Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
CVD includes all ailments of the heart and circulatory system, including angina and heart attack. Other CVD diseases include carditis, cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disorder. Edmunds (2014), states that CVD develops when there is plaque build-up on vessel walls. The mechanism of CVD differs significantly depending on the disease involved. For instance, coronary artery ailment includes atherosclerosis, and may occur due to hypertension, smoking, overweight, high-fat diet or diabetes. Despite the high deaths caused by CVD, it is approximated that 90 percent of CVDs are preventable (McGill, McMahan, and Gidding, 2008). Atherosclerosis can be decreased by controlling the risk factors including eating a balanced diet, exercising, and reducing intake of alcohol and smoking. Controlling hypertension is also advantageous in managing CVDs. Treating individuals suffering from strep throat with antibiotics minimizes the chances of rheumatic heath infection (Spinks, Glasziou, and Del Mar, 1996). CVDs cause most of the death around the world. In developing countries the rate of deaths due to CVDs have been decreasing while in developing nations it has been increasing since the 1970s (Moran et al., 2014). In the United States, CVDs impact the aged citizens more than the rest of the population.
Major causes of cardiovascular diseases
There are various risk factors for CVDs, which arise due to inheritance, age or gender. The lifestyle of an individual may also trigger risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Notably, these risk factors can be either mutable or immutable depending on their cause. Inheritable and genetic heart infection risk factors are immutable. On the other hand, risk factors occurring due to lifestyle and social changes are mutable.
Age
According to Finegold, Asaria, and Francis, (2013), age is among the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and tends to triple after every decade. Fat deposits may start to form in the arteries in adolescence. Most of the people who die of heart-related diseases are aged since the risk tends to double each decade. Various factors are responsible for the increase in the risk of CVDs during old age. Among these factors is the serum cholesterol level. Evidently, serum cholesterol levels tend to increase with age. Females are at a high risk of developing high levels of serum cholesterol at the age of 60s (Jousilahti, Vartiainen, Tuomilehto, and Puska, 1999). Additionally, in old age, the vascular walls tend to lose their elastic properties which may result in heart disorders.
Gender
Sex is a fundamental risk factor for CVDs and other coronary disorders. Pre-menopausal females are at lower risks of developing CVD than men (Finegold, Asaria, and Francis, 2013). However, after menopause, the risk of developing heart diseases tends to be similar in both males and females. Nevertheless, women who have been diagnosed with diabetes have higher chances of developing CVDs than men with diabetes. Gender differences account for most death related to heart diseases. Also, studies hold that sex variations account for almost half the risk linked with CVDs (Jousilahti, Vartiainen, Tuomilehto, and Puska, 1999). The hormonal difference is one of the rationales for the variation in developing heart diseases in men and women. In females, estrogen is the dominant sex hormone which decreases after menopause. Estrogen tends to protect women from CVDs; hence, the risk increases after menopause. Other factors unrelated to menopause include differences in body weight and size between male and female (Jani and Rajkumar, 2006).
Diet
Consumption of saturated fats with few fruits is associated with CVDs risk. The amount of salt in a diet is also a vital factor that may result in heart diseases. The diet of a person may also determine if they will develop obesity which increases CVD risk. Booker and Mann (2008) hold that consumption of trans-fats has negative impacts on blood lipids. That is why diet experts propose the elimination of these fats in the diet. Intake of sugars is linked to hypertension and undesirable blood lipids. There is also a link between alcohol diets and increased cardiovascular risk.
Other risk factors for CVDs
Lack of exercise is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Adults who engage in activities have lower chances of developing cardiovascular diseases. Smoking tobacco also increases the risk of cardiovascular ailments. Nevertheless, persons who stop smoking at the age of 30 reduce their chances of developing heart diseases significantly (Doll, Peto, Boreham, and Sutherland, 2004).
Analyze the key steps
The stages of CVD are not easily noticeable until the late stage which is mostly heart failure. Atherosclerosis is the vital predecessor of CVD and may start in childhood. Intimal hyperplasia tends to appear in arteries of children aged 7 to 9 years (Vanhecke, Miller, Franklin, Weber, and McCullough, 2006). Detection of Atherosclerosis is usually an indication that a person is headed to CVDs. Hence, proper education on the CVD should be disseminated to prevent its proliferation. Heart failure is also a critical step in cardiovascular diseases. Families who have a history of heart attack should be keen on testing for the disease. The first step is diagnosis with heart failure whereby the candidate has not experienced any symptoms before. Next, a person may experience cardiac dysfunction. In this stage, the person feels weak and tired even after handling small activities. The last step may be the actual heart failure, whereby the candidate requires critical medical care. At this stage, the medical professional may initiate a surgical treatment including a heart transplant.
Current medications
Physicians recommend aspirin to individuals who are at higher risk of developing CVD. However, aspirin is not suggested to people who are at lower risks of developing the disease. Statins are good inhibitors of advanced CVDs in candidates who have a history of heart diseases (Gutierrez, Ramirez, Rundek, and Sacco, 2012). The preventive action of Statins is more evident in males than females. Statins are also effective at preventing the risk of death in individuals with cardiovascular risk factors. In the U.S. Statins is recommended for those with 12 percent risk of CVD over the next ten years (Downs and O’Malley, 2015). Supplements such as Magnesium are recommended since they reduce the risks of CVD in individuals who are at high risk (Jee et al., 2002).
