Primary and Secondary Prevention of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Diseases - Essay Example

EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES ON LIFESTYLE MODIFICATION IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PREVENTION OF HYPERTENSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES By Student’s Name Course + Code Name Professor’s Name University/College Name City, State Date Introduction Hypertension occurs when the systolic and diastolic blood pressures (BP) are more than or equal to 140mmHg and 90mmHg respectively (Australian Institute of health and Welfare [AIHW] 2012). In addition it is also described as a patient on antihypertensive medication (AIHW 2012). The diseases progress from a pre-hypertension stage characterised by a normal blood pressure culminating in stages one and two if control and management measures are not implemented timely (Madhur 2014). The condition is associated with relatively significant morbidities, mortalities and management costs to the Australian society together with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] 2013). CVDs are among the top causes of “disability adjusted life years” related health losses in Australia (Begg et al. 2008, p. 40). High BP is also a risk factor for CVDs that include heart diseases and stroke hence the need to prevent their occurrence early enough as a form of primary prevention to lower costs that would be incurred in the management of the advanced diseases (Ghezelbash & Ghorbani 2012). Primary prevention is a significant role applicable to nursing practice especially in the prevention of high BP and CVDs. In primary prevention, nurses can identify modifiable risk factors for these diseases among patients early enough and offer or assist the patients to eliminate the risk factors from their lives or limit their exposure to the risks. Modifiable risk factors that “include obesity and physical inactivity, poor nutrition, smoking, alcohol consumption” can all be identified among at-risk patients and preventive care offered (Harris & Llyod 2012, p. 8). This paper shall, therefore, examine the available epidemiological literature on the primary prevention of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) with a critical look at the studies and the significance related to the various primary preventive interventions. Summary of Studies “Evaluation of a lifestyle modification program for treatment of overweight and nonmorbid obesity in primary healthcare and its influence on health-related quality of life [HRQL]” (Arrebola et al. 2011). This research sought to assess the significance of “a lifestyle modification program (LMP)” characterised by psychological support, exercise and diet in improving “the health-related quality of life” in overweight and obese nonmorbid patients. It was an open clinical trial conducted for a seven month period beginning June 2008. The study participants were 60 patients aged between 18-50 years with a body mass index of between 27-39.9 kg/m2. The exclusion criteria for the study participants were if they were symptomatic for eating or mental disorders, were on a diet targeting weight loss, if they were smokers, were lactating mothers or pregnant. The baseline data collected included the study participant’s anthropometric measurements, sociodemographic data such as age, gender, marital status and educational level, physical activity and alcohol consumption. The same data was evaluated after the six-month duration of the study. The intervention included an LMP that had a combination of psychological support, education on nutrition and physical activity. The study results suggested a waist circumference reduction of 2% from baseline substantially in females (P< 0.05), weight (in kilograms) reduction (86.00 ± 15.65 vs 79.27 ± 13.43 (P Read More