Cholesterol's Effects on Heart Disease: Indigenous Australian Health

This report, prepared for a presentation, investigates the impact of cholesterol on the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It defines cholesterol, differentiates between HDL and LDL, and outlines the causes and prevalence of high cholesterol within this population, citing statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The report details the association between high cholesterol and heart disease, including the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, and the increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Recommendations include promoting healthy eating habits, regular cardiovascular risk assessments, and lifestyle changes to reduce cholesterol levels. The report also identifies nursing considerations, relating these to the Registered Nurse Scope of Practice, and provides references in APA format, supporting the presented information with published literature.

Aboriginal and Torres
Islander Peoples Health:
Cholesterol
Presented by

 Objective
 Definition of Cholesterol and Types
 Causes
 Prevalence
 Association between cholesterol and heart
disease.
 Pathophysiology
 Recommendations
 References
Outline

 To find out the effect of cholesterol on heart
disease among the Aboriginal and Torres
Islander People
 To find out the causes and prevalence of
cholesterol among the Indigenous
Australians
 To determine the Association between
cholesterol and heart disease
Objective

 It is a waxy substance in the body used to protect nerves, make
cell and hormones
 Types of cholesterol:
◦ high density lipoprotein (HDL)/good cholesterol
 Help body to get rid of all bad cholesterol in the blood
 Low levels of HDL increases risk of heart disease
 Eating healthy fats e.g olive oil
◦ low density lipoprotein (LDL)/bad cholesterol
 Causes a layer of plaque on the arteries thus clogging them
 High levels of LDL increases risk of heart disease
 Diet high in saturated fat increases LDL cholesterol
 Abnormal cholesterol levels:
◦ Total cholesterol ≥ 5.5 mmol/L
◦ LDL cholesterol ≥ 3.5 mmol/L
◦ HDL cholesterol < 1.0 mmol/L for men &< 1.3 mmol/L for women
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014).
Definition and Types

 Multiple combination of factors predispose
the community to cardiovascular diseases
 Behavioural/lifestyle risk factors:
◦ Smoking
◦ Inactivity
◦ Unhealthy diet
 Biomedical risk factors:
◦ Diabetes
◦ High blood pressure
◦ Overweight
(Gubhaju et al., 2013)
Causes of High Cholesterol among
Australian Indigenous Peoples

 25.0% of the Indigenous Australian adults have
extremely high total cholesterol levels based on
the results of blood tests
 34.9% of the Indigenous Australians aged between
45 and 54 years had high total cholesterol and
23.3% of those aged 55 years and above had high
total cholesterol
 30.3% of the Indigenous people were obese and at
a greater risk of high cholesterol levels compared
to 16.3% who were normal or underweight
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014)
Prevalence of Cholesterol

 Too much cholesterol in the blood builds up in the
arterial walls forming a plaque.
 The plaque decreases space between arteries
thus preventing blood flow from them causing
atherosclerosis.
 The arteries become narrowed and blood flow to
the heart muscle is blocked or slowed down
◦ Blood carries oxygen to the heart and inadequate
supply may cause chest pain
◦ Complete cut off of blood supply to heart leads to heart
attack (coronary heart disease)

Association between cholesterol
and heart disease

Heart Diseases caused by
Cholesterol build-up
Diagram showing
narrowing of arteries
 Coronary heart disease
◦ Too high levels of cholesterol
builds up in arterial walls
forming a plaque overtime
◦ The arteries become
hardened/atherosclerosis
causing narrowing of
arteries then slow blood flow
to heart muscle causing
heart attack
 Stroke
◦ Atherosclerosis narrows
arteries that carry blood to
the brain, total blockage
causes stroke

 Measure risk factors and ascertain a baseline approximation
for an individual’s cardiovascular disease risk
◦ 20-39 years: a re-examination of traditional CVD predisposing
factors after every 5 years. Aim is to maximize lifestyle changes to
reduce the risk
◦ 40-75 years: estimation of a 10 year risk of CDV.
 Over 20% results indicates a very high risk of stroke within 10 years
 Less than 20% - relatively low risk within 10 years
 0% - very low risk (Ridker, & Cook, 2013).
 Promotion of healthy eating habits that reduce the risk of
developing cholesterol
◦ Eg consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts among
others
◦ Minimal consumption of refined foods, saturated fats, processed
meat, foods rich in sugar (Arnett et al., 2019)
Recommendations

Arnett, D. K., Blumenthal, R. S., Albert, M. A., Michos, E. D., Buroker, A. B.,
Miedema, M. D., ... & Himmelfarb, C. D. (2019). 2019 ACC/AHA guideline on
the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Journal of the American
College of Cardiology, 26029.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2014). 4727.0.55.003 - Australian Aboriginal
and Torres Strait slander Health Survey: Biomedical Results, 2012-13.
Retrieved from
https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/4727.0.55.003
~2012-13~Main%20Features~Cholesterol~121
Gubhaju, L., McNamara, B. J., Banks, E., Joshy, G., Raphael, B., Williamson,
A., & Eades, S. J. (2013). The overall health and risk factor profile of
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants from the 45
and up study. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 661.
Ridker, P. M., & Cook, N. R. (2013). Statins: new American guidelines for
prevention of cardiovascular disease. The Lancet, 382(9907), 17621765.
Varbo, A., Benn, M., Tybjærg-Hansen, A., Jørgensen, A. B., Frikke-Schmidt, R., &
Nordestgaard, B. G. (2013). Remnant cholesterol as a causal risk factor for
ischemic heart disease. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 61(4),
427- 436.
References