Paper Example on Coronary Heart Disease and Stress

Concept name

Terms associated with concept

Life events, occupation, angiogram, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, work stress, anxiety, depression, job strain, stress, terror attack, and poor diet.

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Concept definition

Coronary Heart Disease comes up when the main blood vessel supplying the heart with nutrients, blood, and oxygen becomes diseased or damaged. Also, it occurs when cholesterol is accumulated in the artery walls, and they create plaques. The arteries then narrow in reducing the heart's blood flow, and at times a clot might obstruct heart muscle blood flow. It is the most common type of heart disease in the United States. Stress is one of the components that affect factors and behaviors that increases the risk of CHD due to high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and overreacting. When one has signs of CHD including chest pain, he or she is expected to have an angiogram.

For a long period of time, the public has been interested in knowing the relationship between coronary heart disease and stress. According to Bunker at al. (2003) the components of stress include depression, panic disorder, and anxiety; chronic and acute life events; hostility and type A behavior; psychological work characteristics; and lack of quality social support and social isolation. Bunker at al. (2003) argues that depression is highly related to coronary heart disease. The individuals depressed can engage in things like smoking which might later result in CHD risks. Furthermore, lack of support or social isolation is risk factors of CHD. The authors of "Stress" and coronary heart disease: psychosocial risk factors" found out that there is strong evidence in the reviews conducted that lack of quality social support and social isolation are independent risk elements for CHD. When the family isolates an individual, he or she will feel lonely, and this might result in CHD.

CHD events can be triggered by life event "stressors." Even though it might be challenging to quantify and study the magnitude effects of life events, some events like bereavement, terrorist attacks, and earthquake can make an individual to develop CHD through coronary events. Work-related stress might also result in CHD. In some organizations, a lot of pressure is put on the employees, and this might make them be worried. In the study conducted by Bunker at al. (2003), there is no consistent or strong evidence that shows that occupation related stressors cause CHD. However, a study that was conducted by Sara et al. (2018) found out that it is a relationship that exists between work stress and CHD. Work-related stress is a psychological risk factor which has currently become of interest in the fast placed, globalized, and ever demanding society. Therefore, organizational injustice, effort-reward imbalance, and job strain might result in the development of CHD in an individual (Sara et al., 2018).

The psychological risk factors can also cluster together for conventional risk factors. The patients having depression can highly develop CHD. Moreover, a social disadvantage might result in CHD. This issue mainly applies to individuals with depression and migrants. Lack of fitness or physical inactivity are examples of CHD risk factor. There is evidence that the patients having anxiety disorders especially panic disorder have a high possibility of being physically unfit. Thus, anxiety is a risk factor for CHD. In summary, different elements of stress might make an individual develop Coronary Heart Disease.

Application 1

The memory remains clear in my mind as if it happened yesterday. We are a family of six, and my father used to work in a certain bank which the name is withheld. However, we never spent much time with him because of the type of OCCUPATION he was doing. Even during weekends, he would sit alone with his job tools, and it is our mother who would attend to us most of the time. When you look at the time, he seemed DEPRESSED. It is like he had WORK STRESS as he spent most of his time alone. My new father was different from the one I knew earlier as he really changed, due to increased JOB STRAIN and he also had a POOR DIET. One day he came home late, and when my mum served him food, he said that he did not feel like eating. After a short time, he experienced chest pains, nausea, and he was weak. My mum quickly rushed him to the hospital, and upon arrival he was unconscious, and his heart stopped beating. Using the chest compressions to revive his heart was unsuccessful, and that is how we lost him.

Application 2

Five years ago, my uncle who was 53 years old noticed that he was so tired after a workday, but he believed that it was just a sign of getting older. Previously, his family had been involved in a TERROR ATTACK, and he was the only survivor in the family. He lost his wife and three children in the attack. So, he was forced to relocate to another town. Although losing a whole family is a hard thing, we thought he would cope with the situation. At some point, the LIFE EVENTS he encountered have made him be chest pains, DEPRESSED and have POOR DIET. However, we knew with time; he would get better. On this day, he expected pain in the jaw, and it got much worse while playing golf. He was not much concerned about the issue and the next day while at work, he realized that he felt pain while getting out of his desk. He spent most of his time alone. I think it is because of the life event he experienced. So, he called the family doctor, and after examination and BLOOD PRESSURE check, he realized that he had a cardiac problem. He was referred to another hospital that ANGIOGRAM revealed he had a 95% blockage on his right coronary artery. In opening the blockage, Endeavor Zotarolimus-Eluting Stent was implanted in maintaining a good flow of blood. After a few days, he got better, and the doctor advised him to accept what happened and continue with his life. He is currently doing well and enjoys playing golf.

Application 3

As a teenager, it was my first time to encounter a meaningful death in my life, and this made my father's demise really affected me. When we were told about his demise, I was DEPRESSED and felt ANXIOUS at the same because I could not believe he would leave so soon. Furthermore, my heart rate and BLOOD PRESSURE increased. My other rushed me to the hospital, and I expected to get a dose of high-pressure medication. Instead, the doctor gave me a stress test for the heart which I failed. The doctor then scheduled me to have ANGIOGRAM, and the results indicated that my left anterior descending artery had a blockage. The doctor then suggested that he should perform a bypass surgery which I agreed into even though I did not know the process. After the surgery, I stayed in the hospital for about five days then I was ready to go home. The surgery was successful, and even currently I am doing great. However, I have learned the importance of not being STRESSED by the LIFE EVENTS that we encounter in our lives.

Author of Concept

Bunker, S. J., Colquhoun, D. M., Esler, M. D., Hickie, I. B., Hunt, D., Jelinek, V. M., ... & Tonkin, A. M. (2003). "Stress" and coronary heart disease: psychosocial risk factors. Medical Journal of Australia, 178(6), 272-276. Chapter 1, page 21-22.