Heart Attack

Team: 57

School: Hope Christian

Area of Science: Medicine

Interim: Team Number: 057
School Name: Hope Christian School
Area of Science: Medicine
Project Title: Heart Attack

Problem Definition:
The main problem that this project is addressing is that many people do not realize when they are at high risk for coronary heart disease. Heart attacks, which develop from prolonged build up of plaque in the veins, is a direct result of coronary heart disease and takes billions of dollars of funding each year for corrective surgery. Heart disease is the top killer of Americans; rapidly it is becoming the top killer in the world, second only to cancer. Yet, prevention of death is possible when the condition is recognized early.

Problem Solution: As the main problem is in the fact that people do not realize they are at high risk, the project’s goal is to help people identify the risk that is posed by their life style and genetics. Once the problem is identified, people will likely seek ways to lower their risk of contracting the disease or suffering fatal consequences. Computationally, the team will be writing the program that will calculate the risk that is posed to the individual. This coding will be done in an interactive manner to captivate interest using a preexisting compiler. In doing so, it is hoped that more people are willing to use the questionnaire.

Progress To Date: The following information is the progress that has been accomplished up until this point. The team has gone to the kick-off conference for the Supercomputing Challenge and has also brain-stormed which programs and what methods will be used. Extensive research through the web, through interviews, and through books has taken place. This team has found many websites that deal with the project. Lastly, the Elementz have learned how to code in certain programs (C++ and NetLogo) that may be useful in completing the goal.

Expected Results: After programming, modeling, testing, and analyzing, the Elementz expect to accomplish the following. First, a working program that outputs questions about a person's lifestyle and that will input the answers. Second, a working model or visualization that shows the results of the questionnaire will be compiled. As of now, this visualization will show a pumping heart and an artery. As the user inputs "wrong" answers, the artery will get more and more clogged up with plaque. Once no more blood is able to flow through, the heart will stop for a brief time. Using these two programs, the team will test 50 or more people using the questionnaire. A predicted 50% of these people will have a very high risk of coronary heart disease, another 40% will have a moderate risk, and only 10% will have low risk. Through this program, these 50 people (and more after them) will be able to learn their risk and what they need to do in their lives to prevent from ever getting the disease.

Team Members: Alexander Alvarez, Elysia Berg, Angela Wise
Sponsoring Teacher: P. Feather

Team Members:

  Angela Wise
  Elysia Berg
  Alexander Alvarez

Sponsoring Teacher: Pamela Feather

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