An Avoidable American Epidemic

In the year 2005, heart disease affected 80.7 million people in America. According to the American Heart Association, one out of every 2.8 deaths in the United States is a direct result of heart disease. This makes heart disease the leading cause of death in America. These results are staggering to say the least. Heart disease not only affects the elderly but it affects all age groups and all races. It does not discriminate. However, one can avoid the devastating effects this disease can cause. A person's risk of developing heart disease can be reduced by modifying four major risk factors: high total blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking.

Hypercholesterolemia, otherwise known as high total blood cholesterol, is a modifiable risk factor for heart disease. Cholesterol is a soft, waxy, fat particle that circulates in the blood. It is produced naturally in the liver and many foods either contain it or contain substances that the liver can use to make cholesterol. Cholesterol is necessary for the body to function; however, there is a negative effect that it can produce. This negative effect is the formation of plaque deposits along the inside of the blood vessels creating blockages. These blockages cause blood flow to be altered and there is a risk that the blood vessel will become completely blocked resulting in no blood being delivered to a certain area. This leads to cell death in that particular area. If an artery around the heart becomes totally blocked, it results in the person having a heart attack. Risk factors include: smoking, high fat diet, heredity, obesity, lack of exercise, stress and disease processes.

Hypertension, also know as high blood pressure, is another modifiable risk factor in the battle against heart disease. “Blood pressure is the force of blood in the arteries” (Cardiologychannel). The higher the blood pressure the higher the risk for heart disease caused by damage to the arteries from the increased pressure in them. Of those diagnosed with high blood pressure, ninety percent have no known cause. The other ten percent have secondary causes such as disease, smoking, high salt diet, obesity, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, stress, disease and illicit drug use. Although the cause is unknown in that ninety percent of the population, modifying the secondary causes may help lower blood pressure.

Diabetes is also a modifiable risk factor. Diabetes is a disease in which the body cannot utilize glucose. “Glucose is the most important carbohydrate in body metabolism” (“Glucose”). Glucose is used in all cells of the body and is vital for survival. A high blood glucose level decreases the amount of oxygen being delivered to the heart, increases the mass of the heart’s ventricles and affects aortic function. Over time, increased blood glucose levels can lead to an increase in fatty deposits on the inside of blood vessel walls, thereby affecting blood flow to the heart. Seventy-five to eighty percent of diabetic adult people die from blood vessel complications. Diabetic people get heart disease about eight years earlier than non-diabetic people and lose about eight years from their lifespan. Risk factors for diabetes are as follows: high carbohydrate diet, heredity, obesity, lack of exercise and disease.

Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death from heart disease. It reduces circulation of blood and narrows blood vessels which leads to a decrease of blood, oxygen and nutrients being supplied to the heart. “Non-smokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke are twenty-five percent more likely to develop heart disease” (Cardiologychannel). If a person quits smoking, their risk for heart disease becomes half that of a smoker in one year. The risk of a heart attack drops as soon as two weeks after the last cigarette is smoked. Also, the risk for developing heart disease is equal to that of a non-smoker after fifteen years of quitting smoking. Essentially, the only risk factor for smoking is smoking itself.

There are several ways to lower the risk for developing