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Cardiovascular disease is currently the top killer of people in the United States. With the aging of the Baby Boomers and advancement of life-saving technologies, the demographics for cardiovascular disorders can only surge upwards.
Cardiovascular disorders include diseases of the heart and the circulatory system used to deliver blood to the tissues. The importance of a functioning heart and vessels is particularly apparent in damage to the nervous system stemming from inadequate blood flow. Strokes or aneurysms can cause brain damage that affect basic functions, such as memory, speech, vision, or muscle movement.
Besides the commonly known "heart attack" (myocardial infarction, MI), there are a variety of other cardiovascular diseases. Mitral regurgitation involves incompetent heart valves that allow blood to leak in the opposite direction of intended flow. Atherosclerosis is a lesion and thickening of blood vessels which reduce their ability to circulate blood. Arteriovenous malformations misdirect blood away from the tissues.
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