Heart Disease in African American Women Heart disease is of utmost and imperative concern in the United States. It stands at the top of the list for causes of death in the U.S., and it can be absolutely devastating (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). In part one of the health disparities paper, disparity in relation to heart disease was pointed out in those of low socioeconomic status and/or minorities. Part two of this paper has been streamlined towards a more specific minority: African Americans women. The reason for focusing on the African American women population is that there is a huge amount of disparity seen specifically in this group. As of 2009, African Americans as a whole had 30% more of a chance of dying from cardiovascular disease than Caucasians (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health [OMH], 2012). The rate of Cardiovascular Disease in African American women specifically is higher at 48.9% than the rate of CVD in African American men at 44.4%, showing even greater disparity in African American women (American Heart Association, 2013). The goal of this paper is to identify and appraise two different articles surrounding this topic. Both articles involve an intervention in which similar community prevention programs were implemented in hopes to reduce the risk of CVD in African American women. The first article is titled Love Your Heart: A Pilot Community-Based Intervention to Improve the Cardiovascular Health of African American Women. The authors of this study include: Fa ́tima Rodriguez, Lula Christopher, Caitlin E. Johnson, Yun Wang, and JoAnne M. Foody. The purpose of this study is to determine if implementing a heart healthy community prevention program, ... ... middle of paper ... ...ed prevention programs significantly decrease CVD risk factors in African American women. Both articles were appraised and evaluated, and outcomes ended up being positive in both. In both of the articles, all of the risk factors for CVD that were measured decreased from baseline to the end of the programs. This just shows how impactful these group programs are for this population. Not only was this intervention physically effective, it was also cost-effective as well, showing feasibility in all aspects. The large impact of these programs is extremely useful for nurses to understand, because nurses can look at these studies and implement programs like this elsewhere. A nurse has a duty to promote health and wellness, so it is important to know what works and what does not. As seen in this paper, group programs can be significantly effective in the prevention of CVD.
According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, they have assessed the nation’s health system annually since 2003, reported that, in 2015 the health care delivery system has made progress to achieve the three aims of better care, smarter spending, and healthier people (City of White Plains Health Equity Report, 2017). However, they continue to promote health equality and reach the goal of New York State being the healthiest. But most importantly aiming to reduce or eliminate racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health
Cardiomyopathy, by definition, means the weakening of the heart muscle. The heart is operated by a striated muscle that relies on the autonomic nervous system to function. Cardiomyopathy is diagnosed in four different ways based on what caused the illness and exactly what part of the heart is weakened. The four main types of cardiomyopathy are dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, restrictive cardiomyopathy, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. One other category of cardiomyopathy that is diagnosed is “unclassified cardiomyopathy.” Unclassified cardiomyopathy is the weakening of the heart that does not fit into the main four categories.
Heart disease is one of the most common causes of the mortality and morbidity in most well developed countries. They come in different forms such as stroke and other cardiovascular diseases and it’s the number one cause of death in the state of America. In the year 2011 alone nearly 787,000 people were killed as a result of this epidemic. And this included Hispanic, Africans, whites and Americans. As for the Asian Americans or pacific Islanders, American Indians and the natives of Alaska, the concept to them was a second only to cancer. However, statistics has proved that a person gets heart attack every 34 seconds and in every 60 seconds, someone dies out of it which include other related event. Additionally, majority of the women are the
"Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health." Public Health Reports. July/August 1998: 372 EBSCOhost. Available <http://www.epnet.com/ehost/login.html>. (11 February 1999)
In this paper, I examine the ways in which living in poverty negatively impacts the health of African-Americans, based on the ethnographic family history and study of health care policy recounted by Laurie Kaye Abraham in Mama Might Be Better Off Dead: The Failure of Health Care in Urban America. I will focus first on the barriers that poverty creates to health care on a structural and personal level. I will then discuss how the unique stresses of poverty construct specific behavioral and emotional patterns which reinforce systemic problems to exacerbate poor health outcomes.
Over the last few years, I shadowed a Primary Care Adult Nurse Practitioner whose office is located in the underserved urban area of Irvington, NJ. She also takes care of patients from the surrounding areas of Irvington, Newark, and East Orange, all of which have very large underserved populations including African Americans, Latinos, and patients from the Middle East. During my clinical shadowing, I gained a appreciation for the complexity of treating long term chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, HIV, and hypertension. In many cases these conditions were exacerbated due to poor nutrition, non-compliance, and lack of education about healthy lifestyle choices. I gained a keen understanding of the importance of patient education and the ability to connect patients with community services to help them with their economic and social challenges.
