Healthcare Essay Sample: Prevalence of Cardiovascular Conditions in Hispanics

Hispanics are more likely to become victims of cardiovascular conditions and complications because of some social and lifestyle factors that have caused this particular occurrence. In fact, heart diseases and complications are the top-most causes of fatal health concerns that kill Hispanics all over the world today with 33% of all Hispanic men and approximately 31% of all the women having such conditions. As a result, a third of the entire population of Hispanics is victims of such conditions and account for the death of more Hispanics across the world than the various forms of cancer combined. This paper is a systematic literature review on the issue of cardiovascular concerns for Hispanics and Mexican-Americans

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Purpose of the Study

Cardiovascular conditions have been cited as a serious health concern for the Hispanic population as factors pointing towards the diseases are mainly based on lifestyle choices rather than hereditary causes of such diseases. As a result, this study aims at showing the causes of these diseases, especially among this sample population and seeing the effect that such data could have on the overall information concerned with this health issue. Obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure have been cited as the major concerns that cause the rising of cases of cardiovascular complications. The purpose of this study is to ensure that a solution could be found for the problems facing this particular population through the analysis of the various articles and information on the subject (American Health Association, 2015). Furthermore, the sample of information seeks to focus on the major causes for health concerns and behaviors and attitudes towards the causes of the cardiovascular conditions that possibly need to change in the reduction of such conditions among Hispanics.

Search Criteria

This paper made use of a relatively simple criterion of searching for the articles. In this particular study, certain key words were searched through the Google Scholar website for the identification of the sample articles that I would use. Such key words included cardiovascular conditions among Hispanics, prevalence of diabetes and heart disease among Hispanics among similar key words on the lines of cardiovascular conditions with regards to Hispanic populations.

A series of results were brought forward after the search and then depending on the information that the abstract in the article offered, the article was used or disqualified. The purpose of the article was to ensure information was offered on the topic, making sure that the information that is hosted on the sites was for educational purposes on lifestyle changes that could be implemented in order to ensure that the diseases could be averted and the number would be reduced. Websites were equally used for the purposes of statistical information on the numbers of cardiovascular conditions among the Hispanic population. Results from websites such as the American Heart Association, as well as the World Health Organization would be used for the purposes of the study. Elimination was used against the sources that were non-reliable such as non-endorsed websites and search engine optimization (SEO) results.

Findings by Concept

Three of the major concerns for cardiovascular conditions are hypertension, obesity and diabetes. These three conditions appear to be as a result of each other and affect the Hispanic population systematically (Koya & Egede, 2007). Research has shown that acculturation is one of the major factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases (hereinafter referred to as CVDs) depending on the length of stay in the United States for immigrants. The study by Koya & Egede (2007) sampled over 5000 adult immigrants to the United States. The criteria for the analysis of these immigrants was on the basis of less than five years, between five to ten years, between ten and fifteen years, and those who had immigrated into the US for 15 years and above, for the prevalence of CVDs as a result of the acculturation period (Kaplan & Keil, 1993). This period was directly proportionate to their length of stay as the period in which they would become familiar with the surroundings of the most country. Multiple logistic regression methods were used to sample the variable factors between the length of stay and the susceptibility to CVDs.

The results of the sampled population were as follows: 55% were obese, 33% had hypertension and hyperlidimia conditions, 6% had diabetes. Furthermore, the majority of the population tested was physically inactive (over 80% of them) and 14% were smokers. The 10 year point was the point of reference in this study, and it was found those people having lived in the United Sates for 15 years and over were more likely to be obese, have hyperlidimia or hypertension or be smokers (Koya & Egede, 2007). A smaller period of living within the United States for the immigrants showed a significant decrease in lifestyles that would lead to either of the conditions mentioned above, with those having stayed in the host country for less than 10 years showing less signs of sedentary lifestyles. However, in the case of diabetes testing, the length of stay had no bearing on whether or not the study participant would have diabetes or hypertension (Anderson, 1993).

In conclusion, the study found that the average length of stay of the immigrant in the host country, which in this case is the US, has a significant impact on the likelihood to have cardiovascular conditions, or conditions leading to CVDs. Increased odds of having hypertension and hyperlidimia, obesity and detrimental behavior such as cigarette smoking was more likely.

