Cardiovascular Disease Burden in Singapore-Samples for Students

Question: Discuss about the Cardiovascular Disease Burden in Singapore. Answer: A study conducted by Ministry of Health in the year 2010 had shown clearly that cardiovascular disorder has been the leading cause of death in the nation of Singapore. It has estimated to face a death of about 1908% of the vulnerable population that is then followed by cancer at 18.9% (Lam et al., 2015). This is in turn followed by deaths due to neurological, vision and hearing disorders that account to about 14.0%. Although years have passed and various advancement have been made by the nation in medical fields and technologies, this chronic disorder is still studied to be the leading cause of death even in the recent years (Koh, Yuan Pan, 2015). Therefore, the present assignment will mainly be based on how cardiovascular disorders had been leading the maximum cause of death in the nation, the age cohort that it is affecting and the different causes of occurrence of such disorders in the population. Moreover, a health priority framework would be proposed which can check this disord er and promote health and well-being of the vulnerable population. Cardiovascular disorder has been noted to be one of the most important priority areas that should be taken into consideration by the department of health in the nation. Not only the governmental healthcare centers but also the private healthcare organizations need to conduct social analysis of the disorder and develop strategies to fight the present condition. Local governments also should promote effective health campaigns to identify the vulnerable group and educate the group with preventive measures so that cardiovascular disorders and death can be prevented. Present statistics show that every day in the nation of Singapore, 16 people die from different types of cardiovascular disorders. Cardiovascular disorders had accounted for about 29.5% of all the deaths in the year 2016 (Myheart.org.sg, 2018). This study also states that 1 out of every 3 deaths in Singapore is occurring due to either heart disorders or due to strokes. Total number of deaths in the year 2016 is seen to be 20, 017 out of which death due to cardiovascular disorder is 6000 (Approximately). Ischemic heart disorders account for 17% whereas cerebro-vascular disorders account for 6.6% that even includes occurrences of strokes. Hypertensive heart diseases accounts for about 4.0% of the deaths and other heart disease accounts for 1.9%. Therefore, from such data, it can be seen that more than one-fourth number of deaths in the nation had been due to cardiovascular disorders and therefore, it can be considered as one of the topmost priority areas in healthcare industry of the nation. In order to develop proper strategy to ensure the health and well-being of the individuals, it is extremely important to conduct a social analysis. This analysis would help in identifying the cohort of the population that is vulnerable to be affected by this disorder. Three races of population are seen to reside in the nation of Singapore. They are mainly of Chinese, Malay and Indian origin. The average age of the Chinese population in the nation who seems to be affected by myocardial infarction is 64 where the ranges of age extend from 54 to 74 years of age. The average age of the males who suffer from this disorder is 71. In case of the Malayans, the average age is 61 where the range of age varies from 51 to 71. The average age of the males who suffer from such incidences among the Malayans is 73.4 (Nmrc.gov.sg, 2017). The average age for the cases of myocardial infarction in Indians is seen to be 58 where the range varies from 49 to 70. The average age of the males in this case is 77. In the year 2016, about 30.9% of the males had been affected by the disorders whereas the incidences of this disorder had been less in case of women accounting for about 27.7%. This showed that the males more vulnerable to the diseases (Myheart.org.sg, 2018). Several factors lead to occurrences of this disorder. Diabetes had been seen to be the most important cause of the different heart disorders with the highest rate of about 51% among the Indians, 42% among the Malayans and 34.6% among the Chinese. On the other hand, hypertension had been seen to be the causal factor for such occurrences among 60.5% of Chinese, 55.2% of Malayans and 54.4 % among the Indians. Hyperlipidemia and Obesity had been also the cays of myocardial infarction among 49.6% of Chinese, 46.3% of Malayans and 51.9% of Indians (Nmrc.gov.sg, 2017). Smoking disorder is also found to be an important factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. It accounts to the highest among the Malayans accounting to be of 59.6%. It is also seen to be the reason for heart diseases among 52.6% Of the Chinese and 50.8% of the Indians. Besides, family history of premature coronary heart diseases and renal failure are also the reasons for which cardiovascular diseases take place i n individuals in Singapore (Gijsberts et al., 2015). One of the best frameworks for designing health promotion program in the different communities of the nation of Singapore is the Ottawa framework. The Ottawa charter for health promotion can be defined as the international agreement that was signed at Ottawa in Canada under the governance of the world health Organization in First International Conference on Health Promotion in 1986. Since then, this framework had been used by several nations to strategize health promotion campaigns effectively (Hivert et al., 2016). Three important strategies, the Ottawa framework advices for health promotion are advocating, enabling and mediating. In case of advocacy, it should be remembered that health is one form of resource for different developmental as well as social means. Therefore, all the dimensions hat affect the resource of health must be modified in ways that will encourage well being. The second one is called enabling. It states that the health equity should be followed and every indivi dual should be empowered to control the determinants that affect their health. These should be done in ways where the individuals can reach the highest attainable quality of life. The last strategy says that health promotion can never be achieved alone by the health sector. Therefore, all sectors of the government should collaborate and coordinate with each other and with independent organizations like different industries and media to ensure success of the health campaigns (Campbell et al., 2016). In order to cover up the three important strategies in the implementation of proper health campaigns for prevention and control of cardiovascular disorders, five important arenas need to be taken