Chapter 6 class activity - Essay Example

Chapter 6 Activity Cardiovascular diseases entails a number of diseases that affect the heart blood vessels (Miller, 48). These diseases have a number of risk factors that are classified as modifiable and non-modifiable. Modifiable risk factors are the ones that an individual can control to reduce or increase the risk of the disease. On the other hand the non-modifiable risk factors are the factors that one cannot control because they are natural. The following list entails a number of cardiovascular risk factors, which are modifiable:SmokingCholesterolHigh Blood PressureLack of exerciseCholesterol levelsHigh levels of blood glucose (diabetes)ObesityOverweightThe stages of change model has been designed to help assess the readiness of an individual to take on a new healthy behavior.

According to the model, change is, basically, defined as a progress that moves through a number of stages (Miller, 89). The main stages in the stages of change model include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance and termination.If I am in the stage of the precontemplation, more information on the risks associated with unhealthy behavior will help me move to the next stage. Additional information would open my eyes to the benefits of healthy behavior and risks of unhealthy behavior that I possess.

In the contemplation stage, I would need to think deeply about the kind of a person I can become if I adopt healthy behavior. Therefore, relating with people practicing healthy behavior would help me reducing the disadvantages I associate with changing to healthy behavior.At the preparation stage, I need encouragement from trusted friends that I will succeed if I start the action stage. This will help me handle my biggest fears. In the action stage, I would need to learn how to substitute unhealthy behavior with healthy behavior.

In the maintenance stage, I would need to learn how to deal with stress and avoid relapsing to unhealthy behavior (Hjemdahl, Rosengren & Steptoe 56).Works CitedMiller, Carol A. Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. Print.Hjemdahl, Paul, Annika Rosengren, and Andrew Steptoe. Stress and Cardiovascular Disease. London: Springer, 2012. Print.