LITERATURE REVIEW: Determinants of health
In this paper there will be the analysis of cardiovascular disease and how it occurs in the UAE. This paper will be tasked with describing its nature, prevalence and importance as a public health issue; describe the individual factors that lead to this health issue (biology/behavior); a description of the determinants as the disease occurs in the society; prevention of the disease; how the society is working on limiting occurrences and also treating the disease as the cases occur. This literature review will look into this case in the United Arab Emirates, working with the statistics and what is being done to prevent the disease from becoming a major mortality factor here. From the various articles to be reviewed, it can be seen that this condition has become a high mortality factor in this society and much needs to be done to curb this.
Also known as heart disease, CVD stands for a wide range of conditions which affect the heart. The diseases that fall under the CVD comprise of diseases of the blood vessel like as coronary artery conditions; arrhythmias which are heart rhythm complications; and congenital heart defects which can be described as heart defects which one is born with. It can be seen that cardiovascular disease in general points to conditions in which narrowed or blocked blood vessels are involved. This can cause a heart attack, angina (chest pain), stroke or even death. There are other heart conditions like those which affect the heart's muscle, its valves or rhythm also fall into this category. Many experts claim that many instance of heart disease can be stopped or treated by an individual leading a healthy lifestyle. CVD is triggered by blood vessels being blocked, narrowed or stiffened. This prevents the heart, brain and even other parts of the body from getting enough blood and oxygen. CVD symptoms may vary according to gender. It can be seen that men are highly likely to have angina while women are more probable to experience symptoms like nausea, shortness of breath and extreme fatigue.
Symptoms
There are various symptoms that are associated with CVD. They are as follows:
One may experience shortness of breath
There may be instances of numbness, weakness, coldness or pain in the legs or arms especially if the vessels found in these parts of the body are constricted
There may be pain experienced in the neck, throat, jaw, upper abdomen or back.
Extreme chest pains (angina) may be experienced
The problem with CVD is that one might not be diagnosed with it until a heart attack, angina, stroke or heart failure is experienced. Therefore it is very crucial that one watches for cardiovascular symptoms and seek professional help. CVD can be found early if examinations are done regularly.
Causes of cardiovascular disease
Even though cardiovascular disease is often used to refer to the various problems of the heart or blood vessel, it is often linked with arteriosclerosis which is the term that is commonly used to refer to the damage that is sustained on the heart or blood vessels. Arteriosclerosis is the buildup of fatty plaques in the arteries. When the plaque buildup increases, it causes the stiffening of artery walls. This inhibits the flow of blood through the arteries on the way to various organs and tissues.
CVD in the UAE
In the UAE CVD has become a very major health problem in the society. There are worries that this condition is gaining prevalence in this region over any other in the world. A cardiologist, Dr Mohammed Al Raqabani, from the Rashid Hospital is quoted saying that this condition is a menace in the UAE. He goes further to say that when the global average age of first heart attack is considered to be 65 years, in the UAE the the average age is significantly lower with the first heart attacks being experienced by the age of 45. This means that the global age is shortened by 20 years which makes this country have a very worrying state of affairs when dealing with CVD.
In the year 2013, there was the admittance of 850 heart attack patients. From their records it was seen that the 850 heart attack patients’ ages were much lower than those of patients found elsewhere in the world. Further analysis found that out of the 850 patients, 40 percent were suffering from diabetes, 40 percent had hypertension, while 20 percent had high levels of very bad cholesterol.
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CVD and the Society
It was seen that this disease has various effects in the society as can be seen below:
This disease drives up healthcare costs. From the data in the United States alone, people who had chronic disease are treated with approximately seventy five percent of the nation’s budget of about US$ 2 trillion that is allocated to the health sector. The most expensive circumstances and health risk aspects connected to output are dissimilar from the ones when seeing only the budget of handling the ailment. For instance, depression has had the biggest impact on output and therefore a drop in productivity. ·Efficiency losses linked with employees with CVD and other diseases are as high as 400% above the cost for treating chronic diseases.
