Essay on Major Risk Factors for Heart Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in the United States, causing about 610,000 deaths yearly (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Cardiovascular disease is defined as a group of disorders damaging the heart and blood vessels, usually involving the blockage of vessels, which in turn harm the heart (WHO, 2015). A 2011 American Heart Association statement predicted that without intervention, 40% of United States adults will have at least one form of Cardiovascular disease by 2030. A large portion of these deaths by cardiovascular disease is due to the sedentary population. To better prevent cardiovascular disease, the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee stated that adults should complete about 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical activity weekly (Barry, Blair, Church, Hooker, Sui, Warren, 2010). Research has shown that meeting these recommendations is linked with lower cardiovascular disease risk, as well as reduced risk of mortality. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that only about 20.3% of Americans meet these guidelines. These statistics show that the majority of the United States population does not get nearly the amount of physical activity they need. However, even though many people are not doing the recommended amount of physical activity, this may not mean that they are living a sedentary life. Living a sedentary lifestyle is

Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, has become a major risk factor for several types of heart disease across the globe. In the United States alone, nearly 70 million adults have been diagnosed with this condition [1]. Hypertension is a condition in which arterial walls experience extreme force from blood flowing through; long-term force against artery walls will lead to more serious health problems such as stroke, renal failure, and other cardiovascular diseases [2]. If the proper steps to treat hypertension are not taken, patients have a high risk of developing atherosclerosis, a condition that causes arteries to harden significantly. Smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, high alcohol consumption, and high sodium intake are factors that may cause an individual to be diagnosed with hypertension [3] Detection of hypertension is crucial in order to reduce the incidence of death by cardiovascular disease [1].

Although the term cardiovascular disease refers to a disorder of the cardiovascular system, it is usually associated with atherosclerosis, also known as arterial disease. It is considered the leading cause of deaths in the world, taking 17.1 million lives a year. There are only a few factors that are non-modifiable, these being the persons age, gender, family history and their race and ethnicity. Although there are non-modifiable risk factors, there are multiple multiple risk factors that are modifiable that anyone can use to prevent getting any type of cardiovascular disease. These people just need to have the motivation to be able to change themselves and their lifestyles in order to better

Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are a growing problem around the world today. Not only do diseases such as diabetes and heart disease affect individuals and their lifestyles, they also affect the economy, politics, education and the professional work environment. 20-26% of individuals in the United States live with heart disease, and obesity and high blood pressure compose the greatest factors for developing this disease [20]. Studies have shown a direct correlation between the amount of sedentary time and cardiovascular and metabolic disease risk, regardless of baseline measurements [20]. Thus, increase in physical activity will decrease cardiometabolic risk factors [8]. Several studies indicate a positive correlation between physical activity and decreased cardiometabolic risk markers [2,4,11,16]. However, we now know that an individual who is getting the recommended physical activity per day can still have a large amount of sedentary time.

Nowadays, we have so many types of video games and movies that we don't tend to go out as much to do physical activities. Many of us have forgotten about bike riding, hiking, swimming, or simply going to the park. Not many people engage in excising and this is one of the reasons as to why our health rates in America are so poor. According to Livestrong.com, " Even if [we] are at a healthy weight, cardiorespiratory fitness is crucial to your overall health. Researchers at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas examined the effect of cardio fitness on all-cause mortality...the study found that lean men with low cardio fitness were twice as likely to die from all causes than lean, cardio-fit men." This only proves the fact on how much cardiovascular exercise makes an impact in our life. It literally is a life or death

The prevention of cardiovascular health issues would be greatly beneficial to the overall health and wellbeing of Australia, through causing minimal strains on medical services and funding, however poor cardiovascular health is largely inevitable, as it is often resultant of an individual’s generally poor health and other issues. Cardiovascular health was selected as a National Health Priority partly due to the burden of disease on Australian society, but also the prominent behavioural, and changeable risk factors. Thus, by targeting and spreading awareness of the risk factors associated with cardiovascular health, and the harmful consequences they pose, whilst also developing new and more effective treatment methods, the burden of disease

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the recommended amount of physical activity is thirty minutes per day, and many adults do not meet this minimum.6 In the past, rates of cardiovascular disease were high, as the rates of smoking were higher. As smoking is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, such as COPD, as rates of smoking fall, so will rates of cardiovascular disease. As more and more adults and children begin to realize the importance of cardiovascular exercise and avoiding cigarettes, the rate of these diseases can be expected to fall further. However, less than 30% of high school students reach the recommended amount of physical activity needed, and further intervention is therefore

