Chronic Diseases 6
Heart Disease
Stephanie Tumlin
South University
PHE5015- Principles of Epidemiology SU01
Professor Biroscak
July 26, 2021
Cardiovascular Disease
Introductory Background
Heart disease is one of the leading killers in the U.S today. According to the CDC, heart disease is responsible for one in four deaths in the U.S each year. More than 800,000 thousand individuals in the U.S experience heart attacks every year. Additionally, it is considered one of the preventable deaths caused in the U.S. It is mainly attributed to a sedentary lifestyle, but some cases can be attributed to genetic factors. Some of these lifestyle habits include tobacco abuse, stress, drug abuse, and lack of exercise. These lifestyle habits are common in the U.S culture.
During the American Heart Association meeting in 2009, researchers presented their study results that show evidence of Egyptian mummies having cardiovascular illnesses, particularly atherosclerosis in their body arteries. Pharaoh Merenptah, who passed away in 1203 BCE, had atherosclerosis. Additionally, nine of the sixteen studied mummies showed evidence of the illness. Most researchers have theorized that their diet, which mainly involved fatty meat from ducks and cattle could have significantly contributed to the disease (Story, 2018).
Between 1452 and 1519, Leonardo da Vinci investigated coronary arteries. Also, between 1660 and 1742, Friedrich Hoffman, the University of Halle chief professor of medicine, discovered that coronary heart illnesses reduced blood flowed in the coronary arteries.
Angina which is an ischemic heart disease indicator, puzzled most physicians in the 19th century. William Heberden first described it in 1768, and most people believed that it mainly involved blood circulation in the coronary arteries; however, some thought it was a harmless illness. Between 1849 and 1919, William Olser, John Hopkins’s chief physician, extensively researched angina and was the first individual to show that condition was a syndrome other than a disease. In 1912 James Herrick, an American cardiologist concluded that angina could be caused by the gradual and slow narrowing of the coronary arteries.
In 1949 arteriosclerosis was added to the International Classification of Diseases due to the increased number of deaths related to heart illness.
A description of the event
Heart diseases mainly involve several cardiovascular problems. Several conditions and diseases fall under the term heart diseases and include atherosclerosis, congenital heart defects, heart infections, arrhythmia, cardiomyopathy, and coronary artery disease.
A description of the disease
Cardiovascular disease refers to a class of diseases involving the heart or the blood vessels. It includes coronary artery diseases, e.g., myocardial infarction, commonly identified as heart attack and angina. Others include stroke, rheumatic heart disease, aortic aneurysms, cardiomyopathy, and abnormal heart rhythms. The disease’s underlying mechanism varies depending on it. Peripheral artery disease, stroke, and coronary artery all involve atherosclerosis. It might be caused by obesity, poor diet, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, and many others. Hypertension accounts for around thirteen percent of cardiovascular-related deaths, tobacco accounts for six percent, tobacco accounts for nine percent, and lack of exercise accounts for six percent. Over ninety percent of cardiovascular illnesses can be preventable. The prevention involves improving against the risk factors via limiting alcohol consumption, cessation of smoking, eating a healthy diet, and engaging in physical exercises (Gaziano et al., 2016). Treating some of the risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and blood lipids are also important. Treating individuals with strep throat using antibiotics can help reduce the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease.
Cardiovascular illnesses are a major cause of worldwide deaths except for in Africa. Since 2016 there are over seventeen million CVD-associated deaths. Mortality from any age is common and much more increased in developing countries with decreased mortality rates in developed countries since 1980. Stroke and Coronary are responsible for around eighty percent of CVD-related deaths in males and seventy percent of CVD-related deaths in females.
Population at Risk
Population refers to the individuals who are at a high risk of suffering from the disease. All individuals can have the possibility of suffering from the disorder, but some have higher risks when compared to others. The population with the highest risk of suffering from cardiovascular illnesses is the elderly population. Age plays a significant role in the deterioration of the functionality of the cardiovascular system leading to an increased risk of developing cardiovascular illnesses among the elderly. In individuals age between forty to fifty years, the risk of developing cardiovascular illnesses is forty percent. In individuals aged between sixty to seventy-nine years, the risks of developing the illness are seventy-five percent. In individuals aged above eighty years, the risk of developing the illness is eighty-sixed percent. This indicates that as an individual ages, the higher the risk (Rodgers et al., 2019).
Various reasons exist as to why the elderly population has higher risks of developing CVD. Aging leads to changes in the heart and blood vessels. As an individual ages, the heart can’t beat at the fast rate it did when someone was younger. It, in turn, lowers the body’s ability to burn excess fats, therefore, leading to cardiovascular illness. Another reason is that as an individual ages, the ability to engage in physical activities decreases. It, in turn, leads to the deposit of fats into the arteries causing CVD.
Conclusion
Heart disease is one of the leading killers in the U.S today. According to the CDC, heart disease is responsible for one in four deaths in the U.S each year. Study results show evidence of Egyptian mummies having cardiovascular illnesses, particularly atherosclerosis.
Cardiovascular disease refers to a class of diseases involving the heart or the blood vessels. It includes coronary artery diseases, e.g., myocardial infarctions commonly identified as heart attack and angina.
The population with the highest risk of suffering from cardiovascular illnesses is the elderly population.
References
Gaziano, T., Reddy, K. S., Paccaud, F., Horton, S., & Chaturvedi, V. (2016). Cardiovascular disease. Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries. 2nd edition.
Rodgers, J. L., Jones, J., Bolleddu, S. I., Vanthenapalli, S., Rodgers, L. E., Shah, K., Karia, K., & Panguluri, S. K. (2019). Cardiovascular Risks Associated with Gender and Aging. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, 6(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcdd6020019
Story, C. (2018, May 11). The History of Heart Disease. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-disease/history#ancient-history
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