Cardiovascular Disease: Causes, Prevalence, and Impacts

Running Head: CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE 1
Family-Centered Nursing
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

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Cardiovascular Disease
Introduction
Cardiovascular disease describes all the illnesses and conditions that affect the blood
vessels, the circulatory system as well as the heart. These include stroke, heart attack, congenital
heart defects, cardiomyopathy, rheumatic heart disease, heart failure, angina, peripheral artery
disease, hypertensive heart disease, as well as arrhythmias (heart rhythm problems). Strokes and
heart attacks are the main heart disorders that affect people and are caused by the narrowing or
blockage of the blood vessels that prevents blood flow into the brain or heart. The term
cardiovascular disease is often used interchangeably with heart disease, although the latter refers
to deformities, disorders, and issues of the heart itself. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the
leading cause of death in the world, especially in low-income countries where there are fewer
integrated primary health care facilities for treatment and early detection of the condition (WHO,
2017). This paper discusses the causes, prevalence, and impacts of cardiovascular disease on
individuals, families and the Australian people in general. It also outlines one government
strategy set to prevent and control this condition. In addition, the paper deliberates the role of
registered nurses in relation to the implementation of the strategy as well as in working with
families and communities to address the issue of cardiovascular disease in Australia.
Part 1
Trends and Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease in Australia
Approximately 4.2 million (22%) Australians aged 18 years and above had one or more
cardiovascular disease in 2014-15. In the year 2015-2016, there were more than 1.1 million
hospitalizations in Australia due to cardiovascular conditions, making up 11 percent of all

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hospitalizations in the country (AIHW, 2018). In 2017, 23, 477 deaths in the country, that is 27
percent of all bereavements, were attributed to circulatory system diseases (ABS, 2018). In 2017-
2018, an approximation of 1 in every 20 Australians (4.8 percent) was suffering from heart
disease, making approximately 1.2 million people. According to the ABS, this number has
remained fairly constant. Also, ABS established that there is a gap between females (4.2%) and
males (5.4 %) ailing from heart disease that does not seem to be narrowing. Also, the proportion
of people with heart disease is higher among older people than in young ones. For instance, the
percentage of people below 55 years of age with heart disease was less than 5 in the year 2017-
2018, while 25.8 percent of older Australians aged 75 years and above were suffering from this
illness in the same year. Conversely, this is a drop compared to the 2014-2015 data where there
were 30.7% adults aged 75 years and over with heart disease.
In the year 2014-2015, the proportion of individuals with heart disease varied depending
on their socioeconomic status and remoteness of their living conditions. In the inner regional
areas, 25 percent of individuals had cardiovascular diseases, in outer regions the proportion
decreased to 22% while the number was 21 percent in major cities. Also, the number was highest
in the lowest socioeconomic group as 25% suffering from these conditions as compared to the 20
percent in the highest socioeconomic group. Also, more indigenous Australians are affected as
compared to other people in Australia. For example, in the year 2012-2013, 1 in every 4 (27
percent indigenous Australian adult had CVD (AIHW, 2018).
Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease
Behavioral risk factors

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These include aspects related to one’s behavior such as unhealthy diets, lack of physical
activity, smoking, and excessive alcohol consumption (Peng & Wang, 2017). These facets are
observed in people as high blood sugar, high blood pressure, raised blood lipids, high cholesterol
levels, overweight, and obesity. High cholesterol and high blood pressure are the two key factors
associated with the development of heart conditions. Many Australians live unhealthy lifestyles,
therefore, a percentage of them have high cholesterol levels, others have high blood pressure
while the rest have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease (Peng & Wang, 2018).
Social determinants
The risk factors of cardiovascular disorder that is related to social aspects include an individual’s
living conditions, education, and health literacy, as well as their income levels (Korda et al.,
2016). Poor education leads to a lack of knowledge on prevention of cardiovascular disease
while a person’s income determines their affordability of healthy foods and regular screening for
these illnesses thus impacting their health.
Other risk factors
Age: The risk of developing a heart condition upsurges with an increase in the age of the
individual (Dhingra & Vasan, 2012). Due to progressions in medical research, the world’s
population is aging but more people are victimized by CVDs. This is because aging increases the
risk of atherosclerosis due to the build-up of plaque in the arterial walls. This clots the blood or
makes it harder for it to flow causing heart conditions (Wong et al., 2016).
Impacts of Cardiovascular Disease
Being the leading cause of death in the country, cardiovascular disease has affected many
Australians, especially in men (AIHW, 2018). Cardiovascular disease also has chronic