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Research Essay for Merced College

Heart Disease in American Males over age 40 and its Prevention

Connor Fones

Submitted to Merced College

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Connor Fones

Mrs.Spurlock

Essay

March 7 2018

Heart Disease

Heart disease is a disease that doesn’t discriminate. It does not discriminate on religion,

race, sex or age. It can happen to anyone at anytime. Heart disease affects almost every family

in some way. Men tend to get heart disease 10 years sooner, on the average, than women

develop it. Heart disease can have different symptoms for men over 40 years of age. Men

usually experience symptoms like chest pain, erectile dysfunction, shortness of breath, nausea,

fatigue and stress. Heart disease steadily rises with getting older. Only about 4% to 10% of

heart attacks happen before 45 years of age. The American Heart Association states “Most heart

attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that

goes away and comes back” (1).

In older men over 40 years of age, most all of heart attacks are due to atherosclerotic

blockage in the coronary arteries. Atherosclerosis is ‘“hardening of the arteries”. As men reach

their forties, they tend to get high levels of LDL, which is the “bad cholesterol”. Bad eating ,

smoking high blood pressure and diabetes are some the reasons mens LDL can be high.

Atherosclerosis develops slowly over years and years. Men can help improve their bad

cholesterol with higher levels of HDL, which is the “good” cholesterol. HDL helps take away
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the bad cholesterol from the artery, which helps limit damage to the artery. Other heart diseases

can be described in a wide range of conditions. Men can have high blood pressure, coronary

artery disease, arrhythmias, congenital heart defects, cardiomyopathy and so on. Cardiovascular

disease is also under the umbrella of heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is blocked blood

vessels or narrowed blood vessels. This condition can lead to heart attack, chest pain or stroke.

Some of the other names and symptoms are; tachycardia: racing heartbeat, bradycardia: slow

heart beat, syncope: near fainting. These are a few conditions of heart disease that men are at

higher risk for after forty.

Men most at risk for heart disease are smokers, high blood pressure (hypertension), high

cholesterol, obesity, family history of heart disease and diabetes and stress. Stress affects

everybody and Reinberg states “If you have heart disease, unrelenting stress might hasten your

death” (1). Smoking weakens your heart. High blood pressure pushes against the wall of the

arteries. High cholesterol coats the walls of the arteries with plaque. Obesity causes the heart to

work harder, family history is when you have a higher chance of developing heart disease,

diabetes interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates which can lead to many

health problems.

Men who have those symptoms need to see a cardiologist. A cardiologist is a physician

who specializes in the heart. The cardiologist would first do a physical exam. After the exam he

could run an array of tests. He could do an electrocardiogram, which some people refer to as an

EKG. He could also order an echocardiogram which is a ultrasound of the heart. Lastly, he
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would more than likely order blood work. Upon evaluating all these tests, he could come to a

diagnosis.

Heart disease can be prevented or treated in men over 40 with a healthy lifestyle. Dr.

Ornish states “Heart disease, our leading killer, may be reversed with the lowest-tech approach-

diet and lifestyle change” (Nutrition Facts 1). A good diet of fruits, vegetables and fish helps

curb obesity and diabetes. Many people believe “Exercise can be very helpful in preventing and

rehabilitating heart disorders and disease” (Gale 1) . Exercise is very important in keeping the

heart strong. Exercise also helps curb obesity. Quit or never smoke. Doing this these things can

help curb heart disease. If men start taking care of themselves at a young age, when they reach

their forties they may never acquire heart disease.

My interest in heart disease sparked with a story my mom told to me about my great

grandfather’s heart attack. It was December 31, 1995, my mom and her family were in Modesto

having dinner celebrating New Years Eve. When dinner was finished and they went to leave the

restaurant, my great grandfather collapsed by the exit. He had no pulse and no heartbeat. My

mom said with in seconds everyone kicked in and started to help. One person call 911, while

two other family members started CPR. Within, a few minutes the paramedics arrived and took

over and took him to the hospital. My great grandfather was in the hospital for three months

before going home. He went home, but wasn’t the same. He was always a big man, but now he

was frail and weak. According to my mom he lived four more months at home before passing

away in July 1996. After hearing this story heart disease was always interesting to me. I was
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curious if this could happen to my parents or to me. I asked if there could have been anything

my great grandfather could have done to prevent heart disease. My mom said he had had mini

heart attacks and was on medication, but he was 79 years old and with age it’s easier to develop

heart disease and harder to treat.