Since 1960 the age-adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined steadily in the U.S. due to multiple factors, but still remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Greater control of risk factors and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease has significantly contributed to this decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the U.S. alone it claims approximately 830,000 each year and accounts for 1/6 of all deaths under the age of 65 (Weiss and Lonnquist, 2011). Based on the 2007 mortality rate data an average of 1 death every 37 seconds is due to cardiovascular disease (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Controlling and reducing risk factors is crucial for saving lives. There are a number of contributing risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which may appear in the form of hereditary, behavioral, and psychological, all of which ultimately converge in social or cultural factors.
...smoking, high cholesterol diet, age, gender, sedentary lifestyle, contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy. Nurses can fill significant treatment gaps in the risk factor management of patient with coronary heart disease. “Cardiac rehabilitation programs including nursing education exert a beneficial effect on patients’ quality of life, exercise capacity, lipid profile, body mass index, body weight, blood pressure, resting heart rate, survival rate, mortality rate and decreased myocardial infarction risk factors.” ( Health Science Journal, 2012). Healthcare professionals should discuss with the patients therapeutic lifestyle changes, emphasizing the role of diet in heart disease. Nurses should provide information and teaching about medications to lower cholesterol levels and also discuss the relationship between diabetes, hypertension and CAD.
Just as breast cancer is killing our African American women, heart disease is also one of the major diseases killing our women. Heart disease is one of the nation’s leading causes of death in both woman and men. About 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States (Americas heart disease burden, 2013). Some facts about heart disease are every year about 935,000 Americans have a heart attack. Of these, 610,000 are a first heart attack victim. 325,000 happen in people who have already had a heart attack. Also coronary heart disease alone costs the United States $108.9 billion each year. This total includes the cost of health care services, medications, and loss of productivity. Deaths of heart disease in the United States back in 2008 killed about 24.5% of African Americans.
James, D. C. S. (2013). Weight loss strategies used by African American women: possible implications for tailored messages. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 26, 71-77.
Mensah, G. A., Mokdad, A. H., Ford, E. S., Greenlund, K. J., & Croft, J. B. (2005, January 24). State of Disparities in Cardiovascular Health in the United States. Circulation. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/111/10/1233.short
(Slide 2) What is Cardiomyopathy? If we break down the word we can see “Cardio” which means of the heart, “myo” which means muscle, and “pathy” which means disease, therefore cardiomyopathies are diseases of the heart muscle. (Slide 3) There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathies; hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive. I will only be discussing dilated cardiomyopathy, which is characterized by the enlargement of the hearts chambers with impaired systolic function. It is estimated that as many as 1 of 500 adults may have this condition. Dilated cardiomyopathy is more common in blacks than in whites and in males than in females. It is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in children and it can occur at any age (CDC).
...yst in the effort to eliminate health disparities and thus improve long term outcomes for the African-American culture.
Oxygen was first admitted to the client with chest pain over 100 years ago (Metcalfe, 2011). Chest pain is a large bracket that can contain many different conditions, but for the purpose of this analysis it is focused manly upon a myocardial infarction. A myocardial infarction is mainly referred to as a heart attack, and occurs when one or more coronary arteries leading to the heart reduce or completely stop blood flow (Tuipulotu, 2013 ). Administering high concentrations of oxygen to patients with chest pain is now embedded in guidelines, protocols and care pathways, even with a lack of clear supporting evidence (Nicholson, 2004 ). High concentration of oxygen means that up to 60% is administered (Knott, 2012). More recent research has suggested that the use of oxygen in this scenario is unnecessary and can lead to unwanted side effects, especially in normoxic cardiac patients (Moradkham & Sinoway, 2010 ). The aim of this comparative analysis is to dismantle and understand both the benefits and risks of the commonly known practice of administration of oxygen to the client with chest pain. Through completing this analysis using recent and appropriate evidence a more improved practice can be given and understood.
Coronary artery disease develops when your coronary arteries the major blood vessels that supply your heart with blood, oxygen and nutrients become damaged or diseased. Cholesterol containing deposits or plaque on your arteries are usually to blame for coronary artery disease. When plaques build up, they narrow your coronary arteries, causing your heart to receive less blood. Eventually, the decreased blood flow may cause chest pain, shortness of breath, or other coronary artery disease signs and symptoms. A complete blockage can cause a heart attack.