Chronic Diseases Are Long Lasting Disease

Chronic and acute illness are extremely serious issues in the United States today. Although the two can go hand-and-hand, there are distinct differences between them. Chronic diseases is a leading causes of death and disability in the United States today. Conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis are known to be among the most common, costly, and preventable of all chronic health problems. Two of the chronic diseases, heart disease and cancer, together accounted for nearly 48% of all deaths (CDC, 2016).

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. It is estimated that one in four women die from heart disease every year. Women are at a higher risk for heart disease than men because of a lack of knowledge and information. Women often feel the need to care for others before themselves and neglect their own health needs. As mothers, and sisters, and daughters it is important to protect our health for those that depend on us. Heart disease is preventable through knowledge and awareness and taking precautionary steps.

Mr. XXXX is a 44 years old Caucasian male, a general construction worker who works on a nearby highway for the bridge project, and checked in this urgent care center for complaining of chest pain and shortness of breath (SOB). The chest pain is constant dull and pressure like pain, and started 3 hours ago. The pain is located on the center of chest. He rates the pain 4 out of 10 on a pain scale 0 to 10 while resting. The pain gets worse and increases after eating. He experienced increased chest pain and SOB with simple walking from the parking lot to this office. The pain was not resolved with taking PO 365mg of Aspirin 2 hours ago and resting. He was diagnosed with hyperlipedemia 10 years ago. He is taking medication to manage his high cholesterol level. He denies past history of chest pain, hypertension, and coronary artery disease. He denies any history of heart surgery or cardio artery bypass surgery. He is anxious and fearful for his first chest and SOB. He smokes a half pack a day for past 20 years. He drinks one bottle of bear every evening with meals. He denies taking any herbal medication or illicit drugs. He has been a good appetite. He reported 20 lbs weight gain since his retirement from military. He has an irregular meal time and does not exercise as much as he used to do in the military.

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Stress affects health in a number of ways. It is defined by James (2011) as pressure or tension that comes in many shapes and forms and furthermore the body and mind in particular reacts psychologically and even emotionally.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States among adults. More than one-half of all deaths were caused by heart disease, cancer or

Today, chronic diseases- coronary heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and asthma- are the nation’s leading causes of illness and death. Given the continued aging of the population, both the prevalence and costs of chronic disease will continue to rise. Much of the growing burden of chronic disease is preventable” (Orleans and Cassidy, 2011, p. 126).

Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, eating disorders, obesity, asthma, types of Dementia, and arthritis are only a few types of chronic diseases.

The patient major symptom of chest pain, accompanied by SOB and diaphoresis prompted him to seek help in the emergency room (ER). He had this similar symptoms that eased up with rest for the past six months. However, in the past four days the symptoms became severe and unbearable. The patient returns to the hospital for follow up visit regarding the stent placement and review of risk factors associated with angina. The patient is still apprehensive of experiencing another episode of angina.

The effects of stress and heart disease is explained in a study Chida and Steptoe (2009), in which investigators looked at populations of people in healthy known areas, and assessed in total twenty five different studies. Anger and hostility has a positive relationship with coronary heart disease and was greater in men compared to women. Their findings also showed that individuals who had cardiac arrest and were resuscitated, twenty five percent admitted to feeling extremely stressed with work and family instances just twenty four hours before they had cardiac arrest. Daily activities that provoked moderate, acute stress demonstrated lower levels of blood supply to the hearts muscle. Deanfield et al. (1984)

While many potentially deadly illness can and will affect women, ones such as heart disease, cancer and strokes have shown to be leading cause of death in women in the United States. Everyday women are diagnosed with illnesses and are dying because of these deadly diseases, some of these illnesses are preventable and some are not. In this paper we will take a look at why heart disease, cancer and strokes rank high in taking the lives of women every day. Studies show that many women will be affected by heart disease, cancer and strokes. However, 1 in every 3 women in the United States will die of heart disease, which means every three minutes a woman dies because of this illness (“Heart Disease Statistics at a Glance - Go Red for Women”, 2012).

In 2014, a study was published to determine the effectiveness of a prevention program that would reduce the risk of chronic diseases. As stated in the study, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “one out of 10 Americans” is living with a form of chronic illness. These chronic diseases are a result of modifiable health risk behaviors such as sedentary lifestyle, malnutrition, alcoholism, and use of tobacco. If these risk factors were transformed into healthy behaviors, it would eliminate “ at least 80% of heart disease, stroke, and type-2 diabetes” and “40% of all cancer” which are the leading causes of death in the United States.

In developed and developing parts of the world, chronic diseases have been having morbid effects on the health of general population. Especially as far as, cardiovascular diseases are concerned, major risks have arise due to excessive tobacco intake, unhealthy diet, lack of physical

Chronic diseases and inflammatory conditions, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, are some of the most common, expensive, and yet preventable of all health conditions in the United States today (CDC 2013). In 2012, about 117 million people had at least one chronic health concern (CDC 2013). In 2010, more than one-third of American adults had a Body Mass Index of over 30 kilograms per square meter and was considered obese whereas nearly twenty percent of children were also obese (CDC 2013). The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recognizes that certain behaviors contribute and cause chronic diseases and identifies four main culprits: the use of tobacco, drinking alcohol in excess, lack of physical activity, and malnutrition. The focus of this review will be on poor nutrition due to the changes in the world’s food supply and how it is impacting human health today. There is clearly an issue as 86 percent of all money spent on healthcare in the United States in 2010 was for patients suffering from one or more chronic diseases (CDC 2013); that is hundreds of billions of dollars dedicated to fixing a problem that should not exist in the capacity that it does.

Psychological stress is a result of many factors and should be dealt with very carefully. Stress can be defined as “An excess of demand made upon the adaptive capabilities of the mind and body”.(Joseph 1). Another way of putting it, is that there are some things that put certain demands on us. The effects of stress should not be limited to unpleasant emotional states. Many studies have concluded that the effects on our physical health from stress can be extremely detrimental. These adverse physical effects include heart disease and formations of cancer. There are also some societal issues that psychological stress can hamper.