The Risks for Coronary Heart Disease
Cardiovascular disease or disease of the heart is the one of the leading causes of death in the United States. There were about 946,000 deaths caused by these diseases by the entry of the second millennium and 39 percent of these deaths are in the United States. Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) or also known as the Coronary Artery Disease is one of these. It entails the narrowing of the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart. Studies have shown that despite the spiking number of deaths that it has caused, this disease can be actually prevented (Nabel, 2003).
There are many ways to prevent Coronary Heart Disease and most of them involve knowing the risks factors or the objects or activities that increase the possibility of acquisition or in some cases activation of the disease (Nable, 2003). Unfortunately, one of the risk factors of CHD is genetics. There are studies which showed that the disease is highly hereditary. LDL or Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a lipoprotein in the plasma that is a major cause of many heart diseases. Families whose genes make them hypercholesterolemia have a lower capacity to receive and LDL and in such condition they are very much prone to CHD even without being exposed to other risk factors. As long as their bodies are defective in producing sufficient LDL receptors, there is a small chance that these individuals will not develop CHD (Nabel, 2003).
Other than genetic make-up or the hereditary risk factors, there is what may be called as “outside” factors that increase the possibility of developing CHD. People’s vices, like smoking has long been proven to cause or increase the risk of triggering heart diseases including Coronary Artery Disease. Each year there are approximately 100,000 deaths from CHD that was triggered and aggravated by active smoking. There were even studies which showed that not only the active smokers are at risk for CHD when they smoke but also the passive smokers that are exposed to the polluted air that they inhale. A study by Allen et. al. (1999) has discovered by using eight cohort studies done in America as reference that passive cigarette smoking is a relative risk of CHD even by a small increase. This shows that despite non-smoking habits, individuals exposed or who work and live with people who smoke are also at risk for CHD. However, it also indicated that prolonged exposure to the smoke and only passive smokers who have poor diets and lifestyles may be affected by this small increased risk. As such, people are advised, including children to have a healthy diet and exercise regularly because of the fact that inhaling tobacco smoke from the air is inevitable.
This result points to another risk that may increase the possibility of developing Coronary Heart Disease. Diet and lifestyle have also been found to affect the risk of developing or triggering of CHD in some individuals. A study by Colditz, et. al. (2000) with women subjects have proven that women who have good diet and exercise, do not smoke and without any hormonal imbalance have a very low risk of developing CHD. This clearly shows that lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and exercise, non-smoking, as well as continuous intake of hormone supplements throughout the menopausal stages can lower the risk of acquiring CHD, while living otherwise may hasten its development as well as death.
Relative to lifestyle and exercise for women, it has been discovered that walking or brisk walking and other vigorous exercises are connected to lowering the risks of CHD. In a study were women were checked before undergoing monitored physical activity and diagnosed as lacking any cardiovascular disease, it has been found out eight years later that there had been incidents of death by CHD only among women with lower physical activity. On the other hand, there had been a decreased risk for those who were more active and exercising regularly. This further proves that lack of exercise or sedentary lifestyle may greatly lead to the development of CHD. As such, since sedentary lifestyle also leads to obesity, this points to another risk of CHD (Colditz et. al., 1999).
Obesity or the disproportionate body mass has been considered as a worldwide epidemic especially to children. This problem has also been known to be progressing at an alarming rate. It is alarming as studies being done have shown that it greatly puts people including children at risk for Coronary Heart Disease. Comparative investigation of records of the weight of a sample during their seventh to thirteenth year of age and the record of diagnosis for CHD on their adulthood have shown that those with body mass index that are disproportional to their heights have developed CHD while some have already died from it (Baker et. al., 2007).
This study presents that obesity both in childhood and adulthood increases the risk for the development of Coronary Heart Disease. It also shows that physical status during childhood may affect the physical status during adulthood. In addition, the study is indicative that children have been allowed to become overweight. Their weight should be regularly monitored as well their height in order to distinguish whether they are proportional with each other (Baker, et. al., 2007).
It may now be said that there are indeed a number of risk factors that may hasten the development of Coronary Heart Disease in an individual. The risk may be naturally born with the person or what may be considered as one running in the family. It may be genetic regardless of the lifestyle that the person leads or it may be relative to the lifestyle of the person regardless of the genetic make-up. It may be due to sedentary lifestyle, or obesity that results from it. It may also be from vices like smoking of the individual involved or the persons surrounding the persons involved. Or it may be due to unhealthy eating.
Closely observed, it may be noticed that these risk factors are related to each other except for the hereditary factor of the disease. As such, it may be said that the Coronary Heart Disease is a disease that people acquire because of the changing times. Because of the continuous modernization that calls for modifications in lifestyle, diet, and activity of people, an ailment called Coronary Heart Disease has developed and is killing people in most industrialized countries of the world. It is thus a disease whose only cure may be to deviate from the call of the times and live a healthier and more active life.
References
Allen, K. MPH. et al. (1999). Passive Smoking and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease- A Meta Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies. The New England Journal of Medicine. 340, 920-926.
Baker, J.L. PhD., Olsen, L.W. PhD. Sorensen, T.I.A. MD. (2007). Childhood Body-Mass Index and the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Adulthood. The New England Journal Of Medicine. 357. 2329-2337.
Colditz, G.A MD. et al (2000). Trends in the Incidence of Coronary Heart Disease and Changes in Diet and Lifestyle in Women. The New England Journal of Medicine. 343. 530-537.
Colditz, G.A. MD. et al (1999). A Prospective Study of Walking As Compared With Vigorous Exercise In The Prevention Of Coronary Heart Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine. 341, 650-658.
Nabel, E.G. (2003). Cardiovascular Disease. The New England Journal of Medicine. 349, 60-72.