Blog Post Module 12: Reflection Prompt

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Heart disease is common in the United States and is the leading cause of death for men and women. It has been found that it affects most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. In America, an individual dies every thirty-six seconds from heart disease making it 1 out of every 4 deaths is cardiovascular-related. There are different types of the disease that can range from coronary artery disease to heart attacks. 

Today's western culture has catered towards the increase in heart disease. Lifestyle choices and diet have increased heart disease immensely. There have been changes in the environment that promote unhealthy living. A sedentary lifestyle paired with a fatty sodium-rich diet is a recipe for disaster. Different contributing factors like exercise, diet, smoking, stress levels, and lack of medical care sought have led to problems. Obesity is the major problem and it causes strain on the arteries and clogs can happen to lead to heart disease. In addition, with type 2 diabetes on the rise, heart disease climbs with that number.

The number will continue to increase if changes are not made. The declining exercise rates and more sedentary lives are creating issues for all kinds of diseases. Once Americans became stiller and continued to eat an excessive amount of calories, a large increase occurred. In addition, stress is growing more and more, the stress of our bodies also affects our choice and they can become poor leading to issues. Our society has simplified diet options and encouraged fast quick eating and often these choices are unhealthy. But we are convinced we do not have time to cook or waste on food, so simple quick options are best for a busy lifestyle. 

Heart disease continues to grow and affect ourselves or our loved ones. Our poor lifestyle choices promote the disease and ensure that it sticks around. The growing rates of obesity also influence the issues presented. With more education involving the issues and different lifestyle choices, one could make life-changing decisions and avoid the disease. 



Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

https://portneufmedicalgroup.org/why-heart-disease-leading-cause-death-america

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-is-heart-disease-on-the-rise#Beating-a-preventable-disease

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-are-heart-attacks-on-the-rise-in-young-people/



Comments

  1. Evolution: Haley JonesNovember 15, 2021 at 1:31 PM

    In so many modern diseases lifestyle has such a major impact. This is why more prevalent access to preventative care could make a huge difference in the impact of these diseases on our society. It is really sad to see that 1 in 4 deaths are cardiovascular related but it would be interesting to also know what the mean age of death is for cardiovascular issues and see if that is leading to premature death in a large portion of the population.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haley BurnsNovember 16, 2021 at 9:42 AM

    I talked about Obesity and how it relates to Heart disease. I believe health education would have such a major impact to the community. Lifestyle changes need to be made I agree but we also need access to affordable healthy food for everyone. Your blog looks great! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peyton KavanaghNovember 16, 2021 at 2:16 PM

    Madison,

    Heart disease is definitely something that I see the impacts of in America, and completely agree with how this is categorized as a "disease of civilization". I like how you included data about exercise and stress and how it really incorporates into the factors of this disease. I absolutely agree with your point that we need education on this topic, and I think it needs to be very intentional education, because there is a lot of work that needs to be done! The graph that you included was a really good addition to everything that you mentioned as well.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jenna ThompsonNovember 17, 2021 at 8:36 AM

    I think it's great that you chose to discuss such a pressing disease in our country right now! I do think it's worth mentioning how so many of these risk factors and co-morbidities contributing to heart disease come from a lack of access to healthcare and just general healthcare inequities in our country. Food deserts (where only dollar stores/processed food is available) are also another huge contributing factor to this uptick in heart disease and the other co-morbidities.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lauren LeikerNovember 17, 2021 at 12:18 PM

    Hi Madison! I personally didn't know how many people die from heart disease every 30 seconds, that is insane. I completely agree with you that changes need to be made within our society. I believe as a society we do need to promote better eating habits and show people how damaging fast food places can do to our bodies. Overall, great work!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kate ONovember 18, 2021 at 1:00 PM

    Madison,
    I like how you bring up that lifestyle choices are so influential on the potential for someone to develop heart disease. Our culture here in America definitely does influence this trend. Easy to access fast food, lower prices of these fast food places or the less healthy options at the grocery store all increase these sad trend. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Emmary's Blog: EvolutionDecember 3, 2021 at 11:18 AM

    Wow, someone dies every 36 seconds from heart disease? That's a big number! You did a good job demonstrating on how important lifestyle plays into this disease. As we all know, society today is much less active than it has been before. It makes me wonder what the leading cause of death was before we changed our lifestyles. I also enjoy the graph that you provided. It gives us a great picture of how many people are affected by this disease and what areas are hit harder. Do you have any idea on why the rates are so much higher in the south?

    ReplyDelete

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