Risk Factors For Developing Cardiovascular Disease

There are multiple factors that lead to the development cardiovascular disease. While some individuals are born with conditions that predispose them to strokes or heart disease, a majority of people participate in a combination of risk factors that lead to the development of cardiovascular disease. A few of those risk factors include a lack of physical activity, smoking, and poor diet. The more frequently individuals expose themselves to these risk factors the higher their chances of developing cardiovascular disease.

In order to identify a condition as a disease, it should fit certain criteria. One of the reasons that obesity is classified as a disease is because of its large comorbidity. Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnoea, musculoskeletal disorders and some cancers (Rossner, 2002). According to Rossner (2002), the death rate from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other diseases increases among moderate and severe overweight men and women in all age groups. Therefore, obesity 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].

The increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is causing huge health problem through out the world including developed countries. Mostly people with low income groups are affected in developed countries (Zimmet 2001).The magnitude of the healthcare problem of type 2 diabetes results mainly from its association with obesity and cardiovascular risk factors. Indeed, type 2 diabetes has now been identified as one manifestation of the “metabolic syndrome”, a condition characterised by insulin resistance and associated with a range of cardiovascular factors (Jonathan 2003)

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 disease has reportedly been the number one disease killer for men and women in the United States of America. Every one out of four deaths is caused by heart disease in the United States alone (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention). Heart disease refers to the different types of conditions and symptoms that can affect the one’s heart and its functions to the body (Mayo Clinic). Cardiovascular/Heart disease has many causes and conditions, prevention methods and symptoms, and treatment options.

Metabolic syndrome is the umbrella term used for a variety of risk factors that increases the risk of heart disease and other health problems. Five conditions that are metabolic risk factors are: high Body Mass Index, insulin resistance, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar. Obesity, an example of a metabolic disorder, has been the focus of research and medical discussions because of the alarming impacts that it is having on the health of millions of citizens in the United States. According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention growth charts, last year 17% of children in America from age 2-9 were obese and 32% were overweight (Blumberg, 559). As a result, obesity costs the U.S. healthcare more than $200 billion and these costs will continue to increase as the number of obese individuals escalates (Janesick 2016, 559).

Cardiovascular disease has gained a global attention due to the overwhelming number of cases reported annually. Stakeholders from various health monitoring agencies, health care providers, and government agencies have come together to tackle the disease, and reduce morbidity and mortality. Organizations such as the Million Hearts Initiative, the American Heart Association (AHA) 2020 Goals, and the Healthy People 2020 goals have established public health objectives aimed at targeting cardiovascular risk factors, and improving the outcome of the disease (Sidney, Rosamond, Howard & Luepker, 2013). The aspirations of the AHA 2020 objectives are to enhance the cardiovascular well-being of all Americans by 20%, as well as decrease related deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20% (Sidney et al., 2013). Statistical analysis of the predominance of cardiovascular health risk factors among Americans is overwhelming and therefore needs immediate action. According to Go et al. (2013), about 31.9 million adults 20 years or older have total serum cholesterol levels greater than or equals to 240 mg/dL. According to a statistical data recorded between 2007 to 2010, 33% of United States adults aged 20 years of age or older are hypertensive, that is about 78 million US adults, and 44% globally (Go et al., 2013). In 2010, an overwhelming 19.7 million people in the United States were diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, in addition to 8.2 million unconfirmed cases, and 38.2% people

Metabolic syndrome is an emerging diagnosis in the medical field that has effects on patient care. Becoming familiar with it and having it become a common part of patient care will, if used appropriately will increase the lives of those who have become affected with or are at risk of becoming diagnosed with metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risks factors of metabolic origin that are accompanied by the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. There are five major factors to look for; out of these five a person only needs three to be diagnosis with metabolic

Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent illness that is negatively impacting the health of individuals around the world. This prevalence is due to a rise in the rates of adult obesity, and is resulting in excess mortality due to an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes.1,3 It is defined as a cluster of conditions that occur together, which increases the individual’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.2 Metabolic risk factors responsible for this syndrome include having a large waistline, a high triglyceride level, a low HDL cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar.1 Three of these risk factors must be present in order to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, with the

Obesity seems to be a growing epidemic in our country affecting almost 40% of adults. Obesity is linked to many degenerative diseases, but over the year’s type 2 diabetes mellitus has dramatically increased in people who are obese. Our bodies tend to carry fat in different ways, studies have shown that people who carry their weight in the mid-section are more likely to increase their risk for cardio vascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. “This constellation of metabolic abnormalities increases the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and of various cardiovascular outcomes”(Després, PhD, FAHA, FIAS, 2012).

Cardiovascular disease is the world's public health enemy number one, and Coronary atherosclerosis is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among all cardiovascular diseases, it costs a huge amount of medical and social resources each year and seriously affects the public health and life. With the development of society, the cardiovascular disease in developed and developing countries is the main health issues, so how to accurately distinguish between high-risk groups, and further evaluate the risk stratification and prognosis of the population is extremely important. Our study found that PDW, MPV, and P-LCR changes were positively correlated with coronary heart disease, both for patients with stable or unstable coronary heart disease

Metabolic syndrome in which also called as syndrome X, is known to have a group of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, includes hypertension, abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In fact, these risk factors tend to occur together more often. (1)

A cohort study (article 1) and case study (article 2) that focused on the risk factors associated with hypertension were selected to be compared and contrasted. The cohort study was the first article I was able to read and looked at the relation of several sociodemographic, behavioral, and biochemical parameters on the number of hypertensions incidence among the group of subjects from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (Ford & Cooper, 1991). The subjects were separated into four main groups being that of black males (n=231), white males (n=2,370), black females (n=523) and white females (n=3,949) with a combined subject number of 14,407 (ages 25-74 years old) with an average follow up of 10 years (Ford & Cooper, 1991). By design various subgroups of the total number of subjects completed different study components and questionnaires, which meant that not all of the information was available for each respondent. An example of this was given by the study, which stated that dietary data available was only available for 11,348 subjects, serum potassium and sodium data for only 3,059 participants, whereas serum magnesium data were available for all participants (Ford & Cooper, 1991). The study also looked at independent variables, which included age, income, education, body mass index etc. along with dietary sub-analysis and continues variables all shown in table 1 (Ford & Cooper, 1991). This study found that the predictors (body mass index and education) were

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one factor that can erupt from obesity due to the main causes that it brings, like high blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol to a high count while lowering HDL. LDL is the “bad cholesterol”, and HDL is the “good cholesterol”. We need fats in our body for energy or ATP, in our body. If we get more LDL, it can really be a dangerous case, and