Prevention and Management Strategies for Coronary Heart Disease

This document discusses the prevention and management strategies for coronary heart disease. It covers the background of the problem, intervention strategies, and ethical implications. Recommended for healthcare professionals and policymakers.

Running Head: CORONARY HEART DISEASE
Coronary Heart Disease
Students Name
University Affiliation
Date

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From: (Insert your Name)
To: Minister of Health Australia
Action required: For approval
Subject: coronary heart disease in the country
Proposal title: Prevention and management strategies for coronary heart disease in the country
Background of the problem
Mr./Mrs./Ms. (insert the name of the minister), I would like to bring to your attention that
coronary heart disease (CHD) happens when the blood vessels which supply the blood to the
body muscles are blocked. There are two major medical types of coronary heart disease, that is,
heart attack which is described as an acute life-threatening condition when sudden blockage in
the blood vessels which supply heart with the blood, threatening to the muscles of the heart as
well as its functions, thus, requiring quick management and treatment (Justo et al. 2017).
Another form of coronary heart disease is angina which is described as a chronic heart condition
where there is short episodes of pain in the chest occurring periodically when the blood supply in
the heart is temporarily deficient. In the country, older individuals with CHD are at increased
risk of suffering from heart failure that normally happens when the heart does not function
effectively in pumping the blood to the entire body. Coronary heart disease is very common in
the country than any other disease. Nevertheless, it is hugely preventable as numerous of its risk
factors can be modified, entailing high blood cholesterol, tobacco smoking, obesity, poor
nutrition, and physical inactivity.

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In 2014 and 2015, an approximated 645000 (3.7%) Australian adults were diagnosed by a
nurse or doctor with a coronary heart disease of which 280000 had angina, 429000 had a heart
attack while 56000 had other forms of coronary heart disease. Moreover, an approximated
109000 adults were diagnosed to have had heart failure which is normally outcome disease of
coronary heart disease which damages the heart. In the country, the rate of coronary heart disease
is considered to be 1.8 times in men than in women. Coronary heart disease happened more often
in older age groups, that is, it was approximated to be 11 times as high individuals aged 76 and
over as in individuals aged between 45 (17%)-54(1.7%) respectively (Stamp, Granger &
Larbalestier, 2017). Mr./Mrs./Ms. (Insert the name of the minister) An estimated 65400
individuals aged 25 years and above experienced unstable angina or acute heart attack in 2013;
approximately 2oo events of the diseases were recorded daily based on the death and
hospitalization data. The rate of age-standardized in the country Mr./Mrs./Ms. (Minister of
health) Reduced by 30% between 2007-2013, from 535 to 378 events per 100000 people.
Between 2013 and 2014, there were approximated 15000 hospitalization cases in the country in
which coronary heart disease was the key diagnosis (Puhr et al. 2019).
Of these, 37% were due to acute myocardial infection and 33% angina. Mr./Mrs./Ms.
(Minister) I want to bring to your attention that coronary heart disease accounted for about 1.6%
of all the cases of hospitalization in the country. It was also the leading cause of hospitalization
for cardiovascular diseases across all age groups save for those who are aged 85 years and above.
In 2013, CHD was reported as the principal cause of mortality in the country accounting for
approximately 199000 mortality as the principal cause of death. Overall, the mortality rate for
the disease has fallen by 74% over the last thirty years for both females and males, majorly due
to the minimization in vital risk factors such as high cholesterol, smoking, as well as

