Cardiovascular

What is Cardiovascular Disease?

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of disorders affecting the heart and blood vessels, characterised by impaired blood flow or abnormal heart function, most commonly due to atherosclerosis, which can lead to conditions such as heart attack and stroke.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a broad term for conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. The most common type is coronary artery disease, where blood vessels supplying the heart become narrowed or blocked.

How Does Cardiovasuclar disease form in the body?

Cardiovascular disease usually develops gradually over time, mainly through a process called atherosclerosis.

It is a step by step process

1. Damage to artery walls

The inner lining of blood vessels becomes damaged by factors such as:

• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes

2. Fatty deposits build up

• Cholesterol and other substances stick to the damaged areas
• This forms fatty streaks, which grow into plaques

3. Arteries narrow and harden

• Plaques make arteries narrower and less flexible
• Blood flow becomes reduced

4. Blood clot formation

• Plaques can rupture
• This triggers a blood clot (thrombus) to form

5. Blockage of blood flow

• • The clot can partially or completely block the artery
  • This stops oxygen reaching vital organs

What this leads to

• Heart attack if blood flow to the heart is blocked
• Stroke if blood flow to the brain is blocked
• Peripheral disease if limbs are affected

In simple but precise terms

Cardiovascular disease means:

• The circulatory system is not working properly
• Blood cannot flow efficiently to vital organs
• This leads to oxygen deprivation and tissue damage

Clinical significance within the definition

CVD is considered a major health concern because it:

• Progresses gradually and often silently
• Can suddenly result in acute events such as heart attack or stroke
• Is influenced by both modifiable factors (lifestyle) and non-modifiable factors (age, genetics)

Cardiovascular Disease Classifications:

Cardiovascular Imaging Research.

At Curtin MRI Professor Zhounghua Sun and his team specialise in Cardiovascular Imaging Research.

This research focuses on Development and application of 3D printing, virtual and mixed reality technologies for medical education, clinical training, simulation, and surgical planning in cardiovascular disease.

And the use of artificial intelligence, including machine learning and deep learning, to support diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular conditions.

Prof. Zhonghua Sun

Cancer Genomics Research.

At Curtin MRI DR Jansen Li and his team specialise in Vascular Disorders Research.

This research investigates how dysfunction of the brain vasculature contributes to neurological disorders, including stroke, cerebral cavernous malformation, and Alzheimer’s disease. The lab aims to translate these insights into precision therapeutic strategies.

 

Brain Vascular Dysfunction

• Defining how blood–brain barrier (BBB) disruption and endothelial changes drive disease.

Precision Therapeutics

• Developing targeted approaches that leverage disease-specific vascular features to improve delivery and efficacy.

Experimental Models

• Establishing physiologically relevant models of the human BBB to study mechanisms and enable preclinical testing.

Dr Jansen Li