The Advantages And Disadvantages Of Treatments Of Heart Disease
Every year in the United Kingdom 270,000 people suffer heart attacks;
along with this 2.1 million people suffer angina and other classic
symptoms of heart disease (source 6). In this piece I am going to
discus and in some cases challenge the modern technological,
pharmaceutical and ethical issues related to heart disease.
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The overwhelming cause of heart disease is atherosclerosis: the build
up of lipid plaques (atheromas) in the coronary arteries; this in turn
causes arteriosclerosis which is a thickening and hardening of the
arteries and a decrease in elasticity (saurce1). Plaques have a
protruding rough surface and so platelets stick to them and rupture.
They then release growth hormones that cause the plaque to increase in
size or release clotting factors that also cause the blockage to
increase in size. Once this reaches a limit ischaemia sets in. This
condition, in this instance, is the lack of O2, glucose and amino
acids and reduced removal of H+ lactate and K+ ions to the
mycrocardium; this decrease in pH produces a pain known as angina. If
this lasts for an hour or more, the area may be permanently damaged
(source 4). Death of heart muscle is known as myocardial infraction or
more commonly, a heart attack. During ischaemia an arrhythmia called
ventricular fibrillation can occur (source 1 & 4). This results in
uncoordinated, weak contractions, a drop in blood pressure and sudden
death if untreated. Other types of heart disease include; congenital
heart disease: abnormalities that are present at birth,
cardiomyopathy: affects manly heart muscle rather than the arteries,
valular heart disease: abnormalities of the four valves that control
blood flow in the heart (Source 2).
There are many factors that may contribute to some people having a
higher chance of contracting heart disease compared to others; one
reason for this is hereditary. Some people have a genetic
predisposition, though unfortunate this is not uncommon, children
inherit high LDL (low-density lipoproteins) cholesterol levels from
their parents or even a lack of receptors which detect and remove LDL,
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Hypercholesterolemia is the presence of high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Cholesterol is a waxy fat-like substance and is a major class of lipid, so it gets into the blood by lipoproteins [1]. A high level of lipoproteins is unhealthy. A high level can result in an elevated risk of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease [2]. The high levels of lipoproteins are often influenced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as obesity or dieting habits [2]. High cholesterol can be caused by mutations in the following genes: APOB, LDLR, LDLRAP1, and PCSK9 [3]. Mutations in the LDLR gene are responsible for causing familial hypercholesterolemia, which is the most commonly seen form of inherited high cholesterol [3]. The LDLR gene contains instructions for making LDL receptors or low-density lipoprotein receptors. LDL receptors play critical roles in regulating levels of cholesterol in the blood by removing low-density lipoproteins from the bloodstream. Mutations in the LDLR gene can make the amount of LDL receptors produced less than normal or affect their job of removing the low-density lipoproteins in the blood [4]. People who have these mutations will have higher levels of cholesterol. There are many ways that the environment can affect the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Reducing the amount of dietary fat you consume lowers the total amount of cholesterol in the blood [5]. Sucrose and fructose can raise the amount of LDL in the blood. Reducing fatty foods will however lower the amount of LDL [5]. Having a healthy body and maintaining physical exercise plays a key role in keeping your cholesterol at a healthy level. If you are overweight or obese you can lower your cholesterol levels by simply losing ...
Vicki is a 42 year-old African American woman who was recently diagnosed with hypertension. Hypertension, also know as high blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against the arteries as it flows through them. Arteries are the blood vessels that carry the oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body’s tissues.
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One of the leading causes of death in the United States is heart disease. “Approximately every 29 seconds one American will have a heart attack, and once a minute one American will die from a heart attack” (Ford-Martin and Odle, 915). According to the Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 55 are considered at risk for heart disease. Heart disease is a major cause of death. It is beneficial to individuals who seek to prevent heart disease to recognize the risks leading to heart attacks as they are one of the primary indications of developing heart disease; especially those that fall into the at risk age groups. These risks consist of some that cannot be changed such as heredity risks, or those that can change such as smoking habits. It is very important to know these specific risks for prevention and to understand the symptoms of heart attacks, such as sweating or the feeling of weakness so if these or other symptoms occur people are aware. Finally heart disease treatment is of vital importance if you experience a heart attack so you can learn how to prevent another one from occurring.
According to Singh & Chaturvedi (2015), with Western medicine (also known as modern medicine) being very reactive in nature, CAM tries to be proactive and help with not only the quantity of life, but also the quality of life. Using both of these types of medicine has become a growing trend when looking at present day health care. The popularity of both has been looked at and today there are many insurances that do cover popular CAM therapies in their health policies that were not covered before. This push towards CAM has been seen in the trends of insurances coverage and also physicians referring their patients to use CAM instead of Western
In today’s society we all try to prolong life as long as possible. Technology is finding new ways that we can stay healthier and lead productive lives longer. Governor Lamm said “we should be careful in terms of our technological miracles that we don’t impose life on people who, in fact, are suffering beyond our ability to help”(Collins,1991,p.540). That is the real issue at hand; are we in fact over stepping our boundaries by keeping people alive who are maybe beyond our help. “Machines can extend the length but not always the quality of life” (Cloud,2000,p.62). As doctors, they need to think about the well being of the patient and if any methods could really help the situation.
Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, heart rhythm problems, and heart defects. The major cause of this is a build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries. Plaque build-up thickens and stiffens the vessel walls, which can inhibit blood flow through the arteries to organs and tissues.
The Omega-3's are widely recognized for their role in heart health. Not only do these fatty acids help healthy hearts, they also benefit those with cardiovascular disease. Research has proved atherosclerotic plaque reduces with consistent consumption of omega-3's. Further, incidences of irregular heartbeats decline with these fatty acids; high blood pressure has been known to slightly drops as well.
Currently Americans are at a high risk for heart disease. The Center for Disease Control assess that about 49% of Americans have at least one of these three factors attributing to heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). There are also other medical conditions and lifestyle choices that can increase the risk for heart disease such as: diabetes, obesity, excessive alcohol use and physical inactivity. In my opinion, the chronic condition which will have the most impact on the future of our aging baby boomers would be heart disease. I believe this chronic disease holds a strong impact due to the high amount of baby boomers which have this condition, the media’s depiction of how heart disease can affect older adults, as well as family members who have had heart disease when they became older adults. This paper will include my thoughts on heart disease through the lens of demographics, family, social and financial impact, public health network function, and prevention program availability.
Conventional medicine is when healthcare professionals treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery. Conventional medications are the typical drugs that general doctor would prescribe during a visit. If a person goes to a doctor because their throat hurts the doctor is going to check for strep throat. If the patient has strep throat, then the doctor is going to prescribe them a drug to take for seven to ten days and then they will be cured. That is not always what happens when someone gets sick, people can get the same sickness multiple times and go through different medicines every time. That is because the medicine is doing the work and not the person. If a person keeps getting the flu or a cold, the medicine could be helping,