NRSG354: Clinical Integration Complex Care Risk Factors Report

This report, prepared for a Clinical Integration: Complex Care course (NRSG354), investigates the relationship between excessive sugar and fat intake and the increased risk of hypertension and coronary artery disease (CAD). It highlights the epidemiological connection between hypertension and CAD, while clarifying that hypertension is not the sole cause of CAD. The report explains how excess sugar leads to weight gain, insulin spikes, and increased blood pressure, and how excess fat, especially around the midsection, contributes to hypertension. It discusses the pathophysiology, including the liver's role in metabolizing sugar and the formation of fatty deposits in coronary arteries. The report references studies that underscore the significant risks associated with high sugar consumption, even in non-overweight individuals, and concludes with a brief overview of how CAD develops through the narrowing of coronary arteries due to plaque buildup.

Running head: CLINICAL INTEGRATION: COMPLEX CARE 1
Clinical Integration: Complex Care
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Student
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CLINICAL INTEGRATION: COMPLEX CARE 2
NRSG354 Clinical Integration: Complex Care
How can excess fat and sugar intake increase the risk of hypertension and coronary artery
disease? Pathophysiology of how this happens?
Epidemiological information proves that there a robust and constant connection between
hypertension and coronary artery syndrome. This fact does not imply that hypertension is the
basis of coronary artery ailment. Less than a quarter of the risk of developing coronary artery
illness can be linked to increased blood pressure. In addition, in individuals, hypertension is only
feebly prognostic and hence blood pressure cannot be depended upon to recognize those with a
particularly high risk ( Benedek, Stanescu, Opincariu, Jani, & Benedek, 2018).
Excess intake of sugar leads to weight gain over time, and as a result puts the consumer at risk of
hypertension. Sugary foodstuffs are highly saturated with calories but normally low in other
nutrients and this leads to rapid energy rush and subsequently a slump. This condition makes an
individual feel sluggish and with low energy and he /she starts craving for more sugar. There is
robust evidence proving that sugary foodstuff that are digested and absorbed in the body
increases insulin levels and blood sugar subjecting a person into a risk of high blood pressure Dr.
(Dr. Mercola, 2015). Besides, excess fat consumption leads weight gain around the midsection
spelling health problems such as hypertension and obesity. Excess belly fat changes the waist
circumference subjecting a person into a risk of blood pressure. Based on a certain Chinese
research, when a person gains a fat belly and his/her waist circumference exceeds 90 cm (for
men) and 80 cm (for women) risked suffering from hypertension (American College of
Cardiology, 2017).

CLINICAL INTEGRATION: COMPLEX CARE 3
According to a major study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, sugary foodstuffs raise an
individual’s risk of dying of coronary artery disease even if he/she is not overweight. In other
words, the higher the amount of sugar a person takes, the higher the risk of contracting coronary
artery diseases. The pathophysiology of how sugar affects heart health is not completely
comprehended though it appears to have a number of indirect connections. For example, huge
amounts of sugar overload the consumer’s liver. Dr Hu in the JAMA Internal Medicine study
says that the liver metabolizes sugar in a similar manner as alcohol and changes dietary
carbohydrates to fat. With time, this condition leads to a bigger fat accumulation that might turn
into fatty liver ailment, a contributor to diabetes, which increases chances of contracting
coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease occurs whenever the main blood vessels which
supply the heart with nutrients, oxygen, and blood become diseased or destroyed. This disorder
forms when the coronary arteries are narrowed by plague (fatty deposits) reducing blood flow to
the heart. Ultimately, the diminished flow of blood causes angina (chest pain), succinctness of
breathing, or other coronary artery illness symptoms. A full blockage may lead to a heart attack
(Harvard Medical School, 2017).

CLINICAL INTEGRATION: COMPLEX CARE 4
References
American College of Cardiology. (2017, May 10). Belly Fat Increases Risk for High Blood
Pressure:A Chinese study of men and women assesses abdominal obesity and blood
pressure. Retrieved from CardioSmart:
https://www.cardiosmart.org/News-and-Events/2017/05/Belly-Fat-Increases-Risk-for-
High-Blood-Pressure
Benedek, I. S., Stanescu, A., Opincariu, D., Jani, L., & Benedek, T. (2018). P1709 Sub-
endothelial coronary artery dissection triggered by hypertension in patients with acute
coronary syndromes and angiographically normal coronary arteries. An optical coherence
tomography study. European Heart Journal, 39(suppl_1), ehy565-P1709.
Dr. Mercola. (2015, February 25). Study: Sugar Is Worse Than Salt for Blood Pressure.
Retrieved from Mercola Video Library:
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/02/25/sugar-blood-pressure.aspx
Harvard Medical School. (2017, may). Harvard University:Too much added sugar can be one of
the greatest threats to cardiovascular disease. Here's how to curb your sweet habit.
Retrieved from Harvard University: https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/the-
sweet-danger-of-sugar