Causes Of Heart Disease: Rising Obesity

Health Care Providers Dept: On the horizon, an increasing elderly population and rising obesity in both children and adults present challenges to the gains we have made. However, our health care system is not designed for disease prevention, but rather to deal with acute instances of illness. While we know only a handful of risk factors account for over 90 per cent of the causes of heart disease, many people with these risk factors are not properly treated, or worse yet, are not aware they have them. This will need to change if we are to avoid being overwhelmed with a tsunami of chronic diseases. We need research in new models of care to prevent risk factors from arising and to properly manage those with disease. Canada's health research agencies spend substantial amounts of money in the basic sciences that tell us what the risk factors are, but spend very little on how to prevent or manage them. Physicians also need the training and support necessary to spend the time it takes to properly manage patient risk factors, set-long term goals and be able to engage with nurses, dietitians, exercise professionals, psychologists, etc, according to Vancouver Sun. But technology and health care providers are only part of the answer. We also need a society that works to prevent, not create, risk factors. Our communities, cities and worklife are created in such a way that encourages people to eat poorly, be inactive and gain weight. So much is made of the individual risks and behaviours that cause diseases that we seem to forget that we are a product of our environment. For example, our research and that of others has indicated that people are more active and less overweight if their neighbourhood has sidewalks. Conversely, people are less likely to eat healthy foods if they are not available in their neighbourhood. Therefore, our communities and cities need to be designed to promote healthy lifestyles. The Heart and Stroke Foundation has released a built-environment tool kit to support local governments in their efforts to design healthier communities and the Heart and Stroke Foundation's recent Report Card on Canadians' heart health highlights the gap between perception and reality when it comes to the risk factors for heart disease and stroke. Most of us are aware of these risk factors, yet few know our own personal risk, and despite a decrease in deaths from heart disease and stroke by 75 per cent, there is still much work to be done. Technology can also help. The My Heart&Stroke Risk Assessment mobile application can help people understand and manage their risk factors. Additionally, our research group at Simon Fraser University and St. Paul's Hospital is studying how technology can increase patient access to health care providers. For this, we have created websites for patients with heart disease that effectively bring care into their homes. This has the advantage of supporting the patient in disease management while acting as an early warning system to identify changes in health that may lead to further complications if left unchecked. These programs have the potential to keep patients healthy, in their homes and out of hospitals. As reported in the news.
@t patient risk factors, heart and stroke foundation