in considerations. Healthcare organizations, community health care centers, social workers, health care representatives, leaders of the healthcare campaigns and others should work together (Kaczorowski et al., 2016) Everyone should come together to build health public policy, create support environments, strengthen community actions, develop the personal skills of the community dwellers and reorient health service for better prevention and promotion of health. Routine checkups in the communities, public healthcare centers and in different organizations should be done to check blood pressure. Keep the cholesterol level and triglyceride levels under control and check the BMI for measuring weight. This routine checkup would help in prior identification of the issues and warn the vulnerable individuals from danger (Griffiths et al., 2016). Besides, there would be health education sessions in the communities as well as in the healthcare centers about the importance of maintaining proper lifestyles. This prevents occurrence of any heart disorders. The vulnerable population should be identified and then they should be mailed for participation in healthcare sessions. The health education classes would contain distribution of pamphlets and brochures in easy language so that the cohort can understand the steps they need to take for maintaining healthy lifestyle. Importance of healthy diet would be explained and interested individuals could also get diet charts from representatives. Saturated fats, foods rich in sodium and added sugars should be avoided. In place, fresh fruits, whole grains and vegetables should be incorporated. Regular exercises should be done as it benefits strengthening of hearts and improvement of circulation. Arranging for exercise sessions in the communities can also be a part of the health promotion ca mpaigns (Cox, 2017). Proper counseling sessions for alcoholic individuals and those suffering from tobacco use disorder can be arranged. The counseling sessions would be held once a week where vulnerable individuals can visit for help. Limiting alcohol is excessively important as it results in excessive weight gain by addition of extra calories. Cigarette smoking exposes individuals to increase blood pressure putting individuals at greater risks (Liddy et al., 2017). Therefore, these initiatives are also necessary. Apart from the above mentioned strategies to ensure creating supportive environment, reorienting healthcare services and strengthening community actions to ensure preventions of heart diseases, development of interpersonal skills of the vulnerable individuals are also necessary. Management of stress is important as extreme stress triggers heart attack. Management of diabetes is important to keep blood sugar level under control. Making sure of getting enough sleep is important (Campbell et al., 2017). Therefore, they should be taught of the ways by which they can take their own care and maintain their well-being. Government should propose a policy including guideline to ensure best health of the vulnerable population. From the entire discussion, it is clear that cardiovascular disorders is the main disease that should be accepted as priority areas as it had been affecting huge number of population leading to death. Age cohort of above 45 years of age is seen to be the most vulnerable to the disease with the number of deaths increasing with age. Several factors like diabetes, hypertension, smoking habits and many others contribute to these risky situations. With the help of Ottawa factors, concerned healthcare authorities can arrange for healthcare campaigns that will ensure better quality life of the mentioned cohort References: Campbell, D. J., Manns, B. J., Hemmelgarn, B. R., Sanmartin, C., King-Shier, K. M. (2016). Development of a conceptual framework for understanding financial barriers to care among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic disease: a protocol for a qualitative (grounded theory) study.CMAJ open,4(2), E304. Campbell, D. J., Manns, B. J., Weaver, R. G., Hemmelgarn, B. R., King-Shier, K. M., Sanmartin, C. (2017). Financial barriers and adverse clinical outcomes among patients with cardiovascular-related chronic diseases: a cohort study.BMC medicine,15(1), 33. Cox, J. L. (2017). Why We Need More and Better Cardiovascular Disease Quality Indicators.Canadian Journal of Cardiology,33(4), 416-419. Gijsberts, C. M., Seneviratna, A., de Carvalho, L. P., den Ruijter, H. M., Vidanapthirana, P., Sorokin, V., ... Low, A. F. (2015). Ethnicity modifies associations between cardiovascular risk factors and disease severity in parallel Dutch and Singapore coronary cohorts.PloS one,10(7), e0132278. Griffiths, K., Aggarwal, B. B., Singh, R. B., Buttar, H. S., Wilson, D., De Meester, F. (2016). Food antioxidants and their anti-inflammatory properties: a potential role in cardiovascular diseases and cancer prevention.Diseases,4(3), 28. Hivert, M. F., Arena, R., Forman, D. E., Kris-Etherton, P. M., McBride, P. E., Pate, R. R., ... Kraus, W. E. (2016). Medical training to achieve competency in lifestyle counseling: an essential foundation for prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and other chronic medical conditions: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.Circulation,134(15), e308-e327. Kaczorowski, J., Campbell, N. R., Duhaney, T., Mang, E., Gelfer, M. (2016). Reducing deaths by diet: Call to action for a public policy agenda for chronic disease prevention.Canadian Family Physician,62(6), 469-470. Koh, W. P., Yuan, J. M., Pan, A. (2015). Abstract P251: Weight Change is Associated With Risk of Cardiovascular Mortality Among Singapore Chinese. Lam, B. C. C., Koh, G. C. H., Chen, C., Wong, M. T. K., Fallows, S. J. (2015). Comparison of body mass index (BMI), body adiposity index (BAI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) as predictors of cardiovascular disease risk factors in an adult population in Singapore.PLoS One,10(4), e0122985. Liddy, C., Rowan, M., Valiquette-Tessier, S. C., Drosinis, P., Crowe, L., Hogg, W. (2017). Improved Delivery of Cardiovascular Care (IDOCC): findings from narrative reports by practice facilitators.Preventive medicine reports,5, 214-219. Myheart.org.sg. (2016).Singapore - Statistics - About The Heart Heart Disease - Singapore Heart Foundation. [online] Available at: https://www.myheart.org.sg/article/about-the-heart-and-heart-disease/statistics/singapore/75 [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]. Nmrc.gov.sg. (2017).Singapores Approaching Tsunami of Cardiovascular Disease. [online] Available at: https://www.nmrc.gov.sg/content/dam/nmrc_internet/nmrc2.0/nmrcAwards/2017/Slides/Cardiovascular%20Diseases%20-%20Mark%20Richards.pdf [Accessed 12 Feb. 2018]