With regards to the health concerns that are present in the Hispanic population, research has shown that some particular groups are more susceptible to the CVD conditions as opposed to others (Daviglus, et al., 2012). In this particular study, the particular CVDs that were being tested for their prevalence were stroke and coronary heart disease. These two were being tested against the different cultural backgrounds of the various Hispanic respondents as well as the effect of acculturation on the frequency of the conditions in the respondents. CVD risk factors were also cross-sectionally examined against the prevalence of the CVD conditions themselves for the respondents in the study. Risk factors were pre-determined by governmental sources while the information on the prevalence of the two particular CVD conditions were measured from the self-reported data of the respondents.

Some of the results were as follows: obesity and smoking were at their highest among Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin with 41% and 51% respectively for each category. Hypercholesterolemia was highest in the case of Central American men and Puerto Rican women with prevalence of 55% and 49% respectively. 80% of the male respondents and 71% of all female respondents had at least one risk factor associated with their lives (Chan, Diez-Rouz, & Kandula, 2008). When age was factored into the equation, Puerto Rican men had at least 3 risk factors associated with them depending on their levels of educations, acculturation factors, citizenship in the United States and their preference to express themselves in the English language (Jackson, Detrano, & Diex-Rouz, 2005). Furthermore, the presence of Coronary Heart Disease was affected by the levels of hypertension and smoking for the respondents.

This study concluded to the prevalence of CVD health risk factors to a least the largest part of the Hispanic population without regards for the factors of descent. Some of the most adverse risk factors were present in Hispanics of Puerto Rican origin, with risk factors varying depending on the level of education and socio-economic status of the person. As the population of Hispanics age, the rate of mortality and morbidity arising from the cardiovascular conditions equally increases (Bethel & Schenker, 2005).

Social factors such as the nutrition have also been found to be determinant to the risk factors that are present for the different Hispanic populations with regards to CVDs. Nutrition and lifestyle have had an effect on the levels of CVD diseases among respondents (Perez-Escamilla & Putnik, 2007). The Hispanic population in the United States is expected to be at the 25% mark in comparison with the population of the US by 2050. As such, they will be a significant minority group in the country by then and thus Perez-Escamilla & Putnik (2007) seek to prove the need for a differentiated approach towards lifestyle methods in order to reduce CVD risks. Dietary intake, smoking and alcohol intake activities, obesity as well as physical activity factors are some of the concerns that were involved in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes risk, as well as the risk of having other CVDs including coronary heart disease. Acculturation was one of the factors that increased risk of exposure to CVDs as well as type 2 diabetes.

It has equally been noted in research that risk factors for the presence of CVDs affect different groups of the Hispanic origin differently. As a matter of fact, the difference in prevalence of risk factors can be determined by the kind of group that is being tested (Zsembiik & Fennel, 2005). A survey done by the National Health Interview Survey showed that the health patterns among different Latino groups are significantly different, albeit related in nature. For example, Mexicans will have better health as opposed to their Puerto Rican counterparts, because of the different social and economic settings that they live in and are influenced by. On the other hand, Latinos of Cuban and Dominican origin experience a number of health advantages and disadvantages, which are dependent on the health outcomes in question. Differences in social factors can also be seen where the health situation for Hispanics from Mexico are affected negatively by higher socio-economic status and high levels of acculturation as opposed to their counterparts from the Caribbean Islands who are negatively affected because of low socio-economic status and poor levels of acculturation.

As such, the study by Zsembiik & Fennel (2005) seeks to ensure a situation where the distinctive nature of each subgroup within the larger Hispanic population is solely considered when dealing with issues of health risk and CVD risk. Despite this, research in other areas has distinctly shown that on some fronts, the entire Hispanic population can be accounted for based on the general assumption of the population as a whole. For example, statistics show that the rates for Americans of Hispanic origin getting cardiovascular complications is about 60% higher than the average white American (Go, Mossaferrian, & Roger, 2014). Furthermore, information on the risk of cardiovascular disease for people with diabetes is not available to people of the Hispanic origin, noting that only 1 in four Latinos are aware of the risk that they have for cardiovascular diseases arising from their diabetes infection. Despite focus on the individuality of the sub-groups in the Latino group, there is equally need to consider the overall facts that shape the attitudes towards the prevalence of CVDs among the people of this origin.

Interventions to the high rates of mortality and morbidity arising from the risk and infection of CVDs have been implemented in a bid to ensure that such health risks are averted. Practitioners in the field are continually working to ensure that such risks are mitigated and human life is preserved (Rhodes, Foley, Zometa, & Bloom, 2007). Lay Health Advisor models have been brought up to ensure that such information is dispensed to people from H...