Heart Disease Fatality In The United States: A Case Study

• Every year the United States sees approximately 138,000 deaths due to coronary heart disease within one hour of the first

Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), is the leading cause of death in the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2016). A depressing number of Americans are diagnosed with heart disease every year at 11.5% (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] 2016a). With 1 in every 4 deaths being from heart disease, the national age adjusted death rate of 167 and over half of the deaths are from men, we can see that heart disease is a serious problem (CDC, 2016b; CDC, 2016c). Oklahoma is no exception, with a CVD related death rate of 228.1 (CDC, 2016d). Community and individuals are dependent upon the demographics and qualities of that community to determine their health. Currently, Oklahoma faces a number of issues that affect overall health, including cardiovascular health of the entire state and the included communities. Therefore, this paper will analyze CVD statistics in Oklahoma, compare data and demographic features to Minnesota, and discuss lifestyle risks related to Healthy People 2020.

Heart diseases are known as one of the top killers of the 21st century including to

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 5.7 million People in America have heart failure.

· About 950,000 Americans die of cardiovascular disease each year, which amounts to one death every 33 seconds.

According to Heart.org, Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death and accounts for more than 17.3 million deaths per year and is expected to grow to over 23.6 million by the year 2030 (Heart Disease, Stroke and Research At-a-Glance, 2016). Heart disease and stroke is a major concern both locally and nationwide, Healthy People 2020 stated, “heart disease is the leading cause of death, and that stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S., together they are the most widespread and costly facing the nation today” (Healthypeople.gov).

Currently, cardiovascular disease is “the number one killer in the United States and the developed world” (Sapolsky, 2004, p. 41). Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of cardiovascular disease, which is killing more than 7 million individuals on an annual basis.

If you ask someone what they think the number one cause of death is, specifically for women, many people will guess breast cancer, or maybe just cancer in general. Unfortunately, these people are wrong; the number one killer of women is heart disease. “Seven percent of women consider heart disease as their greatest problem, where as 34 percent cite breast cancer (Nelson 21).” Most women downplay their risks because they don’t expect to get heart disease, even though it’s such a huge eradicator (Nelson 20). Perhaps one of the reasons women don’t consider this as fearfully as they do cancer, is because women have such different symptoms; in fact, “Fewer than 30 percent [of women surveyed] reported having chest pains (Longley).” Female

Know that it is know what exactly cardiovascular disease is, just how big of a problem is heart disease? Heart disease is believed to affect an estimated 82.6 million Americans and accounts for every one in three deaths (Teague, Mackenzie, & Rosenthal, 2015, p. 314). According to the Heart Foundation (2015), heart disease is the number one death in the United States and claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined. In 2011 alone, 787,000 people died from some form of cardiovascular disease. Of the many different types of heart disease, coronary artery disease has the highest death rate among heart disease, killing an average of 380,000 people annually. That accounts for almost half of the deaths related to heart disease.

It is estimated that about 7.9 million Americans are alive that have had a heart attack also known as myocardial infraction (“Heart Disease”). 15% of people that have a heart attack will die from it (Krucik).

It is also the major cause of death for most racial/ethnic groups in the United States, including African Americans, Hispanics and Whites. In respect to Asian Americans or Pacific Islanders and American Indians or Alaska Natives, heart disease is second only to cancer. Cardiovascular diseases claim more lives than all forms of cancer combined. Every 34 seconds a person in the United States has a heart attack. While every 60 seconds someone in the U.S. dies from a heart disease related event. Approximately 720,000 people in the U.S.

Heart disease and stroke are among the widespread and costly health problems being faced by our society today. According to World Health Organization, an estimated 17 million people die of cardiovascular diseases every year, particularly heart attacks and strokes. Cardiovascular diseases are also the leading cause of death or severe disability in the United States of America. In relation to this, various organizations have been established for health improvement and safety of the public.

Each year, more than one million Americans experience a heart attack, and nearly half of them are fatal. “A heart attack happens when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to a section of heart muscle suddenly becomes blocked and the heart can’t get oxygen. If blood flow isn’t restored quickly, the section of heart muscle begins to die”( What Is a Heart Attack). In the U.S. a heart attack occurs every 34 seconds and in 60 seconds some die from a heart attack. Cardiologist have had many set back on trying to find a resolution for the U.S. where society does not have to worry about ever having a heart attack. Cardiologist believe that making right food decisions, physical exercise, and finally a cut back on stress are 3 major priorities that can defeat heart attacks.

Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Inflammation plays an important role in ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Inflammatory cells are responsible for removing necrosis myocardial cells and repairing the damaged tissue. The remodeling process requires a well-balanced interplay between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways. Simply targeting for either process had lead to poor clinical results. (van Amerongen et al., 2007; Kaikita et al.,2004; Seropian et al.,2014) Therefore, a better understanding of the function of main player-macrophages in both pathways, will lead to potential therapies.

Heart disease is many conditions of the structures of the heart that can lead to death (“Heart and stroke foundation”, n.d.). Heart disease is the second cause of mortality in Canada second to cancer. According to the statistics in 2013 over 20% of the male population died of heart disease in comparison to over 18% in women (“statistics Canada”,2013). This is a public health issue because people deserve to know that we can possibly cure heart disease by living healthier lives in terms of diet and exercise. Heart disease as a health state is that health that we live it can be clogged arteries or living with excess amount of weight not being able to let the heart function to its fullest abilities. People with less socioeconomic status tend to have a higher chance of getting heart disease (“Lower socioeconomic status...”, 2011). With the public health goals in mind to preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health. Heart disease is preventable by living a more active lifestyle and healthier eating habits. Therefore, we can promote a healthy life and prolong the death of the people ahead of time. In Canada we have multiple organizations supporting healthy living and people with heart disease. For example, we have the heart and stroke foundation that give people symptoms and ways they can get help to treat and detect heart disease. And cardiac health that promotes ways to get active with the community and eat healthy foods.