The Three Levels Of Heart Disease Prevention

The three levels of prevention are primary, secondary and tertiary. Primary prevention of heart disease would be lifestyle modifications. The most important lifestyle modifications are smoking cessation, increasing physical activity to thirty minutes a day for five or more days a week, limiting the amount fat you eat in your diet, and decreasing hypertension. The recommended daily intake of fat is 25%-35% of the total daily calories (Lewis et al., 2014). It is also recommended for people to keep their diabetes controlled and keep their average fasting blood sugar under 100. Managing stress is also a vital part of preventing heart disease, and people need to learn how to modify their lifestyle to do so (healthypeople.gov, 2015). For these lifestyle modifications, all of the members of the community need to participate, especially those with heart disease. Having programs for people to help them quit smoking would help, along with pamphlets about the destructive nature of cigarette smoke. Encouraging people to exercise would also be helpful. The community could sponsor a 5k, to get people involved. There could also be healthy snacks provided, along with healthy refreshments such as water. Secondary prevention for heart disease …show more content…
Smoking cessation is very important in the management of heart disease. Diabetes education is also very important. Geisinger Medical Center has a diabetes support group that can be very beneficial. It is important for people to know how to manage their blood sugar and know what to eat; this support group can be helpful in this way. It is also very important that people understand their hypertensive medications. It is vital that they know what medications they are taking and how to take them. Pamphlets or handouts can be made to assist people with learning how these medications work and why they need to take