Lifestyle Choices Can Help Prevent Or Control Cardiovascular Disease

Many of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease cause problems because they lead to atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the narrowing and thickening of arteries and develops for years without causing symptoms. It can happen in any part of the body. Around the heart, it is known as coronary artery disease, in the legs it is known as peripheral arterial disease. The narrowing and thickening of the arteries is due to the deposition of fatty material, cholesterol and other substances in the walls of blood vessels. The deposits are known as plaques. The rupture of a plaque can lead to stroke or a heart attack. (World Heart Federation).

Atherosclerosis is the process in which substances known as plaques, which are made up of cholesterol and platelets, adhere to tears in the walls of arteries. Over time these plaques build up to the point where they occlude blood flow in the arteries. When this happens in the coronary arteries, either directly, as the result of buildup in the arteries themselves, indirectly in the form a clot from another part of the body breaking loose and becoming lodged in the coronary arteries, the usual result is a heart attack.3

Nevertheless, there is an understandable and noticeable link between circulatory related diseases and lifestyle diseases, such as Coronary Heart Disease. Coronary heart disease can occur when fatty acids, such as cholesterol in an inadequate diet, build up in the walls of the coronary artery. These fatty deposits collect minerals and harden to become a plaque. Eventually, this plaque grows and can swells up, forming an aneurism. In some cases, this aneurism may burst leading to instant death. As it continues to grow and swell up, it finally blocks the artery completely and forms blood clots. This is known as coronary thrombosis. A myocardial infarction, or in other words as heart attack, occurs when no oxygen is able to reach the coronary artery and thus it is unable to fulfil its role in providing the heart muscle with a sufficient supply of blood. Heart attacks are very common in the society nowadays, especially occurring in smokers or obesity related diseases (Millar, June 2014)

Similar to other diseases coronary heart disease affects thousands of people. The disease affects the heart in that it causes a waxy substance called plaque where it builds up inside of the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. When a person has coronary heart disease the hardened arteries restrict blood flow, which means that the heart cannot receive enough oxygenated blood, especially when it beats quickly during physical exertion or stress. This can cause chest pain and shortness of breath. However, if the artery is completely blocked, a heart attack can occur. Lack of oxygen during a heart attack causes damage as the heart muscle dies and is replaced with scar tissue. If damage is severe, the heart

Coronary artery disease Coronary arteries are blood vessels that carry blood to the heart muscle. The coronary artery disease (also called CAD, for its acronym in English) or coronary heart disease is caused by a thickening of the inner walls of the coronary arteries. This thickening is called atherosclerosis. A fatty substance called plaque builds up inside the thickened walls of the arteries and obstructs or delays the flow of blood. If the heart muscle does not receive enough blood to function properly, you may have angina or a heart attack.

Cardiac arrest is a grave medical emergency where the heart stops pumping blood throughout the body and can lead to death in minutes. There are currently 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrest in UK (Perkins, 2016). In coronary artery disease there is a obstruction in the arteries that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. The initial step in coronary artery disease (CAD) is the formation of atherosclerosis. The build up of plaque is called atherosclerosis. CAD is a progressive disease that most commonly presents as angina. The beginning of CAD is thought

Coronary Artery Disease is when the major vessels supplying the heart with blood, oxygen, and nutrients become blocked, damaged, or diseased. These major vessels (arteries) can become damaged in several ways including but not limited to high blood pressure, inflammation, high cholesterol, high sugar levels, and smoking. Following the initial damage of these vessels can cause even more

Coronary artery disease (CHD). Coronary artery disease is characterized by damaged or diseased coronary arteries, the major blood vessels that supply the heart with oxygen. The major cause of CHD is atherosclerosis, the build-up of fat deposits (plaque) and other cellular waste products on the walls in arteries that cause further inflammation and narrowing or complete blockage of major heart vessels. As a result, the decreased blood flow cause chest pain and shortness of breath. In some cases, a complete blockage occur and can lead to a heart attack (myocardial infarction). Usually, CHD develops slowly and patient might have no symptoms until the complete blockage of coronary arteries and heart attack occur. As happened in Mrs. S case, she was unaware of extent of her coronary arteries damage. After having a cholecystectomy, she developed cardiac complications and suffered an acute MI. Any surgical procedure places and additional emotional and physical stress on the heart and can cause cardiac complications.

Cardiovascular diseases occur in many different forms, many of which can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014) and the tool for achieving this is by health education campaigns. Health education attempts to inform individuals and various populations and influence their behaviors towards healthier lifestyle choices aimed at an improved and healthier population (Minelli & Breckon, 2009). As identified in the preceding paper, certain behavioral factors contribute to cardiovascular diseases, they include; tobacco use, physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, high sodium/salt intake and harmful use of alcohol (WHO, 2014). Thus, the aim of this educational campaign is to influence the adoption of a healthy diet by reducing sodium content in food, as well as adopting physical activity (exercise) so as to reduce the

Coronary Heart Disease Coronary heart disease occurs when the coronary arteries become partially blocked from, cholesterol and fat, circulating in the blood. This causes a build up inside the walls of the arteries. This only occurs if the levels of fat and cholesterol are extremely high in the blood that there is a greater chance that it will be deposited onto the artery walls. If the arteries become completely blocked, the patient will have a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack. A heart attack can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle, and can sometimes be fatal if immediate treatment is not given.

This is commonly known as a ‘heart attack’, it occurs when one of the coronary arteries becomes blocked. This can result in a shortage of blood getting to the heart which can affect it being able to work efficiently due to damage.

Coronary Heart Disease affects the circulatory system specifically the heart. Arteries called the coronary arteries surround the heart and provide nutrients and oxygen so the heart can operate. Sometimes cholesterol or fatty deposits build up on the walls of the artery blocking and reducing the amount of blood that can flow through the artery. These obstructions block nutrients and oxygen from getting to the heart’s muscles, which can then weaken the heart’s ability to pump blood or even cause it to completely fail.

It is well established that heart diseases result from unhealthy lifestyles like poor diet, physical activity, and tobacco use, and excessive alcohol use, stress, poor sleeping habits. According to analysis report from the National Health and Nutrition Survey has shown that meeting any five of ideal metrics (no smoking, a normal body mass index (BMI), physical activity, a healthy diet, normal cholesterol, normal blood pressure, and a normal fasting plasma glucose) help in 78% reduction in the all-cause mortality rate (Ford et al., 2012).

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

coronary arteries which reduces blood flow to the heart. This can ultimately lead to a