Cardiovascular Diseases - Term Paper Example

Rationale Essay Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Health Planning and Promotion 2 Introduction 2 Discussion 3 The health problem 3 Cost of the Problem 6 Risk and contributing factors 7 Target group 8 Other related programs 9 Behavioral Models or Theories 10 Objectives 10 Conclusion and Recommendations 11 References 12 Health Planning and Promotion Introduction Cardiovascular diseases can be classified as diseases that affect the heart or blood vessels. Some of the common cardiovascular diseases include stroke, hypertensive heart disease and Rheumatic heart disease. The underlying factors for the cardiovascular heart diseases vary depending on the specific disease. The risk factors for the cardiovascular diseases are responsible for the specific diseases. However, 90% of the cardiovascular diseases are preventable by decreasing the risk factors (Singh, et al, 2013). The cardiovascular diseases are of major concern to public health. They are the major cause of deaths globally. The cardiovascular diseases have been on the increase in the developing countries and some decreases have been noted in the developed countries. However the cardiovascular diseases are the major cause of death in developed countries as compared to other regions such as Africa. According to Singh et al. (2013), cardiovascular diseases are, therefore, of high concern due to the negative effects that they have on the population. In the past, cardiovascular diseases were mainly common among the elderly. However, this is changing as young people are increasingly dying of the associated diseases. The onset of the disease among men is much higher as compared to the women. The paper discusses why the cardiovascular diseases are of concern and public health measures should be launched in order to deal with the situation. Discussion The health problem Cardiovascular diseases are a major health problem since it leads to the deaths of millions of people every year around the globe. There are about 12 types of cardiovascular diseases and they are all fatal (Mendis, et al, 2011). The cardiovascular diseases affect the people of different age and gender hence making it a threat to the health of the population. The cardiovascular diseases in most cases cannot be detected early as most of the individuals do not undergo the screening process. This has led to the deaths of thousands of people within a short time. Some of the cardiovascular diseases like heart failure are also known for causing sudden death among the individuals. This is an indication that little can be done when one is diagnosed with the disease at a late stage. The treatment of cardiovascular diseases is quite expensive and most of the people cannot afford it and hence leading to the high number of deaths. The lifestyle of the individuals is the major factor that contributes to the cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are of major concern worldwide and hence the need for public health intervention. Scope In 2013, the cardiovascular diseases led to the death of 17.3 million people worldwide. This was about 31% of the deaths that occurred in that year. In the United States of America, 11% of the population between the ages of 20 to 40 years has cardiovascular diseases. 37% of the population between the age of 40 and 60 has cardiovascular diseases. 71% of the population between the ages of 60 to 80 has cardiovascular diseases. 85% of population above the age of 80 years has cardiovascular diseases. This is an indication that the problem is of major public health concern and measures needs to be put in place to stop its spread. In Europe, 420-490 out of 100,000 people have cardiovascular diseases (Rydén, et al, 2013). In Australia, 280-350 out of 100,000 people have cardiovascular diseases. 70-140 people in Asia, Africa and South America have cardiovascular diseases. The rates are however increasing in the developing countries which are raising a lot of public health concern. Europe has the highest number of people with cardiovascular diseases as compared to the other parts of the world. The number of men with cardiovascular diseases is much higher as compared to that of women in most parts of the world. Vermont Leading Type of Cardiovascular Disease Hospitalization, 1999 Age-adjusted rate (U.S. 2000 standard) per head Cost of the Problem Cardiovascular diseases place a lot of burden on the healthcare systems in terms of treatment and other consequences. The high number of deaths caused by the diseases usually lead to the loss of productive workforce and hence leading to economic problems. The workforce in different countries is reduced by the diseases and hence leading to huge economic losses. The treatment of the cardiovascular diseases is also quite expensive. In every $ 6 used in the healthcare system, $ 1 is used for the purposes of treating the cardiovascular diseases (Daviglus, et al, 2012). This is an indication that the treatment of the disease is quite expensive and it burdens the healthcare system. In the United States of America about $ 400 billion is used every year for the purposes of treating the disease. The situation is the same in Europe where almost half of the budgetary allocation on health is used for the treatment of the cardiovascular diseases. The patients in the developing countries also face a lot of challenge as it takes huge amounts of money to treat the disease. The increase in the number of cardiovascular diseases incidences in the developing countries is increasingly creating a lot of challenges in terms of costs. Estimated Direct and Indirect Costs of Major Cardiovascular Diseases, United States, 2010 Risk and contributing factors There are various risk factors that are associated with cardiovascular diseases and this has contributed to the high number of cases of cardiovascular diseases. Age is one of the risk factors and the risk for the individuals increases with age. This can be attributed to the changes in the mechanical and structural vascular walls. The serum cholesterol level also increases with age creating a risk for the individuals who are aging. Men are at a greater risk than women when it comes to the cardiovascular diseases. However, the risk of women equals that of men when they attain menopause. The sex ratio usually contributes to the variations in the coronary heart disease mortality. The production of estrogen among the women improves on the endothelial function and hence reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (Go, et al, 2013).). However, this changes after menopause as the production is reduced and hence contributing to the risk of cardiovascular diseases among the women after menopause. Body weight differs among the men and women and so is the fat distribution. Most of the men have a high body weight as compared to the women which increases the risk factors among the men. However, Women with high body fat distribution as well as body weight also have a high risk of cardiovascular diseases. Exposure