A Comprehensive Review of Heart Disease

Farah Nishat

According to the ​American Heart Association​, Kevin Short is an active and healthy

individual. He is 59 years old and diligently exercises, even completing a nine-mile hike in the

Grand Canyon. However, on May 11, 2011, Mr. Short was at the gym doing his routine work

out. After he finished his workout, he felt a sharp pain in his chest but brushed it off as just

“pulling a muscle.” He then proceeded to drive home, and as time pressed on, his pain and sweat

increased. His wife then decided to drive him to the hospital where they gave Mr. Short

medication and did an electrocardiogram (EKG.) The physicians at the hospital informed Mr.

Short that he was having a heart attack, and then proceeded to rush him to a hospital

better-equipped for treatment. At this hospital, he was rushed to the cardiac catheterization lab,

and the physicians discovered that his left anterior descending artery was 99% blocked. A stent

was placed, but there was already irreparable harm done to his heart. It took years for Mr. Short

to be able to walk long distances and his full capabilities have not been met. According to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention​, heart disease is the leading cause of death for both

men and women in the United States. This represents an overarching problem that individuals in

the United States, and the world, are facing. There are many lifestyle choices and factors that

increase the chances of contracting heart disease and many solutions to this ongoing problem.

Firstly, what lifestyle choices can affect an individual’s chances of contracting heart

disease? ​The Mayo Clinic​ states that smoking and the use of tobacco are harmful to the
functioning of the heart, and they increase one’s chance of contracting heart disease. This is

because cigarette smoke reduces the oxygen in one’s blood, which makes the heart work harder.

This increased strain on the heart over extended periods of time can buildup to have a disastrous

effect on one’s health. This strain can weaken the heart, which increases an individual’s

susceptibility to heart disease. Furthermore, physical activity and exercise can significantly

benefit the health of the heart. The more active an individual is, the less likely it becomes that

they will contract a form of heart disease. While also maintaining a consistent schedule of

working out, it is important to maintain a healthy diet. Eating foods with low fat, whole grains,

and foods such as vegetables and fruits are recommended by physicians. Low salt and sugar

intake are beneficial as well, which is why the Mediterranean diet is important because it

incorporates all of these elements. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle of exercise and diet, one

can prevent future damage done to their heart and control their weight. The body mass index

(BMI) scale takes height and weight into consideration to determine a healthy, sustainable

weight for each specific individual. This effectively makes sure that an individual is keeping

track of their health, and is doing enough preventative measures in order to not have

complications in the future. Additionally, individual environmental factors play a major role in

the risk to contract heart disease. This includes an individual’s sleep schedule and stress levels. It

is very important for both adolescents and adults to get adequate sleep, at least seven hours, each

night, and to utilize proper stress coping mechanisms. As the ​Ochsner Journal​ in 2014 expands,

in regards to specifically coronary heart disease, there are certain risk factors for heart disease

that the general population perceives as “uncontrollable.” This includes hypertension,

hypercholesterolemia, and left ventricular hypertrophy, which were initially thought to be the
only major causes of heart disease. This public perception allowed for the public to remain

complacent with their health choices because they felt as if individual choices had no effect.

However, as research continued, additional risk factors of diabetes, smoking, obesity, and

excessive salt intake were discovered. Unfortunately, this discovery had a negative backlash

from the general public because it required people to remain health-conscious and implement

major changes in certain aspects of their lives.

Next, how do these factors influence and affect the heart? Personal lifestyle choices and

external environmental factors can all lead to an individual contracting high blood pressure, high

cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity. These factors have a direct influence on whether or not an

individual will end up with heart disease. In sum, the chain of events starts with someone

deciding to develop a habit that is a detriment to their health. This then leads to comorbidity,

which is the presence of one or more additional conditions occurring simultaneously with a

primary condition. Examples of comorbidity with the primary condition of heart disease include

the factors listed above, like blood pressure, cholesterol levels, diabetes two, and obesity. These

additional conditions increase the likelihood of heart disease because they weaken the heart.

When an individual is experiencing these factors, the heart has more stress and has to work

harder to maintain homeostasis, or balance, in the body. If the heart is put at strain, there is a

higher chance of getting heart disease and a heart attack. Stress and strain on the heart are a few

of the main reasons middle-aged individuals experience heart attacks so young. Keeping stress

and comorbidities in check will help an individual to live a long and healthy life.
 There are a few solutions that individuals themselves can do to combat the rising

epidemic of heart disease. The most obvious one is implementing a healthy diet and consistent

exercise to one’s daily routine. By changing an individual’s habits, we can see a direct positive

correlation to one’s overall health, and more specifically, their heart health. Unfortunately, one

of the main causes of an unhealthy diet, especially in the United States, is the prevalence and

transition of fast-food restaurants to increase portion sizes, sodium content, and falsely advertise

items as “healthy.” More and more Americans decide to eat out because of its convenience, and

the food that they are consuming is having lasting negative effects on their overall health. As the

Journal of the American College of Cardiology​ explains in 2015, society as a whole is shifting to

an agricultural system that has a lot of middlemen between the farm and the table. This

encourages companies to make processed foods because it is cost-effective. Unfortunately,

processed foods have a strong and direct correlation to cardiovascular disease. General society is

shifting towards a diet that centers around deleterious foods, such as red meats, white bread,

excess sodium, and added sugars. This dietary preference that is growing in popularity is

encouraging obesity, type two diabetes, and other conditions that can negatively affect the heart.

