Heart disease is the type of disorder that occurs when the flow of blood to the various section of the heart is blocked by the clot in the blood. When the flow of the blood is to the heart is blocked, the heart usually tends to lack oxygen, and this would resultantly make the muscle of the heart to die, and this would resultantly lead to a heart attack. Stroke, on the other hand, is the disorder that occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain with oxygenated blood gets clogged or burst. Two types of stroke normally exist, and they include ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke. This research paper, therefore, offers discussion on the heart disease and stroke within the Barbados society.
Based on the national registry of Barbados, it has been found that heart disease and stroke to be among the leading disorders which cause death among the male adults of Barbados. This has made the health ministry of Barbados to collaborate with the Barbados heart and stroke foundation to develop initiatives and programs that would assist in reducing the number of deaths caused by both heart disease and stroke among the male adults of Barbados. Moreover, based on the national registry of Barbados, it has been found that women have a lower risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke until they reach their menopause age. Hence younger women have a lower risk of having heart disease and stroke as compared to the older women who are at their menopausal age.
Moreover, men who are above 55 years along with the older women in their post-menopausal age usually tend to share similar risk profile for both heart disease together with stroke. Therefore, in the Barbados community, the prevalence of heart disease and stroke is high among the adult population as compared to the youths. Similarly, based on the Barbados national registry it has been found that about 80 percent of those who suffer from either heart disease or stroke always suffer from hypertension while six out of 10 patients who suffer from either stroke or heart disease normally tend to b diabetic. Therefore, based on the information from the national registry of Barbados it has been found that stroke and heart disease contribute to high rate of death among the adults in Barbados since they further make the affected people develop the problem of high blood pressure and diabetes which resultantly increase the rates of death when not properly controlled.
Besides, the government of Barbados has launched various initiatives which are normally aimed at controlling heart disease and stroke in among the people of Barbados, and some of the initiatives established by the government include but not limited to setting the standard for the cardiovascular disease care and jump rope for heart program. Setting the standards for heart disease care has been used as an initiative for controlling heart disease stroke after the implementation of a new treatment protocol for hypertension. It entails counseling the patients on lifestyle changes like advancing exercise and diet alongside reducing the use of tobacco which normally act as the main risk factor for heart disease and stroke. This initiative mainly helped in counseling the patients to change their lifestyle to be free from the risk factors which might expose them to heart disease and stroke which would lower their standard of life and even cause their death under extreme condition.
Furthermore, jump rope for the heart is an initiative for controlling heart disease and stroke among the primary school children. This program encourages physical activities among the children which would considerably lower the chances of occurrence of heart diseases and stroke among the children. Also, the government of Barbados through its ministry of health has assisted in controlling heart disease and stroke in Barbados through partnering with the health and stroke foundation to purchase tertiary cardiac rehabilitation service to assist in alleviating the affected patients from the adverse effects associated with heart disease and stroke. Cardiac rehabilitation service is a specialized medical service designed to enhance physical function, emotional health and lower the cardiovascular risk factors for individuals with a heart disorder. Hence this program has assisted in controlling heart disease and stroke in Barbados since it normally reduces the risks factors which contribute to stroke and heart disease thus making the population of Barbados to live a healthier life.
Additionally, support from the global heart programs has assisted towards controlling heart disease and stroke in Barbados to enable Barbados to become a healthy community. The global heart initiatives for reducing heart disease entails developing salt reduction and tobacco control plan, improving access to medicine and technologies and executing a simplified and standardized management protocol for heart disease. Typically, the global hearts initiative depends on the proven and effective interventions to counter heart disease and strengthen the detection and treatment of the individuals at the high risk of heart disease and stroke.
In conclusion, heart disease and stroke are among the leading cause of death in Barbados. It is most common among the adult population as compared to the youths. Moreover, in attempt to control heart disease and stroke, the government of Barbados through its ministry of health has launched various initiatives like jump rope for heart and purchasing cardiac rehabilitation programs which have greatly contributed towards reducing heart disease and stroke in Barbados.