Mayo Clinic Staff. (2015, June 20). Exercise and chronic disease: Get the facts. Retrieved from

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women and has an average of 610,000 casualties in the United States every year. As adults, we tend to lead a very demanding lifestyle. Inside our home, the office, events for the holidays, and perhaps even school, we have a never-ending to do list that makes up the majority of our day. But we also have a responsibility to ourselves, but sometimes that doesn’t quite make the priority cutoff. From what I’ve heard, I’m supposed to exercise at least three times a week. About one in every three U.S. adults, including myself, has reported that no leisure time was spent doing physical activity. The first hour and half of my day is driving to work where I’ll spend the next eight

Although the tests performed in this study gauged the effects of body mass index (BMI) and physical activity on cardiovascular disease (CVD) very well, there is, of course, some information that might be questioned. First of all, many of the experiments that were carried out involved self-administered questionnaires. Since the subjects that were tested reported on their own physical activity there is a possibility of error, especially since every individual has his/her own ideas of how to measure physical activity. In addition, one of the studies tested only women who were already experiencing chest pain. Although that study suggested that exercise reduced chances of CVD more than BMI, these results could not be extended to men or asymptomatic individuals. Also, there was not a significant follow-up period after the experiments, so the long-term effects cannot be deduced. Lastly, one must consider that there are several other mechanisms that can contribute to CVD, such as diet and family history. These factors were not taken into account in this research.

Furthermore, previous studies also provide evidence of how the variables listed above can quantify and characterize cardiac health. This study looks at the affect of aerobic exercise on these individual variables. The purpose is to determine if exercise, above the threshold of three hours a week, promotes heart health and creates certain changes in the variables mentioned above. I hypothesize that 1) males who do not exercise at least 3 hours a week will have higher systolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, total peripheral resistance, and cardiac output after exercising to exhaustion than males who do regularly exercise more than 3 hours a

Physical activity has been proven to have phenomenal benefits on the human body and is an important part of a balanced lifestyle. Statistics have shown that regular exercise can prevent illness and lower one’s likelihood of being diagnosed with a series of diseases significantly. It has been ‘medically proven’ that regular exercise can reduce a subject’s chance of being diagnosed with coronary heart disease or stroke by 35%, type two diabetes by 50%, colon cancer by 50%, breast cancer by 20%, early death by 30%, osteoarthritis by 83% and a number of other life threatening illnesses. Regular exercise can improve a person’s overall wellbeing and immunity to common illnesses. During physical activity, a person’s heart rate can increase significantly and allow more oxygenated blood to be supplied to muscles. A person’s breathing rate can increase during exercise and supply more oxygen to the lungs. The increased blood flow during exercise allows the brain to function better. Exercise has many benefits to the human body and is a major factor of disease

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are among the most common causes of morbidity and premature death worldwide [1]. Based on WHO reports, it has been noted that by 2030, CVD

Approximately one in every three adult’s ages 20 years old and older are diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension. Hypertension affects 78 million people in the United States and is equally prevalent in both men and woman (Crabtree et al., 2013). Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Hajjar & Kotchen, 2003). It can lead to stroke, myocardial infarction, renal failure, heart failure, neurological issues, and death if not detected early and not treated properly (James, Oparil, Carter, & et al., 2014). Approximately 9.4 million deaths in 2010 were attributed to high blood pressure (Angell, De Cock, & Frieden, 2015). About 54% of strokes, 47% of coronary heart disease, and 25 % of other cardiovascular diseases are attributed to high blood pressure (Arima, Barzi, & Chalmers, 2011).

The benefits of physical exercise in humans far outweighs the harmful effects associated with exercise. A prescription of physical activity has been known to delay the onset or prevention of many chronic diseases. An improvement in heart function, lower blood pressure and improve functional capacity is noticed after just a few weeks of exercising. Physical activity will also result in an increase of lean muscle mass, promote weight maintenance, increased flexibility, and a generally stronger more fit individual. Conversely, exercise when preformed strenuously or obsessively can counteract such positive effects, bringing up some issues like oxidative stresses, injuries, and