Clients At Risk 6 – 7

6. Cardiovascular Disease

• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a collective term for diseases of the heart and blood vessels
• The term commonly includes diseases such as coronary heart disease, heart failure, cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, peripheral vascular disease and stroke.

Cardiovascular disease risk factors:

• Age
• Gender
• Family history
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Sedentary lifestyle.

Arteriosclerosis

• Arteriosclerosis is a generic term for several diseases in which the arterial wall becomes thickened and loses elasticity
• Affects all blood vessels
• Progressive narrowing of the arteries due to the deposit of fatty materials
• The fatty deposits are termed “atheroma”
• Affects large and medium-sized arteries
• Affects the blood vessels that supply the heart.

Source: Heart Foundation, 2020.

7. Inflammation

Inflammation is a chronic, long term body response to poor nutrition, stress, the process of aging, environmental toxins and microbial and viral infection. Failure of body’s immune system to maintain healthy homeostasis. Type of inflammatory response: cells affected will affect the disease for example:

• Kidneys – renal disease
• Intestines – bowel disease.

Obesity

• It is recognised that a chronic low-grade inflammation and activation of the immune system are involved in the pathogenesis of obesity-related insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
• Systemic inflammatory markers are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes and its macrovascular complications.

Anti-inflammatory Foods

• There are several “anti-inflammatory foods”. Some of these include:
• Omega 3 rich foods – chia seeds, walnuts, canola oil, flaxseed oil, oily fish and fish oil supplements
• Vitamin E rich foods – foods that contain polyphenols – flavonoids and lignans, fruit, vegies, grains, choc, coffee, tea, olive oil
• Prebiotics, probiotics – non-digestible, nonabsorbable substances that ferment in the gut feeding desirable microflora that provide health improvements – onions, yoghurt.

Source: Dieticians Association of Australia, 2019.