria or the ventricles. Arrhythmias can vary in severity, ranging from extremely life threatening through to being relatively harmless. Ventricular fibrillation is probably the most serious of the arrhythmias, and unless the patient is defibrillated or shocked back into a regular heart rhythm, death will occur.

Course glossary

You may find it helpful to have the glossary open in a separate tab as you work your way through the course.

All statistics from British Heart Foundation. British Heart Foundation (2025) Heart & Circulatory Disease Statistics, 2025 Compendium. [Internet]. London: British Heart Foundation; 2025 [cited 2025 Oct 9]. 183p. Available from: https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/our-research/heart-statistics/heart-statistics-publications/cardiovascular-disease-statistics-2025