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hypertension as well as enhancement in surgical and clinical fields (Wolkow et al. 2014). I want
to bring to your attention that the proximal and distal risk factors of the disease in the country
include socioeconomic status, environmental factors, poverty, age, gender, and race. Ro
appropriate intervention measures these risk factors have to be acknowledged and effectively
considered for decision making.
Intervention strategy for coronary heart disease
Mr./Mrs./Ms. (insert the name of the minister) the main intervention strategy for coronary
heart disease entails both disease prevention and health promotion strategies.
Mr./Mrs./Ms. (insert the name of the minister) It has been empirically proven that adverse
lifestyles create a major impact on the burden of CHD. For instance, obesity, physical inactivity,
smoking as well as numerous aspects of diet are the principal causative factors for CHD and its
associated risk factors (Fernandez et al. 2015). Therefore, modification of lifestyle is considered
a vital element of population-based interventions approaches for preventing CHD. One of the
best interventions for preventing CHD is to advise the public to stop smoking entailing the
application of nicotine replacement therapy in hospitals (Tully & Higgins, 2014).
People should reduce the intake of foods containing a lot of saturated fats, sugars, and
salts and eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and white meat. Increased activity levels have
also been reported to minimise the impacts of CHD. Thus, people who are at risk of suffering
CHD should be encouraged as well as motivated to increase their physical activity like daily
running (Ramchand et al. 2018). Health promotion strategy, Mr./Mrs./Ms. (insert the name of the
minister), has also been cited as having a huge impact on the reduction of CHD. Health
awareness campaigns should be initiated by the various health organizations including your

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ministry to educate and inform people on the dangers of CHD, the risk factors and how to
prevent the disease. I propose that health promotion techniques like the use of the internet,
televisions, newspapers, magazines, and radios should be encouraged. Healthcare institutions in
the country should hold meetings in areas that attract a large number of people as well as in
various gatherings within the country.
Ethical implications: in the process of carrying out the intervention strategies of the
disease, the ministry, and other agencies should carry out their activities keeping in mind the
ethical guidelines and principles that have been put aside by the nursing professional code of
conduct. Every person should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Everybody should
be treated equally especially in the process of decision making. There should be no
discrimination based on gender, race, age, sex and socioeconomic status (Wiemers et al. 2018).
Issues to consider in the implementation of the proposal
The most important factor to consider this project is the availability of human and
financial resources. Human capital is vital in executing the project while financial resources are
vital in positively driving the project. Thus, a skilled workforce should be available for the
project as well as sustainable financial resources
Conclusion and recommendation
It is vital that we reduce the rate of coronary heart disease in the country in which
empirical studies have shown that it is preventable when the right strategies are used. I believe
that your office will approve of this project. My recommendation is that your office will consider
empowering the project with available expertise from your office.

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References
Fernandez, R, Rolley, JX, Rajaratam, R, Sundar, S, Patel, NC & Davidson, PM 2015, ‘Risk
Factors for Coronary Heart Disease Among Asian Indians Living in Australia’, Journal of
Transcultural Nursing, 26(1), pp. 57–63. Retrieved from
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Justo, ER, Reeves, BM, Ware, RS, Johnson, JC, Karl, TR, Alphonso, ND & Justo, RN 2017,
‘Comparison of outcomes in Australian indigenous and non-indigenous children and adolescents
undergoing cardiac surgery’, Cardiology in the Young, 27(9), pp. 1694–1700. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951117000993
Puhr, R, Petoumenos, K, Huang, R, Law, M, Cooper, D, Templeton, D, Woolley, I, Bloch, M &
Russell, D 2019, ‘Cardiovascular disease and diabetes in HIV‐positive and HIV‐negative gay
and bisexual men over the age of 55 years in Australia: insights from the Australian Positive &
Peers Longevity Evaluation Study’, HIV Medicine, 20(2), pp. 121–130. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1111/hiv.12689
Ramchand, J, Patel, SK, Srivastava, PM, Farouque, O & Burrell, LM 2018, ‘Elevated plasma
angiotensin converting enzyme 2 activity is an independent predictor of major adverse cardiac
events in patients with obstructive coronary artery disease’, PLoS ONE, 13(6), pp. 1–11.
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https://doi.org/10.1111/ans.14031

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with Coronary Heart Disease: A Review for Psychologists,’ Australian Psychologist, 49(6), pp.
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