Cardiovascular disease in brief is any disease of the circulatory system. That is it includes: strokes, heart attacks, angina and more. Here are a few statistics on CVD you may like to remember for HSC PDHPE:
- 1 in 5 Australians have it
- it is the leading cause of death accounting for 30% of all deaths
- currently deaths from CVD is on the decline
- 11% of hospitalisations are for CVD
- ATSI are twice (x2) as likely to be hospitalised for cardiovascular disease than other Australians, and
- you are 50% more likely to die from it if you are in the lowest socioeconomic group compared to the highest.
Risk factors for CVD include:
- high blood pressure
- fatty diet
- being overweight
- smoking, and
- inactivity
Protective factors include:
- being of a healthy weight
- not smoking, and
- doing physical activity
Cardiovascular disease in brief is linked with each determinant of health. Individual factors, such as being overweight, can lead to higher risk of CVD. Sociocultural factors, such as a family history of CVD or inactive friends,can increased the risk of CVD. Socioeconomic factors, such as not knowing that smoking is linked with the disease, or having a job with greater pollutant exposure also increases the likelihood of the disease. Finally environmental factors, including pollutants, second hand smoke, or being a long way from a hospital can affect your risk of getting CVD or surviving from a heart attack or stroke.
Finally, the groups most at risk of cardiovascular disease include:
- ATSI – over twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke
- low SES – 50% more likely to die from CVD
- the elderly – 70% of stroke patients
- smokers, and
- men
So, there is cardiovascular disease in brief. For more information visit the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare or our page on cardiovascular disease.