Chronic Diseases
CHRONIC DISEASES
A chronic disease is an illness that is prolonged in duration, does not spontaneously resolve, and is usually not cured completely. Examples of chronic diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, lung cancer, and heart disease. Heart disease is an illness that involves the blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels. It is the leading cause of death in the US with approximately 81.1 million people, or one in every three adults living with heart disease. The illness causes swelling in feet and ankles, ineffective functioning of kidney and liver, wheezing and coughing persistently, fatigue, shortness of breath, and stroke and heart attack, which could lead to death. I am at optimal risk of getting the disease because I lack in major cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, my great uncle did die from heart disease, suffering from shortness of breath, dizziness, and eventual heart attack.
Cancer, another chronic disease, is the growth of uncontrolled, abnormal cells in any part of the body. It is a leading cause of death globally with 13% of the world’s population living with cancer. One of the most common forms of cancer is lung cancer that causes its victims to have fever, fatigue, short of breath, weight loss and persistent pain in the chest, unusual bleeding when coughing, and persistent cough. In this case, I am also at optimal risk of getting lung cancer because I do not use tobacco, am not exposed to chemical facilities, and there are no lung cancer cases in the immediate family. However, my brother-in-law was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and presenting with persistent coughing and blood in his sputum. He was also a heavy smoker.
Finally, rheumatoid arthritis is another chronic disease, which, in this case, is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of organs and tissues, particularly flexible joints. There are approximately 2% of Americans living with arthritis with two thirds being women. The illness causes the patient to
A chronic disease is an illness that is prolonged in duration, does not spontaneously resolve, and is usually not cured completely. Examples of chronic diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, lung cancer, and heart disease. Heart disease is an illness that involves the blockage or narrowing of the blood vessels. It is the leading cause of death in the US with approximately 81.1 million people, or one in every three adults living with heart disease. The illness causes swelling in feet and ankles, ineffective functioning of kidney and liver, wheezing and coughing persistently, fatigue, shortness of breath, and stroke and heart attack, which could lead to death. I am at optimal risk of getting the disease because I lack in major cardiovascular disease risk factors. However, my great uncle did die from heart disease, suffering from shortness of breath, dizziness, and eventual heart attack.
Cancer, another chronic disease, is the growth of uncontrolled, abnormal cells in any part of the body. It is a leading cause of death globally with 13% of the world’s population living with cancer. One of the most common forms of cancer is lung cancer that causes its victims to have fever, fatigue, short of breath, weight loss and persistent pain in the chest, unusual bleeding when coughing, and persistent cough. In this case, I am also at optimal risk of getting lung cancer because I do not use tobacco, am not exposed to chemical facilities, and there are no lung cancer cases in the immediate family. However, my brother-in-law was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and presenting with persistent coughing and blood in his sputum. He was also a heavy smoker.
Finally, rheumatoid arthritis is another chronic disease, which, in this case, is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of organs and tissues, particularly flexible joints. There are approximately 2% of Americans living with arthritis with two thirds being women. The illness causes the patient to
References: Harris, Randall. E. 2013. Epidemiology of chronic disease: global perspectives. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Nuovo, Jim. 2007. Chronic disease management. New York, NY: Springer.