The study of heart disease is very, very important. In the US about 610,00 people die of

heart disease every year. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men. Heart disease is

very costly to treat . It cost about $316.6 billion in health care costs and loss of productivity. It

also affects families if a parent dies. If the parent dies it leaves children to be raised by relatives

or even be put into foster care. It is so important to raise funding for the study of heart disease.

The American Heart Association invested $152.5 million to fund 882 new awards in heart and

stroke research. With research from the American Heart Association, it is helping both men and

women from dying ofheart disease and live longer. With the study of heart disease, maybe in the

future there will be a drastic reduction in heart attacks strokes.

With my research and personal story of my grandfather, I am hoping men over 40 will

start taking care of themselves better. I hope men start eating right and exercise to help keep a

strong heart. Middle aged men especially need to see their doctor on a regular basis for check

ups and proper testing. After reading my paper I hope everyone pays attention to their body and

if needed change their lifestyle to live longer.

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In the rural area that I live in I feel middle aged men need better education on heart

health. In Merced County 2015, 26.7 percent of people were living below poverty level. Men

are less likely to have a family physician and use the emergency department as a go to when they

are ill. If people could be better educated on how to take care of themselves it could help not

only the wealthy with insurance, but also the poverty level citizens with no insurance. That is

why helping raise money for research is so important in helping the American Heart Association

and scientists gain knowledge so people can not develop heart disease or help treat those with it.

If you can’t afford to donate money, you can always help by donating your time. You can also

mentor friends and family members to eat better, exercise, take better care of themselves, and see

your doctor on a regular basis.

Hypothesis- Men over 40 that have heart disease tend to have acquired this

condition. By unhealthy eating habit from when the were little to there age over 40.

Without lack of consistent exercise prevention in this case might have been a healthier

eating style. Starting at a young age and from now switch to a healthy diet and

consistent exercise.

In writing on heart disease on men over forty, I came across a recent story of how

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recently had open heart surgery. Arnold was born with a

congenital heart defect. The defect he was born with made it where he had to have

pulmonic valve replacement twice. He lived with the first replacement, but ultimately
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had to have a second one done. This is just one case of how men over forty experience

heart disease

Arnold Schwarzenegger had his first pulmonic valve replacement done in 1997.

He had his first surgery at age 49 and his second surgery at 70. With being more in the

upper years there is a higher chance of mortality with each heart surgery. The pulmonic

valve replacement which was done in 1997 had a 10 to 15 year life expectancy. The

new surgery was done by a less-invasive catheter valve replacement which helps with a

faster recovery.

The pulmonic valve, which can be also referred to as the pulmonary valve. This

valve is the semilunar valve of the heart. This valve lies between the pulmonary artery

and right ventricle. The valve is made up of three cusps. The cusps are aortic valve,

mitral valve, and tricuspid valve. Pulmonic valve sends blood from the heart’s lower

right chamber to the artery which will deliver blood to the lungs. When the pulmonic

valve is poorly functioning, it can cause symptoms as shortness of breath when

exertion, fatigue, and possible fainting spells. When someone experiences these

symptoms it can send people to the emergency department by way of ambulance or by

car, just depending on how bad the symptoms are that they may be experiencing.

Heart disease is the leading killer in the United States. If men over the age of 40

would start with early prevention they might never develop heart disease. If you have a

congenital heart condition that is not your fault it’s something you are born with, but it

still needs to be managed with good eating, exercise and minimal stress. It is important
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for people to help raise money and volunteer at the American Heart Association. The

American Heart Association donates money for research to scientific labs. With their

help, maybe one day we can lower the percentages of people dying from heart disease.

This disease has affected my family twice, it took both my great grandfather’s lives.