·By aiding workers to lead more dynamic lives, firms can shield this talent in the course of the growing labor scarcity all over the world. An organization which displays that it cares for its employee is highly likely to get, retain and inspire workers. Leading firms have used deterrence and wellness programs so as to show the care they gain from their workers.
Sustainability can be threatened CVD in that the rampant chronic illnesses is a product from both the environment and behaviors of a people. There is a social occurrence which is equally common and preventable like the issues found all over the world like global warming, contagious diseases, terrorism, poverty, and lack of clean water and adequate infrastructure of which many of them are linked with chronic diseases.
Efforts in Controlling Chronic Disease in Abu Dhabi
There was the formation of a committed Public Health section that was established in Abu Dhabi in the year 2006 that sought to recognize and also to tackle the increasing burden of CVD in Emirate. This department started working rapidly so that it could improve the nature and healthcare quality data that was present in the Emirate. This was in particular the recording of the important statistics that were at par with the international standards that were set by bodies like WHO. Together with public health datasets, this Health Authority went on to come up with a database system referred to as KEH (Knowledge Engine for Health) that utilizes e-claims which are found under the obligatory health insurance. This is used in the collection systematic health facilities episodic data. This led to the creation of a sturdy eventual data for the whole populace that is found in the UAE. This led to the automated of healthcare infrastructure that ensured its long term sustainability.
The Public Health Sector has also worked very fast so that it can quickly fathom the affliction of CV in the populace, and thereby shape public health primacies that are in an urgently state of being dealt with. Prevention of cardiovascular disease was seen as the most important public health precedence, and thus brought about wide screening program in Emirate that was known as the Weqaya.
There is also the development of specialized hospitals that are dealing with heart conditions. By doing this the UAE is preparing them to take on CVD and take care of the sick and at the same time be able to handle the reported new cases with ease and efficiency. By doing this they will be able to take care of the whole population and avert the risks that are associated with this disease.
Recommendations
The government should offer directives to food industries so that they can reduce the amount of salt, fat and sugar that is used in the food that is consumed in the UAE. They should also strive to eliminate drug usage by increasing their taxes so that people can stop things like smoking. By doing this they will be able to deal with this menace as it happen in the society.
Also, the people should be encouraged to live lifestyles that are fitting and healthy so that they can avoid being obese and having complications like diabetes that are directly linked with CVD. By exercising frequently and eating well the cases of CVD may go down meaning that the burden of treating this disease goes down drastically.
In conclusion, we see that CVD, a heart condition, can be prevented mostly by living a healthy lifestyle. In the paper we have seen that the rates in the UAE are higher than any other place in the world and various governments have come up with solutions to curb this by opening up programs that will deal with this epidemic and ensure that it is well taken care of. The government is opening up hospitals and there are screening programs that are mandatory that ensure CVD is detected early enough so that it can be treated effectively. CVD is a problem to the society as it is reducing the productivity and a lot of funds are going into treating this ailment and the associated diseases.
References
Bell, J. (2014). Heart attacks strike 20 years earlier in the UAE | The National. Thenational.ae. Retrieved 17 February 2016, from http://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/heart-attacks-strike-20-years-earlier-in-the-uae
Hajat, C., Harrison, O., & Shather, Z. (2012). A profile and approach to chronic disease in Abu Dhabi. Globalization And Health, 8(1), 18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1744-8603-8-18
Mata, D. (2014). Cardiovascular Disease in UAE. - Financial Planning in Dubai. Financial Planning in Dubai. Retrieved 17 February 2016, from http://financialplanningindubai.com/2014/11/06/cardiovascular-disease-uae/
Health Authority of Abu Dhabi Statistics Report. 2010, available at: http://www.haad.ae/HAAD/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=c-lGoRRszqc%3d&tabid=349,
International Diabetes Federation: The Diabetes Atlas. 2009, Available at: http://atlas.idf-bxl.org/ , fourth
World Health Organization: 2008–2013 Action Plan for the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. 2008, Geneva: World Health Organization
World Economic Forum: Global Agenda Council Reports. 2010, Available at: http://www.weforum.org/pdf/globalagenda2010.pdf,
