Coronary Heart Disease - Essay Example

12 Feb. 2008 Concept of Health Introduction “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when character is lost, something is lost; when Health is lost, everything is lost” is a famous saying. Heart is the most important organ in maintaining this all important health by pumping oxygenated blood all over the body and any disease in it can cause serious health hazards, ultimately stopping its activity. One such disease is the “Coronary Heart Disease” or CHD which is not caused by any pathogenic effect but only through the lifestyle of humans. CHD is caused by the blocks in arteries of Heart. The arteries in the Heart are responsible for carrying the pure oxygenated blood and when it gets narrowed down due to the building of fatty substances on its walls, enough blood is not pumped in and out of the heart. This leads to symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath and in extreme cases, it leads to Heart attack. Coronary Heart Disease is called by different names such as Coronary Artery disease, Atherosclerotic Heart Disease and causes a combination of symptoms. The most important condition caused is called Angina which blocks blood flow in heart. Limitation of blood flow in turn causes a condition called ischemia in myocardial cells. When myocardial cells starve and die of oxygen it leads to a condition called myocardial infarction and there will be numbness in the body which is called as paresthesia. Current situation This disease is of particular interest because in England alone it kills more than 110,000 people annually. The disease does not have a big history as it was discovered very late after many changes have happened to the eating and working habits of people. CHD is also the most important cause of death in the US where more than 15 million people have some form of this condition. Also, according to Guinness Book of Records, Northern Ireland is the country with the most occurrences of CHD in the world. CHD is not biased with gender affecting both males and females equally. Although men in the 40’s are more susceptible than women, it gets evened out because as women get older, their risk is equally high as that of men. From 1984, more women have died of this heart disease than men. Already one in three females die of CHD while one in twenty five females die of Breast cancer. Forty to Fifty percent of women older than 45 have high levels of Blood pressure called Hypertension and high levels of Cholesterol which are the well-documented risk factors of heart diseases while smoking is the most common and preventable reason for cardio-vascular diseases in women younger than 45. It is very deadly because there is no big symptom in the early stage of the disease except for some occasional chest pain which people normally ignore mistaking it for gastric trouble. More important is the fact that there is a growing trend among people below age thirty in eating junk food, smoking and doing less of physical activity thanks to the scientific inventions. People face a lot of stress in their work all over the world and there is an increase in the usage of packed foods which we think will reduce the time consumed in cooking. But, the fact is that eating such food and resorting to smoking to relieve from stress affects the health particularly the heart. This is making the cardio-vascular diseases more prevalent than flu. A combination of all these factors has caused and continues to cause more Heart diseases especially in youth. If the present trend rises upward, then almost half of the forty year old men in UK will have CHD in the near future. The disease is easily preventable but requires care to both mind and body. Health Theory The Coronary Heart disease is a good example to understand the definition that “Health is the ability to overcome the physical and metaphysical problems”. According to this definition, Health is an ability to overcome the crises and that the amount of resilience shown for the diseases cannot be quantifiable. All human beings inherit the immunity from the parents and this provides the initial health in the body but it is prone to changes from social influences like lifestyle as people grow. Also, the Health that an individual possesses does not diminish during the difficult times but continues to overcome the disorders until death. The heart diseases are caused by physical factors like absence of activities. Obesity is an important reason for heart disease because the amount of fat reserves in the body is not dissolved and gets deposited in the blood vessels. This differs from person to person because of the difference in the ability of their bodies to get rid of the fat content although all may engage in some from of physical activity. Similarly, many experience varied levels of mental stress during their daily lives. But only some cope with it and the rest get into a condition called Hypertension or high Blood Pressure. This is another important reason for heart disease which is quite easily preventable. Also some people smoke so much but they have perfect health and show no symptoms of Lung cancer or heart disease while others are very susceptible to damages caused by smoking that they immediately develop lung disorders or heart diseases. This again demonstrates the fact that Health is the ability to overcome the illness and varies from person to person. Usage of Approach in analysis While there are many approaches for good health, the most important in consideration of heart diseases is the medicinal approach because people normally consult a doctor when the symptom like chest pain is more pronounced. The approach can also vary like having a sociological approach in changing the lifestyle through stopping smoking, eating less fat, etc and a humanist approach when the disease is recognized very early in the heart. In the medicinal approach, disease is treated with cause, effect and treatment continuum and people are recognized as mere machines. The approach focuses more on curing the diseases and disregards people’s unquantifiable aspects like emotions, feelings, sympathy, etc. The doctors are more detached from parents and more importance is given to quantify health through use of statistics for achieving the norms. The problem with this approach is that the norms differ widely like people in poor city of developing country and people of affluent area in an industrialized city. Health is seen as an absence of disease and regarded as a commodity that is applicable to supply and demand factors. The medication for the disease can be through drugs, surgery, angioplasty and changes in the lifestyle. In many cases people realize that they have a heart disease only after