Although there are many actions that one can take to prevent heart disease, it is ultimately

the obligation of the physician to effectively treat this disease when needed. ​The Emergency

Medicine Journal​ wrote an article in 2001 that highlighted a prevalent problem in the emergency

departments of American hospitals. The study in this article showed the series of steps that occur

when a patient enters the emergency room of a hospital with complaints of chest pains. Many

methods in the status quo that are used to see if an individual is having a heart attack are either
too expensive or they do not fit in the twelve-hour time frame that is optimal for the survival of

the patient. Presently, there is no perfect test, but there is a combination of procedures that can

test for the number of enzymes in someone’s body, which tells the physicians if a patient is

having a heart attack or not. The process of having multiple tests is inefficient and leaves room

for error. There are some instances when a patient does not have the obvious signs of a heart

attack and is wrongfully discharged. This has lead to the development of chest pain assessment

units, (CPAUs) which determine what risk level a patient is in. However, even with this

development, the system for diagnosing a patient is still wholly ineffective. Another way the

United States’ healthcare system is ineffective is expressed by an article written by ​JAMA

Cardiol​ in September of 2019, which explains that an individual’s socioeconomic status can play

a role in whether or not they experience heart failure. For example, those in low socioeconomic

statuses had a higher mortality rate from heart failure than those that are more affluent. This

expresses how the quality of care a patient receives is heavily dependent on how much money

they have, which demonstrates how dependent the healthcare industry is on wealth.

Although there are many risk factors that may cause an individual to contract heart

disease, and different ways doctors can treat this condition, solving this overarching global

problem at its root would be the most efficient solution. The first step to solving this problem is

by educating the general public. As the ​Journal of American College of Cardiology​ states in

2015, in order to stop the detrimental habits of individuals, it is important to educate them on

why their habits have adverse effects on their health in the first place. Without comprehensive

education on what effects certain choices can have on one’s health, the general public will
remain complacent in their actions. By providing a means in which the public can become aware

of the negative habits that they have, it can start the road to a healthier future. By creating

buttons and stickers that highlight what heart disease is, the negative effects of it, and some

lifestyle changes, it can be the gentle reminder that individuals need to change their life for the

better. While education may not always influence everyone to make drastic changes in their life,

it is an essential first step that can be beneficial to all. It is especially beneficial to the youth

because they can see what changes and decisions they need to make currently in order to live a

long and healthy life in the future.

Education needs to be compounded alongside media in order to effectively broadcast

information to the public. In the present day, many scholarly journals and media centers are

displaying false news to the public concerning their health. For instance, today’s society has an

increasing obsession with different types of diets that will help an individual become slimmer.

One such diet is the ketogenic diet, which is a high-fat, adequate-protein, and low-carbohydrate

diet that forces the body to burn fats, not carbohydrates. This diet became a popular trend among

young people, and hundreds of thousands of individuals decided to partake in it. However, as

Healthline​ ​states in an article from July of 2019, high-fat diets, like the ketogenic diet, increase

cholesterol levels, which increases the chances of getting diabetes. This adds extra strain to the

heart, causing it to work harder and subsequently get weaker. Another example of false

advertising through the media is the ongoing crisis with e-cigarettes. E-cigarettes were initially

marketed as a healthier and safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. However, the introduction

of e-cigarettes started to detriment an unlikely group: teenagers. As more and more teens got
hooked, additional studies came out highlighting the adverse and negative effects that

e-cigarettes have on the body. ​Johns Hopkins Medicine i​ n 2019 writes that the nicotine in

e-cigarette products raises one’s blood pressure and spikes their adrenaline. This increases the

heart rate, which adds unnecessary strain to the heart and increases the chances of having a heart

attack. Because of the false spread of information, it is important to utilize the beneficial tools of

media, like social media, scholarly articles, and advertisements, to spread verified information

that can have a positive influence on society as a whole. If verified information was spread, it

would allow more people to be conscious about their health, which helps individuals make an

educated decision on what to do next to become healthier.

Finally, after the media spreads verified information, it is up to the individual to

implement these changes in their life in order to see their health improve. There are multiple

ways that an individual can put beneficial health advice into practice. For example, if an

individual has irregularly high cholesterol levels, one way that they can reduce these levels is to

cut out all red meat from their diet. While this may seem like an easy fix on paper, it can be

exceptionally hard for individuals to change their daily habits. It is also recommended by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ​to exercise at least 30 minutes day, but for less

active people this may be a challenge. The bottom line is that there are many ways in which an

individual can implement positive change in their life that benefits their health. It is up to

whether the individual is motivated enough to do so.

 In conclusion, heart disease is a complex condition that plagues millions and kills

hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Its prevalence in society today is only

increasing because of the increase in unhealthy meals and the decrease in activity. In order to

decrease the number of mortalities from heart disease, it is important to provide comprehensive,

verified education to the general public. By doing so, we can increase the number of individuals

educated in their health, which has a lasting positive impact that will be felt for generations to

come.
Images of Promotional Designs
 Works Cited

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