StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women - Essay Example

Summary
The paper "Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women" highlights that women’s health is precious and the government should continue implementing policies that create awareness, provide improved and equal health care for different socio-economic statuses…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.7% of users find it useful
Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women"

Running head: Womens Health and Public Policy Womens Health and Public Policy Insert         Insert Grade Insert 9 March 2012 Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women Introduction Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a category of diseases involving blood vessels or the heart, and has been the main cause of deaths globally, mostly affecting women. According to Medline plus (2012), in the United States, heart disease is the main cause of death, and even causes disabilities in patients. However, different measures can play a role in reducing this cardiovascular disease, which include ceasing smoking, reducing alcohol consumption, exercising regularly, reducing the level of cholesterol, and controlling one’s blood pressure (women’s health 2012). It is estimated that in 2010, a total of 7.2 million died as a result of cardiovascular diseases, 5.5 million deaths caused by stroke, while 3.9 million deaths were caused by heart conditions (Preston, N.d). In addition, this disease is common in women because of lack of physical activities, leading to weight gain. Women also face regular stress at work and home, which is also a contributing factor. CDV includes heart disease, peripheral arterial disease, and stroke, which are caused by blockages in the arteries (National institute for health and clinical excellence, 2010, p.3). Public policies are aimed at reducing the levels of cardiovascular disease. This paper will discuss the prevention of cardiovascular disease in relation to public policies. In addition, diversity analysis will be applied and recommendations made. Public policies and the prevention of cardiovascular disease The government enacted policies that play a huge role in creating awareness. In the United States, the government has implemented policies, which reduce the risk of CVD; for instance, the wise woman program reaches out to low-income earning women, providing them with vital information on the prevention of CVD (CDC, 2012). According to the National institute for health and clinical excellence (2010, p.8), in the United Kingdom, the national institute of health guidance (NICE) provides the Britain citizens with guidance on the control of CVD. They include reduction in salt intake, the minimum intake being 6grams a day for adults (National institute for health and clinical excellence (2010, p.9). The reduction on the consumption of saturated fats and trans-fats is emphasized on, as well as ensuring that the commercial sector operates transparently. In addition, the NICE recommends that government puts restrictions on advertising for foods with high levels of fats, sugar or salt (National institute for health and clinical excellence (2010, p.12). It is evident that some policies have been enacted while others await approval, and as a result, public policies have contributed positively to the reduction of CDV through creating awareness and restriction to the contributing factors. Women’s health is a wanting issue that deserves the government’s attention; needless to say, the government has tried addressing the CDV health problem through public policies. Diversity analysis Socio-economic status and the prevention of CVD There is progress in the awareness, treatment, and prevention of cardiovascular disease in women with the aid of public policies. However, women above the age of 65 years are at a higher risk of CVD compared to men. Moreover, diets play a major role in this issue. The socio-economic status of women can be evaluated on the levels of education, occupation, income, and accessibility to health (American psychology association, 2012). In addition, men are mostly paid more than women are. A US census also found that most women do not have enough economic resources. Moreover, women are likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders, while their poverty levels are higher, than for men. These factors put women at the risk of poor diet, which may cause obesity and stress, and as a result, leading to heart failure. The ability of women to access health influences their wellbeing; the ability to access proper healthcare and diets can reduce the chances of CVD. Therefore, the socio-economic status of women can be influence by dietary diversity, where the well-off women can afford healthy diets as opposed to the poor women. In addition, the educated women are aware of public policies that affect them, and therefore, they can easily access vital information concerning the prevention of cardiovascular diseases as opposed to women with low socio-economic status. According to Graham, et al. (2005, p.228), women with high socio-economic status can afford to smoke, which is the main cause of CVD; indeed, socio-economic status influences smoking. In addition, poverty can foster the smoking behavior into adulthood as a form of stress reliever. According to Squires (2000, p.3), a research conducted in Canada revealed that CVD was the leading cause of death among those with low income status, who were not able to identity the risk factors of CVD such as smoking or fatty foods. Williams (2001) argues that, in the United States, there exists a diversity of health problems; for instance, the rates of coronary heart disease are higher in African-American women than in white women, and therefore, socio-economic status of women is a determinant of health disparities and health risks. Public policies of women’s health may be influenced by this diversity, which will lead to implementation of effective public policies that will reduce inequality in healthcare among women. Congruence between Public Policy and Research in Womens Health According to Wuest, Gray, Berman & Gilboe (2002, p.795), researchers, policy makers, and health practitioners have a common goal, which involves improving the quality life of women. Health policies have expanded to the preventive measures and have promoted individual responsibility for a healthy lifestyle. In addition, research on women’s health has created a better understanding of the women’s health, which has impacted positively on policy making. Needless to say, without vital research on women’s health, public knowledge would be limited, and implementation of public policy would not address the main agenda effectively. Government laws and policies have impacted positively on women with CVD by funding institutions that deal with women’s health and related research. Wuest, Gray, Berman & Gilboe (2002, p.796) add that, improved women’s health fosters healthy societies; however, their quality of life is determined by their social and economic status. Therefore, public policies have the responsibility of increasing the quality of health of women through creating awareness, and via funding research on women’s health, which guides in policymaking. Diversity analysis recommendation Having considered the facets of diversity in women’s health, it is important to find solutions to end these disparities. First, results on diversity can lead to health research, which will influence policy-making; this will assist in improving health in the developing regions. Public policies should foster change in poverty stricken areas, where the economic status of women is low. Therefore, the government should be in a position to implement strategies that will foster education on preventive measures for low-income earners. According to Hanney, et al. (2003), World Health Organization emphasizes on the need for improved health as well as health equity. However, this can only be achieved through effective policymaking, which will outweigh economic status of women by ensuring that cardiovascular diseases’ deaths are reduced for all, despite their status. Conclusion Women’s health is precious and the government should continue implementing policies that create awareness, provide improved and equal health care for different socio-economic status. Cardiovascular diseases continue to claim many lives in both developed and developing nations; however, the government’s intervention has played a huge role in reducing the risk of CVDs. Needless to say, effective policies are required to improve the health of women. Awareness is vital in health care, as it reduces the rates of morbidity if all women, regardless their status, are well informed on the risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, women can prevent the risks of CVDs by ensuring they eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, exercise regularly, cease smoking, and limit alcohol consumption. References Wuest, J. Gray, M. Berman, H. Gilboe, M. (2002). Illuminating social determinants of Women’s health using grounded theory. Health Care for Women International, 23:794–808. Taylor & Francis publishers. Retrieved from: http://www.nnvawi.org/pdfs/alo/FordGilboe_social_determinants_grounded_theory.pdf American psychological association. (2012). Women & socio economic status. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/factsheet-women.aspx. CDC. (2012). Centre for disease control and prevention, United States. WISE WOMAN program. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/wisewoman/. Graham, H. et al. (2005). Socioeconomic life-course influences on women’s smoking status in early adulthood. Epidemiol Community Health, 60:228–233. Retrieved from http://jech.bmj.com/content/60/3/228.full.pdf. Hanney, S. et al. (2003). The utilization of health research in policy-making: concepts, examples and methods of assessment. Health Research Policy and Systems, 1:2. Retrieved from http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content/1/1/2. Medline plus. (2012). Heart diseases. Trusted health information. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartdiseases.html. National institute for health and clinical excellence. (2010). Prevention of cardiovascular disease at population level. Retrieved from http://www.nice.org.uk/nicemedia/live/13024/49273/49273.pdf. Preston, C. (N.d). Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women. Retrieved from http://www.cwru.edu/med/epidbio/mphp439/Cardiovascular_Disease_in_Women.htm. Squires, B. (2000). Cardiovascular disease and socioeconomic status. Cardiovascular disease risk factors. Canadian medical association. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1232441/pdf/cmaj_162_9_s3.pdf. Women’s health.gov. (2012). Empowering women to live healthier lives. Retrieved from http://womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/heart-disease.cfm Williams, D. (2001). Racial/Ethnic Variations in Womens Health: The Social Embeddedness of Health. American Journal of Public Health, 92(4): 588–597. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447123/ Read More