to tobacco is also one of the major risk factors for the cardiovascular diseases. This can be through smoking or contact with secondary smoke from the smokers. The number of people using tobacco is quite high and hence the increased risks. About 10% of the cardiovascular diseases is directly linked to smoking and hence increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases (Tomat, et al, 2011). Quitting smoking before the age of 30 may be important in reducing the risk. The lack of physical exercises also puts the individuals at a risk of heart diseases. However, the risk of heart disease is reduced by about two thirds when the individuals carry out physical activities (Daviglus et al., 2012). The diet of individuals is also a risk factor especially when the individuals are involved in high intake of fat and salt. High intake of alcohol is also responsible for the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. The increase in the production of junky foods places and coffee greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Fast food is increasingly becoming common among the young people and hence increasing their risk. Long term exposure to air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The risk is increased by 18% when individuals are exposed to polluted environment or areas with poor air quality (Regitz-Zagrosek, et al., 2011). Target group The cardiovascular disease was common among the elderly in the past. It was rare for the disease to affect the young people who are between the ages of 20-40 years. The target group is therefore the youthful people who are between the ages of 20 to 35 years. This group is quite vulnerable due to the changes in lifestyle. The diet of the youthful people has changed greatly with most of them consuming a huge amount of junk food on a daily basis. The number of people who are contracting the cardiovascular diseases in this age group is also on the increase (Regitz-Zagrosek, et al, 2011). This has negative impact on the future of the population. Since the cardiovascular diseases kill millions of people each year, the youth may end up being affected and hence reducing the future population and productivity in general. Targeting the people between the ages of 20-35 years will have positive impacts on the future generation. The life expectancy will also be increased if the number of deaths is reduced among the youth. The population between the age of 20-35 years is under a lot of threat from the cardiovascular diseases and hence the need for targeting the group (Regitz-Zagrosek, et al., 2011). Other related programs Related programs are in place for the purposes of ensuring that the cardiovascular diseases are reduced among the youth and the general population. Obesity and overweight has been linked to cardiovascular diseases. Public health programs are in place to create awareness with regards to the risks that obesity and overweight has on the population. In most cases, the public health awareness campaigns are usually organized by the public institutions in collaboration with the private organizations. The incidences of obesity as well as overweight among the teenagers is on the increase and it contributes to the cardiovascular diseases when they are in their twenties (Tonetti & Dyke, 2013). The program has also been carried out in schools so as to ensure that the students have adequate information with regards to the dangers of obesity and cardiovascular diseases. However, despite the presence of the program, a little change has been realized which an indication that more needs to be done is. Behavioral Models or Theories One of the behavioural models that can be used for the purposes of dealing with cardiovascular diseases includes the SMART objective. This model involves developing the specific objectives that can be used for the purposes of changing the behaviour of the targeted population (Tomat, et al, 2011). In the case of cardiovascular diseases, the specific objective may involve change of lifestyle practices such as consumption of junk food, smoking and excessive consumption of alcohol. The specific goals that have been set in this case have to be measureable so as to determine the behavior change. The goals that have been set have to be attainable within the targeted population. A timeline for achieving the specific objectives has to be set for the purposes of ensuring that the process can be measured. The use of SMART objective model is widely used in the field of public health for the purposes of dealing with different diseases and conditions (Daviglus et al., 2012). Objectives Ensure that the target group is able to reduce the consumption of drugs and alcohol that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Ensuring that the target group is able to change diet and eat healthy food. Reduce the number of new cases of cardiovascular diseases within the target population within a period of 3 months. Create more awareness with regards to cardiovascular diseases among the targeted population. Promote healthy lifestyle activities such as exercising on a daily basis. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, it is evident that the cardiovascular diseases posses a major health risk. The cardiovascular diseases cause a lot of deaths worldwide. It is evident that the cardiovascular diseases which were common among the elderly are currently becoming common among the youth. The risk factors for cardiovascular diseases include age, diet, tobacco, sex and failure to carry out exercises. It is also evident that the cardiovascular diseases are quite costly in terms of the economic impacts as well as the cost of treatment. The cardiovascular diseases require the intervention of public health in order to create more awareness. The cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. However, it is evident that it can be reduced by 90% through the prevention strategies. It is evident that other related programs are also in place for the purposes of reducing the cardiovascular diseases. Public health intervention may play an important role in reducing the deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases. References Singh, G. M. et al. (2013). The age-specific quantitative effects of metabolic risk factors on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes: a pooled analysis. PloS one, 8(7), e65174. Mendis, S. et al. (2011). Global atlas on cardiovascular disease prevention and control. World Health Organization. Rydén, L. et al. (2013). ESC Guidelines on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases developed in collaboration with the EASD The Task Force on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and developed in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD). European heart journal, eht108. Daviglus, M. et al. (2012). Prevalence of major cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular diseases among Hispanic/Latino individuals of diverse backgrounds in the United States. 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