a heart attack during which they are treated with angioplasty. It is usually applied with stenting but it does not cure the disease although it may reduce the effects of unstable angina. In surgery, coronary artery bypass surgery and minimally invasive heart surgery are performed for cure but is done only at the extreme cases. Some of the drugs used for cure include blood thinners, ACE inhibitors, Beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, statins and nitrates. Machines, procedures and different medical equipments are also used to detect the symptoms. Some of the tests include Coronary angiography, Electrocardiogram, Exercise stress test, nuclear scan and echocardiography. Factors influencing the occurrence While there are many factors that affect the occurrence of the disease, we will see the most important and potential factors that continue to cause this situation. The scientific inventions are both a boon and a bane. They make people lazy and most of the physical labor is now done by the machines. People use machines to commute and commune. Physical activities: The situation now is that motorbikes and cars have replaced walking and cycling. The amount of physical activities is reduced because people resort to playing games in Computers instead of playing in the field. People communicate even with neighbors over telephone and take no effort in the task. The Government is also not encouraging the physical activities because many of the playing grounds owned by the Government are now being leased to private parties for construction of industries and retail stores. The monetary charges to be paid by the people for communication are reduced drastically. The bus fares and taxi fares are also very low now encouraging the people not to go for walks. The computers are becoming cheaper and the prices of automobiles are also decreasing swiftly promoting to the lessening of physical activities. Food Habits: Food products are another cause of concern. People take junk food like pizzas, burgers, etc and these are high in unwanted fats. Packaged food like chips and other fried items are also rich in bad cholesterol. More of cooked food is not consumed and even vegetables are bought in some processed form. Bacteria participate in the digestion of fatty acids and polysaccharides. Some alteration in the proportion of particular strains of bacteria is the reason for a few people to be more prone to weight gain than others. As a result of all these factors, the fatty reserves in the body is not burnt but accumulated. This causes Obesity and an increasing trend of it has been reported in the youth of Britain. Obesity is different from overweight because the former has more risk of death through the causing of diseases like the Coronary Heart Disease. Another reason for occurrence of this heart disease is Diabetes. People would normally have symptoms of excessive urination and excessive thirst. This is due to the high level of sugar in the blood and low level of insulin produced by the liver. Diabetes is of three varieties namely type1, type2 and gestational diabetes. Type 1 diabetes develops when the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. Nobody knows for sure why these cells have been damaged but the most likely cause is an abnormal reaction of the body to the cells. This may be triggered by a viral or other infection. There is a risk of diabetes if the person is over 40 or if he is over 25 and black, Asian or from a minority ethnic group. The risk also rises with age so the older a person gets the more is the risk faced by him. Having diabetes in the family also puts at risk. The closer the relative is, the greater the risk. So if the parents have diabetes, rather than distant relatives, it’s more likely to develop the condition. Also, African-Caribbean or South Asian people who live in the UK are at least five times more likely to have diabetes than the white population. Stress: More than diabetes, it is the stress and high blood pressure resulting of it that is the second major concern. Also, people resort to smoking in stressful times adding more fuel to the fire. Stress can be due to physical, physiological, mental and anatomical. It occurs in stages where at first the body’s stress response raises alarm, producing adrenaline. In the second stage, people resist to the stress trying to adapt but their resources gradually get depleted. In the final stage, people exhaust and give up to the stress resulting in abnormalities like ulcers, depression and heart diseases at the extreme. There is a huge demand from people in the working community in terms of going for work in time, extended work hours and meeting project deadlines. This results in poor eating habits and indeed results in diabetes and high blood pressure. Even students studying for exams burn oil in midnight and the stress is coupled with anxiety and distress at the time of examination. The insufficient sleep adds to the stress endured. Some social factors also add to stress like the child abuse which permanently changes the individual’s stress response. Also, Struggles with specific individuals and social defeat can be potent sources of chronic stresses Many of the risk factors vary from individual to individual. Some people thrive under stress levels that would cripple others. People react to different foods in different ways: While researchers are certain that fat- and cholesterol-rich foods contribute to high blood pressure, other elements in our diets may also play as yet undefined roles. Up to 95 percent of high blood pressure patients suffer from what doctors call "essential hypertension," meaning that no identifiable cause can be found for the rise in blood pressure. Environment and lifestyle are thought to be major contributors to the development of essential hypertension. Smoking: Smoking is another major concern in development of heart diseases. Heart rate is the amount of blood pumped out of the heart. When people smoke, the heart rate is increased and necessitates higher amount of blood from the heart. The smoke that enters lungs creates less of oxygen supply to the rest of the body. Heavy alcohol consumption also increases the risk of heart disease through increase in hypertension. The social and environmental factors are also to blame because the prices of cigarettes are very low allowing people for easier access. Also, there is no ban on smoking in most of the countries. Many of the film stars and other famous personalities smoke in public places and leads to a trend among the youth who aspire and imitate what is done by the former. Blood pressure like diabetes is also hereditary and if the parents have high blood pressure, there are more chances of their