CVD

Question 1

What does cardiovascular disease (CVD) refer to?

Answer 1

All diseases of the circulatory system (heart and blood vessels)

Includes coronary heart disease, stroke, myocardial arrhythmia, and heart failure.

Question 2

List some risk factors of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Answer 2

• Smoking
• Poor diet
• Insufficient physical activity
• Alcohol consumption

These are lifestyle-related factors contributing to CVD.

Question 3

What are some biomedical risk factors for CVD?

Answer 3

• High blood pressure
• Abnormal blood lipids
• Diabetes
• Overweight and obesity

These factors are often measurable and related to physiological conditions.

Question 4

Who are the groups at risk?

Answer 4

ATSI people have 2.6 times as many heart attacks as other Australians over 25 and are 1.7 times as likely to have a stroke.

People with low socioeconomic status have a 40% higher death rate from cardiovascular disease and higher rates of stroke.

Rural and remote people have a higher burden of stroke compared with people in major cities.

The elderly, who represent 15% of those who have coronary heart disease and account for 70% of people who have had a stroke.

Smokers have much higher rates of cardiovascular diseases, and
Men have more cardiovascular disease than their female counterparts.

Question 5

What are the sociocultural determinants for CVD?

Answer 5

Peers: Influence bad behaviour such as smoking or bad diet

Family: Influences diets with high saturated fat and sugar

Genitics

Question 6

What are the socioeconomic determinants for CVD?

Answer 6

Education: People who are more educated are more likely to make choices that benefit their health

Income: . Lower income levels result in fewer health-related choices as many incur cost to the individual, such as joining a gym, or buying lean meats rather than regular meat.

Employment: blue-collar employment, such as trades and labour. This is often linked with other lifestyle choices often associated with these forms of employment such as higher rates of smoking and drinking as well as higher saturated fat diets

Question 7

The environmental determinants?

Answer 7

geographical location, and access to health services and technology.

Question 8

Protective factors of CVD?

Answer 8

regular physical activity, regular health checks, and eating a balanced diet low in saturated fats.

Question 9

Extent of the problems?

Answer 9

1 in 5 Australian’s suffers from a Cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases are the second leading causes of death in Australia (after cancers), but coronary heart disease is still the leading single cause of death with cerebrovascular disease coming in second. Cardiovascular diseases account for the second largest burden of disease, with both coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease in the top five.