Cardiovascular Diseases and its Pathophysiology
Cardiovascular disease accounts for the major health care problem and leading cause of death in the US. Based on the recent statistics from the CDC (2016), almost 610,000 Americans die of heart-related ailments. The prevalence of this disease is such that it dramatically increase the health care costs approximately $ 207 billion in a year (CDC, 2016).
Pathophysiological Process
In normal conditions, the heart pumps blood through the arteries and veins and follow a smooth pathway. This flow is in turn control by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (Huether, & McCance, 2012). Based on the body’s needs, heart pumps the desired amount of blood to maintain the tissue function. When this …show more content…
This occurs due to the blockage of the main arteries that supplies to the right or the left side of the heart. For instance, the left coronary artery occlusion can result in anterolateral infarction of the myocardium. If the occlusion occurs in the right coronary artery, necrosis occur the posterior aspect of the heart (McPhee & Hammer, …show more content…
However, for the purpose of this discussion, I would like to choose the behavioral aspects and its relationship in cardiac events. According to McPhee and Hammer (2010), about 50- 70% of the heart attacks are due to acquired conditions. However, other risk factors like behavioral and modifiable causes can lead to heart diseases. This can be related to smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc. Since the genetic factors cannot be controlled, the main focus is now turning towards behavioral modifications. CDC (2016) propose that most of the heart ailments are due to obesity, lack of exercise, high cholesterol containing foods, illegal drug use, and hypertension. For instance, lack of exercise and obesity itself contribute to other secondary complications like diabetes and hypertension. Moreover, obesity and consumption of high caloric saturated fat diet predispose to high lipid levels and plaque formation. Based on the recent survey by the AHA (2016), behavioral factors like smoking, obesity and resultant diabetes and hypertension are the silent killers in a myocardial
Cardiovascular disease accounts for the major health care problem and leading cause of death in the US. Based on the recent statistics from the CDC (2016), almost 610,000 Americans die of heart-related ailments. The prevalence of this disease is such that it dramatically increase the health care costs approximately $ 207 billion in a year (CDC, 2016).
Pathophysiological Process
In normal conditions, the heart pumps blood through the arteries and veins and follow a smooth pathway. This flow is in turn control by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (Huether, & McCance, 2012). Based on the body’s needs, heart pumps the desired amount of blood to maintain the tissue function. When this …show more content…
This occurs due to the blockage of the main arteries that supplies to the right or the left side of the heart. For instance, the left coronary artery occlusion can result in anterolateral infarction of the myocardium. If the occlusion occurs in the right coronary artery, necrosis occur the posterior aspect of the heart (McPhee & Hammer, …show more content…
However, for the purpose of this discussion, I would like to choose the behavioral aspects and its relationship in cardiac events. According to McPhee and Hammer (2010), about 50- 70% of the heart attacks are due to acquired conditions. However, other risk factors like behavioral and modifiable causes can lead to heart diseases. This can be related to smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol etc. Since the genetic factors cannot be controlled, the main focus is now turning towards behavioral modifications. CDC (2016) propose that most of the heart ailments are due to obesity, lack of exercise, high cholesterol containing foods, illegal drug use, and hypertension. For instance, lack of exercise and obesity itself contribute to other secondary complications like diabetes and hypertension. Moreover, obesity and consumption of high caloric saturated fat diet predispose to high lipid levels and plaque formation. Based on the recent survey by the AHA (2016), behavioral factors like smoking, obesity and resultant diabetes and hypertension are the silent killers in a myocardial