Analysis on Coronary Heart Disease and Dementia

Running head: ANALYSIS ON CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND DEMENTIA
ON CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND DEMENTIA
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1ANALYSIS ON CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND DEMENTIA
Dementia and coronary heart disease can occur at any age and time, although they are
very common in older people. In Australia, nearly one in ten people are suffering from
dementia aged 65 and above. Dementia is a symptom of disease which affects the brain
(Annear et al. 2019). There are various reasons why dementia occurs, which comprise of
Presenile dementia, vascular dementia, Lewy body disease and frontotemporal dementia.
Dementia majorly effects on thinking, memory, attention, language, planning, judgement or
spatial skills that affect daily life of a person (Brauer et al. 2019). Whereas, ischaemic heart
disease is also identified as Coronary heart disease (CHD) and coronary artery disease (CAD)
which affects the blood vessels directly resulting in the slow accumulation of fatty deposits in
the inner side of the blood vessels which pump blood to the heart (Wang et al. 2019). Heart
attack is the first sign of CHD and it also leads to blood vessel diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) was recognized for encouraging good well-
being which needs a combined, multisectoral reaction with specific attention to equity,
gender and human constitutional rights. Australia witnessed a lot of deaths among men and
women which were as a result of Coronary heart disease and dementia (Who.int 2019). With
breast cancer and asthma, dementia was in the top 10 causes of death for women.The
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released a death report in 2017 which gave a highlight
in the increase number of deaths in Australia due to dementia. Death rate increased by 68% in
the last 10 years, with total death increasing from 8,172 in 2008 to 13,729 last year
(Abs.gov.au. 2016). According to WHO, dementia is the primary cause of death of women in
Australia (Who.int, 2019). In 2016, a survey estimated 158,500 deaths in Australia where the
primary causes were similar in 2006 and 2016. In 2016, 13% of male death was due to CHD
whereas, 11% of female death was due to dementia and Alzheimer disease. In 2013,
Dementia became the second major cause of death in Australia, overhauling ischaemic stroke
for the first time(Aged Care Guide 2019). The number of death due to dementia was

2ANALYSIS ON CORONARY HEART DISEASE AND DEMENTIA
continued to rise in Australia in 2014 and 2015. In 2012, Dementia and coronary heart
disease was acknowledged as National Health Priority Area in Australia because of its
contribution to burden of injury and illness within the Australian community. Australian
Institute of Health and Welfaretestified that, approximately 342.8 thousand Australians had
been suffering from dementia in 2015, and based on the ageing and growth of population the
number is estimated to reach almost 400,000 by 2020(Aihw.gov.au 2019).
Coronary heart disease (CHD) rose in the late 19th century, and had a devastating
effect in the 20th century. By 1960, one third of all Americans died due to CHD, most visibly
men from each rank of every society. CHD is not a new form of disease. 3,500 years ago,
CT scans of Egyptian mummies, showed that even they had narrowed arteries which
eventually means that they had CHD (Wang et al. 2019). Pharaoh Merneptah, who died in
1203 BC, was suffering from severe coronary disease.The true and registered epidemic of
coronary heart disease developed after the Second World War due to higher rates of smoking,
high blood pressure and poor diets during and after the world war. After the war it fell first in
Australia and the United States, and then fell in other developed countries. During 1990, in
developing countries, Coronary heart diseasewas the third major root of death and by 2013 it
was the only leading cause of death. The death rates increased from 70 per 100,000 people to
91 per 100,000.Other diseases which were also alarming in developing countries were
hypertensive diseases, diabetes, infections, and trauma while smoking remains common
cause of such diseases. In 1990, more than 12.3 million people died globally suffering from
heart disease and by 2013, this rose to 17.3 million. Death rate due to heart disease
was almost doubled for Australians belonging to the lower socio-economic group as
compared to the people of higher socio-economic group. Death rate was 40% higher in case
of Indigenous Australians when compared to the non-Indigenous Australians(The
Conversation 2019).