Population and the Environment - (Coronary Heart disease - Non communicable disease ❤️🩹) Flashcards
What is CHD?
The build up of fatty substances in the arteries meaning the heart doesn’t get enough blood. It is one of the world’s biggest killers.
What percent of deaths world wide did CHD cause in 2015?
15.5%.
What are the biggest factors causing CHD?
Socio-economic.
Aging.
Lifestyle - risk if higher for those who are overweight, don’t exercise, consume too much alcohol, have a diet too high in unsaturated fats or salt and smoke.
Give an example of how risk of CHD is increasing due to physical factors?
Increased air pollution levels.
Where is CHD most common?
Wealthier countries such as the USA and UK.
Why are cases of CHD falling in HICs?
Improvements in diagnosing people at risk of CHD, effective treatments and awareness campaigns.
Where are cases of CHD increasing?
Developing countries and emerging economies such as sub-Saharan Africa and India as their wealth increases.
Death rates are still high in many less developed countries because of poor health care and limited education.
What are the symptoms of CHD?
Chest pain, shortness of breath and sweating.
Can lead to heart attacks permanently damaging the heart. May leave people feeling fatigued and unable to perform physical activities.
How can CHD affect people’s wellbeing?
Make people anxious or depressed, putting strain on relationships.
May have to take medication for the rest of their lives or visit the doctor frequently for check ups.
May have to take time off work or reduce hours. This has a financial cost and can put stress on families.
Treatment can be a large economic burden on the country as a whole. This may mean there is less money available for other things that may improve people’s wellbeing. e.g. education.
What ways can individuals manage CHD?
Lifestyle changes - People are encouraged to eat a healthy diet that is low in saturated fat, exercise regularly and stop smoking. This reduces the risk of further CHD and makes other forms of treatment more effective.
Drugs or surgery - people can take drugs to reduce cholesterol or blood pressure or have an operation such as blood bypass or replacement. However, drugs can have serios side effects such as kidney failure and liver damage. Heart surgery is a major operation with a risk of blood clots and infection.
What are the national strategies to combat CHD?
Help quitting smoking such as the NHS stop smoking service. Having people help makes people more likely to give it up successfully but only a small percentage of people decide to quit smoking with campaigns like this.
Taxing foods high in fat, sugar and salt to discourage people from buying them. and promote healthier diets such as there is a tax on soft drinks in France. However people quickly get used to paying higher prices.
Providing healthy school meals for children for example there is a UK scheme to provide free fruit to primary school children. This improves children’s diet in the short term, but many children go back to their usual diets once they are no longer eligible for the scheme.
