Question

Please read Chapters 15 & 16 on Controlling Chronic Health and Reducing Risk of Cancer Heart Disease is the number one cause of death in women. Please also visit the American Heart website to read about valuable information. Please also view Mayo Clinic website where there is access to a short video on the heart and circulation. Last. please visit the American Cancer Society and read about current therapies and ongoing research 1. What is one thing you learn from the American Heart website and the Mayo Clinic on heart disease or related heart health? What did you learn about women and cancer? 2. How can we, as health educators, promote wellness and prevention, especially with chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart disease? With rates rising for both of these chronic diseases, how can wellness help promote a decrease in new cases or manage existing cases of both diabetes and heart disease? How can we reduce our rates for cancer?

Answer 1

1) Heart disease is one of the leading causes of deaths in America specially in women. Heart disease includes the congenital heart abnormalities, blood vessel diseases like coronary artery disease, etc and heart rhythm defects like cardiac arrhythmias, etc. In recent years, awareness of heart disease risk in women has increased and significant actions has been taken to reduce the risk. Among all the heart disease, coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. Smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity, diabetes mellitus, physical inactivity, stress, alcohol consumption, etc are some of the important risk factors of heart disease.

Breast cancer, uterine cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, and colorectal cancer are some common kinds of cancer among women in United States. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in United States. African - American women have higher risk of developing and dying from breast cancer than native - American women. The American Cancer Society works for the elimination of cancer by the use of both traditional therapies like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, and newer methods of treatment along with complementary and alternative therapies.

2) As a health educator, i would play a significant role in promoting wellness and prevention, especially with chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. I would promote the lifestyle changes such as increased physical activity, consumption of healthy diets, etc. I would also work for increasing the general awareness in the people about the risk factors of the chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease. I would educate the people for increasing their quality of life. I would also help to increase the awareness about healthy behaviors for the general public.

Wellness helps to promote a decrease in new cases or to manage existing cases of both diabetes and heart disease. Wellness includes the changes in the attitudes and active decisions made by the people that helps to attain the positive health behaviors and outcomes. Wellness could help to increase the quality of life and maintain healthy lifestyle.

We can reduce our rates for cancer by improving our lifestyle and changing our behaviors. We should identify the risk factors of cancer and try to keep ourselves away from these cancer causing risk factors. Regular physical exercises, eating healthy diet, prohibiting alcohol and smoking, controlling the body weight, regular screening tests for the danger signs of cancer, etc are some of the measures which can reduce our rates for cancer.