children having it as they get older. Other Factors influenced by gender: Women are different than men when it comes to heart diseases because there is a term called “Cardiac Syndrome X” which describes chest pain (Angina pectoris) and chest discomfort in people who do not show signs of blockages in the larger coronary arteries of their hearts when an angiogram (coronary angiogram) is being performed. Also, female coronary arteries like all arteries are somewhat smaller than in males. It is this Cardiac Syndrome X that causes acute heart attacks since the plaques which are inflammatory cells in the arteries can erode and rupture, causing the blood to clot within the artery and producing sudden arterial blockage. This erosion and clotting is causes heart attacks in men. Hormones and other risk factors make women more susceptible to this syndrome. Women’s blood vessels are exposed to changing levels of Oestrogen throughout their lives, first during the regular menstrual cycles and then later during and after menopause as Oestrogen levels reduce with the age. Oestrogen affects how blood vessels narrow and widen and how they respond to injury, so changes in Oestrogen levels mean changes in the reactivity of the blood vessels. Women’s vessels are adapted to face more changes than the men’s vessels, which could increase the risk of having problems in the lining of the arteries and the smooth muscle cells in the walls of the arteries. Most patients with female-pattern coronary artery disease are postmenopausal women and Oestrogen deficiency has been therefore proposed as a pathogenic factor in female patients. In addition to changing hormone levels, there are several other risk conditions for blood vessel problems that are unique to women, such as the problem caused by high blood pressure during pregnancy and delivering a low-birth weight baby. Strategy to overcome the disease occurrence The Coronary heart disease is easily preventable disease which can happen through the efforts of people and the Government. But once if the disease occurs, it becomes difficult to overcome due to the physical, mental and monetary aspects. Personal responsibility: People should act with self-responsibility because most of the risk factors can be avoided by monitoring themselves. The high cholesterol levels can be reduced by cutting down the oily items and other packaged foods. People should avoid going to fast-food centers around street corners. Although bad cholesterol is to be avoided, it is to be made sure that appropriate amount of good cholesterol is consumed. The Government should also take steps to ensure that food products go through rigorous standards checking and it should be mandated for all food product manufacturers to indicate the cholesterol and fat content in their packs. Preventive diets should also be publicized and these include vegetarian or Cretan diets. It has been shown that vegetarians have a 24% reduced risk of developing a heart disease. A Seven Country Study has found that Cretan men had exceptionally low death rates from heart disease, despite moderate to high intake of fat. The Cretan diet is similar to other traditional Mediterranean diets: consisting mostly of olive oil, bread, abundant fruit and vegetables, a moderate amount of wine and fat-rich animal products such as lamb, sausage and goat cheese. However, the Cretan diet consisted of less fish and wine consumption than some other Mediterranean-style diets, such as the diet in Corfu, another region of Greece, which had higher death rates. Addressing Obesity: Obesity can be reduced by improving the extent of physical activities performed on a daily basis. Walking, jogging, running and playing should become part of the life everyday. Although in some cases it is hereditary, they should consult the doctors for medication. Advertisements should be made by the Health care agencies of the Government to create awareness about the causes and effects of Obesity. Overcoming stress: People can overcome the stress levels they face daily through practice of meditation, yoga, etc. A small walk around the place and a little chat would also bring down the stress levels. Stress is the important reason for hyper-tension and hence special care should be given to mind as is done to body. Private sector organizations and government offices should take care to maintain their employees in a good state of mind. There should not be too much stress put on them with the sole intent on profits. More of activities like sporting events, cultural competitions should be encouraged to relieve the pressure in employees from time to time. Addressing the issue of smoking: All the cigarette packs and ads have a statutory warning of the danger that can be caused through smoking and yet people ignore it. Smoking should be reduced and if possible be stopped completely to avoid serious complications. Alcohol abuse should also be avoided to reduce risks of hypertension and diabetes. The Government should strive to make sure that smoking is not done in public places because more than the smokers, it is the people nearby who inhale that smoke are in more danger. Such incidences of smoking will prompt more people especially children to give a try for smoke. The symptoms for the cardiac disease i.e., chest pain, shortness of breath, heart attack should me made available to the public so that they can recognize it earlier and consult doctors for medication. Reducing cost: The cost of medication is very high especially when the heart disease is in the acute stages. The surgical procedures like Coronary artery bypass surgery and minimally invasive heart surgery require huge finance from people. Even diagnostic tests like Electrocardiogram (ECG), Exercise stress test, Echocardiogram, Nuclear scan, Coronary angiography are not affordable for the common man. The Government should ensure that the cost incurred in diagnosing and in medication is less by maintaining standards throughout the country. Though the coronary Heart disease continues to be the biggest killer in most of the countries, a meticulous approach as mentioned in both prevention and treatment can certainly help in reducing in the number of incidences reported. The people have to act more than the Government because it is only the people’s lifestyle that has made this disease to have its presence all over the world. Works cited Blood pressure. 9 Feb. 2008. 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American Heart Association. 12 Feb 2008 http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726 Stress (medicine). 7 Feb. 2008. Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia. 12 Feb. 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(medicine) Read More