Preventive Health Care
AHA Scientific Position: The American Heart Association believes that basic preventive health care services should be an integral part of an equitable, comprehensive health care plan, accessible to all. In the past three decades great strides have been made in preventing and treating heart disease and stroke. Death rates from cardiovascular disease have declined as a result, mainly because so many people have made positive behavior and lifestyle changes.
Why is preventive health care so important?
About half of all deaths from heart disease are sudden and unexpected, so there’s little opportunity for treatment. For people at risk of sudden death, prevention is the key. In 2001, an estimated 516,000 coronary artery bypass procedures were performed on 305,000 patients. If all heart attack-prone people were treated surgically, the cost would be prohibitive. Technological treatments for heart disease such as balloon angioplasty, thrombolytic therapy (clot-busting drugs), antiarrhythmic drugs and pacemakers aren’t cures. More importantly, such procedures can’t slow the buildup of fatty deposits in arteries (atherosclerosis), which causes most heart disease. And because of supply problems and other issues, heart transplants aren’t a realistic option for everyone with severe heart disease. That’s why more effort must be focused on prevention. Atherosclerosis often begins in childhood, but it may be decades before clinical disease shows up. We don’t fully understand all the causes of heart disease, but many population studies have identified major risk factors and strategies to reduce the risk. These are the risk factors we can modify, treat or control:
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- tobacco smoke
- high blood cholesterol
- high blood pressure
- physical inactivity
- obesity and overweight
- diabetes melitus
The decline in death rates from cardiovascular disease in the United States is mainly due largely to the public’s adopting more healthful behaviors and lifestyles. This decline underscores why it’s important for the medical profession to advocate prevention strategies. More and more evidence shows that fatty plaques in arteries can regress even in people with advanced disease. As our understanding of the causes of heart disease and stroke has improved, the association is directing preventive measures at health care providers, public health practitioners, community leaders, policy makers, patients and families, who can work together to implement our Primary and Secondary Prevention Guidelines.
By focusing on prevention, we can have a major impact on people’s health. The American Heart Association wants all people to know their risk factors for heart disease and stroke and the goals for both prevention and treatment. This approach includes people knowing how to effectively use the many strategies available to achieve these goals. Prevention costs less than expensive medical interventions, and in the long run brings more benefits.
Content of this article from the American Heart Association
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Preventive Health Care