CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE


Cardiovascular disease in Northern Ireland


CARDIOVASCUlAR DISEASE IS ThE lEADINg CAUSE Of DEATh wIThIN ThE Uk, CAUSINg ThE DEATh Of APPROX. 6,000 PEOPlE EVERy yEAR IN NORThERN IRElAND. PhARmACIST gARETh mCCABE lOOkS INTO whAT CAN BE DONE TO hElP.


T


reating and preventing cardiovascular disease is one of the clinical priorities in Northern


Ireland with approximately one in nine of the population living with the condition¹. Death rates from cardiovascular disease has been decreasing year on year since the 1970’s, however, within western Europe, the Uk has the highest incidence.


What is cardiovascular disease? Cardiovascular disease is a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels. This is usually associated with atherosclerosis (build-up of fatty deposits in arteries) and an increased risk of thrombosis (blood clots).


There are different types of cardiovascular disease, mainly²: • Coronary heart disease,


38 - PhARmACy IN fOCUS


• Strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs),


• Peripheral arterial disease and, • Aortic disease


The main cause of death each year is with coronary heart disease (ChD). ChD occurs when the flow of oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle is fully restricted (blocked) or partially restricted (reduced). This naturally increases the strain on the heart muscle and can lead to:


• heart attack (myocardial infarction (mI)) caused by a sudden block in the blood supply,


• Angina - chest pain caused by restricted blood flow


A heart attack may also be divided into two types, either a STEmI or NSTEmI. STEmI is ST elevated myocardial infarction, which is a total blockage of the blood flow to the


heart muscle and is the most serious type of heart attack. It causes extensive damage to a large area of the heart.


NSTEmI is non ST elevated myocardial infarction and occurs when there is only a partial disruption to the blood flow to the heart muscle. It is therefore less serious than a STEmI as it results in damage to a smaller area of the heart, but is still regarded as a serious medical emergency.


Northern Ireland has a high prevalence of the risk factors associated with heart disease. These risk factors include smoking, poor diet and physical inactivity. The health Survey NI 2014 reported that 53 per cent of adults met the new recommendations of at least 150 minutes of physical exercise per week.


men (60 per cent) were more likely than women (47 per cent) to meet


recommendations. males (28 per cent) were more likely than females (25 per cent) to be obese. Similarly, males were more likely to be overweight (37 per cent) than females (32 per cent), however this gap has narrowed over the last decade.


Northern Ireland is also at the bottom of the Uk scale for physical activity in children and youths. Only 43.4 per cent of children meet the recommendations for more than 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day³. This may have a detrimental effect in the future population.


Diagnosis is often sudden: chest pain, an emergency call, an ambulance journey to hospital and a diagnosis of heart attack. many healthcare professionals are involved in this pathway of care and, once diagnosed with a heart attack,


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