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women

Preventive Health Care and Medicine: Strategies for Post-Menopausal Women

The paper "Preventive Health Care and Medicine: Strategies for Post-Menopausal women" states that various issues can arise once the patient is given information with regards to how she can prevent the onset of Alzheimer's dementia and osteoporosis, which are diseases that her own mother acquired.... reventive health care and medicine can bring benefits to people in particular those with a high risk for certain hereditary diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, or cardiovascular diseases when done at the earliest possible time (Katz, et al....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease in Women

The paper "Treatment of cardiovascular disease in women" states that cardiovascular diseases are considered the major cause of mortality among men and women.... million victims of cardiovascular disease were women.... Its goal was to gather opinions from experts from member countries in order to evaluate European conditions in terms of cardiovascular disease management, to determine gaps in the management of cardiovascular diseases among women, and security strategies in order to manage such gaps....
29 Pages (7250 words) Dissertation

Cardiovascular Disease

The term 'cardiovascular disease' has evolved over the years to subsume a wide array of meanings, ranging from the common definition to what it technically denotes.... Commonly, cardiovascular disease refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart and/or blood vessels (arteries and veins).... any risk factors are associated with cardiovascular disease; most can be managed, but some cannot.... However, recent studies have demonstrated that both men and women, especially women after menopause and men after 55years of age are a greater risk of cardiovascular accidents (Kantrowitz and Wingert, 2006)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Hypertension among Vietnamese Americans

Second, in the list of death cause among Vietnamese is cardiovascular disease.... Studies conducted in the years 1978 to 1985 and from 1991 came to a conclusion that a woman of Vietnam origin had the highest rate of hypertension as compared to other women Asian American racial group.... They also have marked health disparities including but not limited to the highest liver cancer and cervical occurrences Past studies have recorded a low prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases among citizens of Vietnamese American descent....
5 Pages (1250 words) Research Paper

Cardiovascular Disease

Effectiveness-based guidelines for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Women.... The author of this paper "cardiovascular disease" focuses on the peculiarities of the heart disease.... According to the text, the cardiovascular disease can be categorized as a group of diseases in which the heart or the blood vessels are actively involved.... According to the study conducted by Muhamad, Yahya & Yusoff (2012), it has been noted that one of the most feasible ways to minimize cardiovascular disease incidences is by increasing the adherence of women towards a healthy lifestyle by educating, detecting, screening and treating modifiable risk factors as women fail to practice heart-healthy behaviors on a continuous basis....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Paper

Cardio-Vascular Diseases in Women

The aim of the paper 'Cardio-Vascular Diseases in women' is to examine the threat of cardiovascular diseases to the U.... CVDs ranked third of all deaths that occur in women around the globe.... Death rate in women due to ischemic heart diseases is 3.... women.... The rate of death in US women from these circulation diseases has been increased greatly from only 30 percent in 1997 to 54 percent in 2009.... According to the paper, cardiovascular diseases are one of the major reasons of deaths that are obliterating more women annually than the combined death rates of malaria, tuberculosis, cancers and AIDS etc....
7 Pages (1750 words) Research Paper

Major Causes and Steps in Addressing Cardiovascular Disease

The paper "Major Causes and Steps in Addressing cardiovascular disease" will begin with the statement that cardiovascular disease or CVD are illnesses involving the cardiovascular system or the circulatory system, which includes blood vessels and the heart and transports blood throughout the body.... Moreover, the paper will also present a rudimentary protocol for disseminating CVD information to local community leaders, while also making recommendations for the prevention of CVD in the workplace....
6 Pages (1500 words) Assignment

Success of Aspirin Regimens and Lifestyle Changes

For both these conditions, the researchers will combine the available data from multiple network meta-analyses to evaluate the statistics in the existing evidence and to decide on the comparative effectiveness of lifestyle interventions and Aspirin regimens in decreasing women's risk of a heart attack.... Proposed Solution A heart attack is one of the main leading causes of death in elderly women between the ages of 45-75 years.... Expected Outcomes The expected outcomes of this project are that lifestyle modification is basically better compared to aspirin regime when it comes to reducing the risk of heart diseases in elderly women....
2 Pages (500 words) Research Proposal
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us