In the United States and in most industrialized countries, most adults die from heart disease (Health in the Later Years, 2013). According to the American Heart Association (2013) an estimated 83.6 million American adults have 1 or more types of CVD, and of those 42.2 million are estimated to be age sixty and up. Heart disease affects people of all ages, however it is most prominent in adults age sixty-five and up. Cardiovascular disease and heart disease are terms that cover an array of diseases and conditions all relating to the heart and its functions. They can include blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease, or conditions such as arrhythmias, congenital heart defects and cardiomyopathy. Typically CVD refers to conditions
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Heart valves regulate the blood flow through the four chambers of the heart and when they do not function properly they can cause mild to severe complications within the body. Stenosis is a condition where the valves in the heart are too narrow and do not let enough blood pass through. If flaps of the valve are too thick, stiff, or fused together, the valve may not open properly causing reduced blood flow which in turn causes the heart to have to work harder to pump the correct amount of blood and the body can suffer a reduced oxygen supply because of it. Congenital heart defects are one just one reason for the valve to be insufficient at its …show more content…
One of the objectives of Healthy People 2010 was to reduce heart failure hospitalizations for those age sixty-five and up. This is just a small step in this big fight, but the first and most important step comes with education. People need to be educated on what heart disease is and how it can be prevented. As with most chronic diseases they may never be a cure but several forms of this disease can be prevented by limiting risk factors such as smoking and monitoring things such as weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol. As the baby boomer cohort begins to age, the number of people age 65 and up is going to skyrocket and if we as a nation continue down the same path we are on now we will begin to see the increase in the number of patients with some for of cardiovascular disease skyrocket as well. The health care costs and expenses associated with the disease are enormous and will only negatively impact our economy and increase the national deficit even more. As a nation we need to promote successful and healthy aging especially as the population being to grow and to do this we need to start to adapt to the changes that are coming, one of those being the increase in CVD cases. Of course not all cases of CVD will be preventable, but the next step would be educating older adults on how to live with and treat these conditions so they can still have a
Heart valves regulate the blood flow through the four chambers of the heart and when they do not function properly they can cause mild to severe complications within the body. Stenosis is a condition where the valves in the heart are too narrow and do not let enough blood pass through. If flaps of the valve are too thick, stiff, or fused together, the valve may not open properly causing reduced blood flow which in turn causes the heart to have to work harder to pump the correct amount of blood and the body can suffer a reduced oxygen supply because of it. Congenital heart defects are one just one reason for the valve to be insufficient at its …show more content…
One of the objectives of Healthy People 2010 was to reduce heart failure hospitalizations for those age sixty-five and up. This is just a small step in this big fight, but the first and most important step comes with education. People need to be educated on what heart disease is and how it can be prevented. As with most chronic diseases they may never be a cure but several forms of this disease can be prevented by limiting risk factors such as smoking and monitoring things such as weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol. As the baby boomer cohort begins to age, the number of people age 65 and up is going to skyrocket and if we as a nation continue down the same path we are on now we will begin to see the increase in the number of patients with some for of cardiovascular disease skyrocket as well. The health care costs and expenses associated with the disease are enormous and will only negatively impact our economy and increase the national deficit even more. As a nation we need to promote successful and healthy aging especially as the population being to grow and to do this we need to start to adapt to the changes that are coming, one of those being the increase in CVD cases. Of course not all cases of CVD will be preventable, but the next step would be educating older adults on how to live with and treat these conditions so they can still have a