Case Study

Question # 01

Coronary Artery Disease and Risk factors

The term "cardiovascular disease" brings together many different diseases: atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, hypertension, rheumatic fever, myocarditis, etc. There is no doubt that Coronary Artery Disease or Atherosclerosis is in the first place in this list. Mr. David is a smoker and hypertensive patient. His cholesterol level is also high. These all are the risk factors for the Coronary Artery Disease or Artherosclerosis. The studies and researches show reveal that atherosclerosis is associated with considerable difficulties. They are especially great for the clinician, as the diagnostic criteria of atherosclerosis are very relative. In fact, doctors recognize atherosclerosis from the moment when they found severe cardiac or cerebral manifestations, although it is clear that the process originated and developed much earlier in patients with these clinical disorders.

As you are the active citizen and well educated so you should know the stats of your condition and its prevalence so that you could be able to understand the severity of your condition and can take initiatives to prevent from such type of health issue. In the United States, the absolute mortality from all cardiovascular diseases in 1978 was 962,000 people (Kavey et al.). Every year, the deaths from coronary heart disease are about 650,000 persons. Chronic forms of the latter affects about 3900 people. At the same time, many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, atherosclerosis occurs much less frequently. Thus, in different parts of India, mortality from coronary heart disease is 20-135 cases per 100,000 people. In 70 years, mortality from this disease in countries such as Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala was 20 times lower, and in Brazil, Argentina - three times lower than in the United States.

Around every five out of ten Americans suffer from cardiovascular diseases. In the previous few decades, the rate of the cardiovascular diseases has decreased in both men and women as they give up the intake of tobacco and increased the standard of their nutritional habits. However, this rate became stable in the present years, most probable because of the dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. The most leading cardiovascular disease among the Americans is the Atherosclerosis (Kavey et al.). Atherosclerotic is the most important cause of mortality among the people of the United States. The scientists and researchers found that most of the heart diseases are can be prevented by quitting smoking and improving the nutritional habits. This fact led to the formation of the American Heart Association's initial “Guide to the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease” in 1996 and the revised edition in 2002.

According to epidemiological studies, it is extremely rare in atherosclerosis in the Negro population in many African countries. At the same time, the South African Negro mortality from coronary heart disease has reached 30% of the total mortality.

It drew the attention of the American scientists, around 130,000 Maasai African tribe members, who are pastoralists and leading a nomadic life. Special morphological studies revealed no atherosclerosis, even in those who died at the ...