Questions to the health department on decreasing the increase of the Cardiovascular diseases
First, how does omega-3 fat lower the risk of CVD? Importantly, physicians recommend the consumption of omega-3 fats, yet its relation to CVD is unclear. Second, what types of exercises should one perform to lower chances of developing CVD? Ideally, there are numerous activities intended for different reasons. Thus, a person should be aware of the right workouts to decreases chances of CVD. Third, if a person stops smoking tobacco at old age, will they lower the risk of CVD the same level as those who quit smoking at the age of 30? People want to know the right time to quit smoking to lower chances of developing heart diseases. Fourth, can one combine exercise, diet, and medication? Individuals who want to reduce their chances of developing CVD are eager to know the right way to mitigate the proliferation. Lastly, when is a good time to test for cardiovascular diseases? Most people are afraid to detect CVD at its late stages. Thus, they want to identify it at a controllable stage.
Elementary protocol to communicate the message to community leaders
This information can be communicated to the community leaders through various ways. The most basic protocol is the use of seminars and discussion forums. Importantly, the community leaders tend to pay attention to expert advice during workshops. Also, community leaders tend to take part in discussion forums where they offer their thoughts. For instance, the community leaders can take part in discussing the type and nature of exercises that help lower the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Another way of disseminating this information is through the use of flyers and paper notices. The spread of written information is simple. Thus, the use of flyers and paper notices will ease the dissemination and adoption of the information. Digital videos can also help to communicate this information to the local community leaders.
Recommendations to prevent the proliferation of CVD in workplace
First, the management should introduce exercising sessions to encourage the employees to work out. This aspect will help employees will lower the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Second, the Administration should regulate smoking in the workplace. Regulation of smoking in the workplace will prevent the chances of developing CVD for the smoker and other employees. Third, there should be sessions to counsel the employees on how to avoid psychological stress. Ideally, mental stress may trigger hypertension, which is a risk factor for CVD. Fourth, the human resource can encourage employees to test blood pressure levels. If the workers are aware of their blood pressure level, they will be in a position to adopt ways to lower it. Fifth, the management can introduce sessions to train employees on proper diets. This move will ensure employees avoid high-fat foods, which increase the chances of developing CVD. Lastly, obese employees should be encouraged to lose weight. Obesity is a vital factor that triggers cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the workers will lower the risk of being diagnosed with CVD.
References
Booker, C. S., & Mann, J. I. (2008). Trans fatty acids and cardiovascular health: Translation of the evidence base. Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 18(6), 448–456.
Doll, R., Peto, R., Boreham, J., & Sutherland, I. (2004). Mortality in relation to smoking: 50 years’ observations on male British doctors. BMJ, 328(7455), 1519–0.
Downs, J. R., & O’Malley, P. G. (2015). Management of Dyslipidemia for cardiovascular disease risk reduction: Synopsis of the 2014 U.S. Department of veterans affairs and U.S. Department of defense clinical practice guideline. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163(4), 291–297.
Edmunds, L. (2014). Back to basics: assessing cardiovascular risk. Practice Nurse, 44(4), 12-16.
Finegold, J. A., Asaria, P., & Francis, D. P. (2013). Mortality from ischaemic heart disease by country, region, and age: Statistics from world health Organisation and United Nations. International Journal of Cardiology, 168(2), 934–945.
Gutierrez, J., Ramirez, G., Rundek, T., & Sacco, R. L. (2012). Statin therapy in the prevention of recurrent cardiovascular events. Archives of Internal Medicine, 172(12), 909–19.
Jani, B., & Rajkumar, C. (2006). Ageing and vascular ageing. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 82(968), 357–362.
Jee, S. H., Miller, E. R., Guallar, E., Singh, V. K., Appel, L. J., & Klag, M. J. (2002). The effect of magnesium supplementation on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. American Journal of Hypertension, 15(8), 691–696.
Jousilahti, P., Vartiainen, E., Tuomilehto, J., & Puska, P. (1999). Sex, age, cardiovascular risk factors, and coronary heart disease: A prospective follow-up study of 14 786 middle-aged men and women in Finland. Circulation, 99(9), 1165–1172.
McGill, H. C., McMahan, C. A., & Gidding, S. S. (2008). Preventing heart disease in the 21st century: Implications of the Pathobiological determinants of Atherosclerosis in youth (PDAY) study. Circulation, 117(9), 1216–1227.
Moran, A. E., Forouzanfar, M. H., Roth, G. A., Mensah, G. A., Ezzati, M., Murray, C. J. L., & Naghavi, M. (2014). Temporal trends in Ischemic heart disease mortality in 21 world regions, 1980 to 2010: The global burden of disease 2010 study. Circulation, 129(14), 1483–1492.
Spinks, A., Glasziou, P. & Del Mar, C. (1996). Antibiotics for sore throat. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 11(5), CD000023.
Vanhecke, T. E., Miller, W. M., Franklin, B. A., Weber, J. E., & McCullough, P. A. (2006). Awareness, knowledge, and perception of heart disease among adolescents. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 13(5), 718–723.
