Understanding Heart Disease: Genetic Factors & Family History

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Jun 13, 2024

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1 Heart Disease: A General Overview Including Genetic Factors and Family History Family History Robert Shupe Department of Biology, Farmingdale State College BIO 121: Health, Heredity, and Behavior Professor: William J. German April 10, 2024
2 Heart Disease: A General Overview Including Genetic Factors and Family History The following research paper will discuss heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease, emphasizing genetic factors related to family history. Unfortunately, this silent killer is prevalent across America. In order to better understand why, an analysis regarding aspects such as morbidity and mortality, inherited risk, and behavioral factors is warranted. Heart Disease Defined Let us begin by going over what Heart disease is and why it has become an ever- increasing medical dilemma for Americans today. As simply described by the National Cancer Institute, it is a “type of disease that affects the heart or blood vessels. The risk of certain heart diseases may be increased by smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Triglycerides, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, and obesity. The most common heart disease is coronary artery disease (narrow or blocked coronary arteries), which can lead to chest pain, heart attacks, or stroke. Other heart diseases include congestive heart failure, heart rhythm problems, congenital heart disease (heart disease at birth), and endocarditis (inflamed inner layer of the heart), and also called cardiovascular disease” (heart disease, n.d.). Therefore, it is essential to understand that heart disease covers several underlying cardiovascular problems that may arise in patients. . 3 Historical Data
A quick search for information on the internet revealed some rather interesting historical facts. Researchers were able to determine that heart disease was detected in Ancient Egyptian society around 1580 BC. Concerning American society, according to the American College of Cardiology, “heart disease was uncommon before the 19th century, but soon became the leading cause of death by mid-century. Also of note is that deaths have been declining in number since the mid-1960s, likely due to declines in tobacco use as well as better diagnostic testing and treatments ( The history of heart disease dates back to Egyptian pharaohs n.d.). By the early 1960s, hospitals began opening cardiac care units, and defibrillator technology became available to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm. Symptoms - Diagnosis Symptoms of heart disease include shortness of breath, heart palpitations, sweating, lightheadedness, chest or upper body pain, neck pain, vomiting, exhaustion, and difficulty sleeping. Swelling of the legs and repeated fainting are also early warning signs. Heart disease is detected via health care professionals utilizing personal and family history and testing. Besides blood tests and standard X-ray imaging, doctors may utilize ECG/EKG, cardiac CT or MRI scanning, stress exercise testing, and echocardiograms. 4 Morbidity-Mortality Data
Of all the vast amount of information available on the subject, the most significant data fact to stand out is presented by the World Health Organization. According to the WHO, “Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. More than four out of five CVD deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes, and one-third of these deaths occur prematurely in people under 70 years of age” (World Health Organization, Cardiovascular diseases n.d.). Within the United States, the CDC lists heart disease as the number one killer for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups. This equates to having someone die every 33 seconds and accounts for 1 out of every five deaths. In 2021, nearly 665,000 people died due to cardiovascular disease ( Heart disease facts 2023). Of note is the fact that women age 50 or below are two times more likely on average to die from heart disease than men, and the southern United States has some of the highest death rates when comparing regions (Thomas, 2023). Furthermore, it is estimated by the CDC that as of 2018, more than 30 million Americans have a diagnosis, and every year, another 805,000 citizens will have a heart attack. 5 Inherited Risk Factors
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