Essay on Heart Disease and Women

Chest pain is a very common symptom, and around 20% to 40% of the general population will experience chest pain in their lives(149). In the UK, up to 2 % of visits to a general practitioner are due to new onset chest pain (150). Approximately 5% of visits to the emergency department are due to a complaint of chest pain, and up to 40% of emergency hospital admissions are the result of chest pain(149, 151). Approximately 52,000 new cases of angina per year are diagnosed in men and 43,000 in women. The incidence of angina increases with age(123).

Congestive heart failure is an older name for heart failure. Congestive heart failure takes place when the heart is unable to maintain an adequate circulation of blood in the bodily tissues or to pump out the venous blood returned to it by the veins (Merriam-Webster). The heart is split into two distinct pumping structures, the right side of the heart and the left side of the heart. Appropriate cardiac performance involves each ventricle to extract even quantities of blood over intervals. If the volume of blood reimbursed to the heart develops more than both ventricles can manage, the heart can no longer be an efficient pump.

According to the office of the minority health, approximately 48% of African American women and 44% of African American men suffer from some form of the cardiovascular disease which includes heart disease and stroke and adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure while the women are 1.6 times more likely to die from heart diseases and complications than other ethnic groups (The Office of Minority Health, 2016).

Heart disease is the number one killer of women and the leading cause of death in African-American women.1 African-American women have higher rates of heart disease with earlier onset and more severe complications than women from other ethnicities. A common strategy to address the increase incidence of heart disease in African-American females is by changing their behavioral attitudes towards diet and physical activity. The Heart Truth, a science-based health education program launched in 2002, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health, helps increase awareness about heart disease and its risk factors in women.2 It also aims at educating and motivating the women to take action

The heart disease is one of the killer diseases among the American women. The heart disease is a heart group disease and the heart's blood vessel system. The most common type of heart disease is the Coronary heart disease. The Coronary disease affects the human blood vessels in the heart causing a heart attack or the angina (Gregson, 2009). Angina is a type of condition whereby an individual experiences chest pains in case the heart fails to get enough blood. An individual usually experiences sharp pressing chest pains but sometimes the back, shoulders and arms are also affected. Some of the

Nausea and chest pain are some symptoms of the coronary artery disease. The coronary artery collects over time plague that causes narrowing of the artery. Due of the narrowing their arteries it causes the blood flow to the heart to be limited or complete

Diseases Affecting My Community The leading cause of death in African American has been due to heart attacks and strokes in relation to poverty and low-education levels. These cardiovascular diseases have been prevalent among African American for a long period time. The etiology of cardiovascular diseases has been studied, and various amounts of research have found that high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity were in the top three leading causes of mortality in the African American men, but mostly women. Research shows that “cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African-American women annually and of African-American women ages 20 and older, 49 percent have heart diseases”(American Heart Association, 2015).

The leading cause of death among women is heart disease. Even though there have been increased awareness over the last ten years, only 54% of women acknowledge that heart disease is their number 1 killer (WISEWOMAN, 2015). Almost two-thirds of the women who die suddenly of heart disease have no previous symptoms, even if a woman shows no signs or symptoms, they may still be at risk (Nichols, H., 2015). Woman can reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes by educating themselves on the knowledge, skills and opportunities that are available. The WISEWOMAN (Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for WOMen Across the Nation) program is a program funded by the government to certain states to provide low-income, underinsured, or uninsured 40-65 year-old women with the information, and services and to improve their diet, physical activity, and other life habits to prevent, or control

According to “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” the leading cause for death for both genders is “heart attacks.” About 610,000 people die every year the United States from heart attacks and they usually occur between the ages of 18-55. It’s a pretty wide range. “Heart Attacks” or “Myocardial Infarctions” occur when plaque builds up in coronary arteries and stop the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart. If the blood flow ceases to continue, the heart muscle begins to die. Causes are the Coronary Heart Disease, which is when the arteries are blocked and Atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque. Plaque takes several years to build up. If the plaque bursts, then a blood clot is formed and this can also hinder blood flow. Another

In January 1986, heart disease in women emerged from the shadows when the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) convened a workshop of researchers and clinicians to describe the current state of knowledge and provide direction for future research in the area of coronary heart disease (CHD) in women. A major objective of the meeting was to offer the opportunity for this diverse group of professionals to interact across disciplines and to lay the groundwork for future endeavors. The Workshop Organizing Committee had the vision to recognize the long term implications of this issue, as well as the possibilities for initiating significant change for women’s heart health. The proceedings from the workshop, “Coronary Heart Disease in Women: Reviewing the Evidence, Identifying the Needs”, were released in 1987 and were used to initiate the 1992 NHLBI conference on Cardiovascular Health and Disease in Women.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in postmenopausal women .The mechanisms responsible

Doctors always wish well for their Patients but most times they are often too busy to educate female patients about their risk of cardiovascular disease. The involvement of women in clinical trials has only been adapted in recent years as the focus has always been on men. This trend actually aided in the soar of the death rate of women from cardiovascular disease. Hypertension, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, arrhythmias and valvular heart disease, coagulopathies and stroke, collectively known as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), contribute greatly to the mortality in women. CVD is preventable but yet it continues to take enormous toll on women. In 2006-2007 a total of 622,176 women died of heart disease according to (inc, 2011)

Although men had ruled the earth for years together, the male gender is highly susceptible so far heart disease is concerned . More men are living with and dying of Coronary Heart Disesse (CHD) than women and have more hospital discharges for Cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) and CHD. The prevalence of CHD is higher in men within each age stratum until after 75 years of age, which may contribute to the perception that heart disease is a man’s disease.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States.1 There’s been an increase in heart disease awareness among women in the United States from 34% in 2000 to 54% in 2009.2 This is due to public health efforts to educate women and increase awareness. The main issue in this case is figuring out a way communicate effectively by teaching women about their risk of heart disease and how the different risk factors can be improved or prevented. Issues leading to the main issue are like the yellow brick road leading to it. Heart disease is seen as a male disease because of previous marketing in America in the 1950’s through the 70’s that women had to care

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).