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heart disease
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What is The Health Problem? Heart disease is a large health problem affecting the United States today. It is the leading cause of death of American’s today. It is the number one killer of both men and women in the US. Each year more than 500,000 people die of heart attacks caused by chronic heart failure. Half of all patients diagnosed with heart failure will die within 5 years. It is estimated that 4.9 million American’s have and will suffer heart failure. It was once believed that heart disease only affected older men between the ages of 50 – 70 but, the number of sudden deaths affecting people between the ages of 15 – 34 has increased. It is no longer a disease that men suffer because a large growing number of women are suffering through heart disease. (Basile, MD 2003) What is Heart Disease? Heart disease happens when your arteries become narrowed through the process, called Arteriosclerosis. When this happens the blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle is restricted. The lack of blood and oxygen is caused by fatty plaques, which is a porridge-like sludge made up of fatty deposits of cholesterol, cell waste and other substances that accumulates along the walls of the coronary arteries. These form raised patches narrow the arteries, reducing the space through which blood can flow, and at the same time the blood becomes more prone to clotting. Over time, the heart muscles are starved of oxygen and nutrients carried by the blood and it begins to weaken and parts of it may even die. This process begins in most people during childhood, and progresses as we get older. Heart failure is when the heart loses the ability to pump enough blood through the body.
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