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Disease Prevention:
Avoiding heart disease, cancer and
diabetes
| Course Number |
LWH501
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| Objectives |
At the end of this course, you will
explain the disease etiology and prevention of 1) major infectious
diseases, 2) cardiovascular diseases, 3) cancer and 4) diabetes.
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| Credit Hours and Fee |
3.0 CE Credit Hours with a fee of $24.00 |
| Instructor |
Rudolf Klimes, PhD (Indiana University), MPH
(Johns Hopkins University), Adjunct Professor at Folsom Lake College,
Folsom, CA. |
Welcome
to this
3-contact-hour Continuing Education course with instant online processing and
certification 24/7. Study the course below, take the 12-question
multiple-choice
TEST, register and pay online. If
you score 75% or above, you may print your CE certificate on your printer as
soon as you finish.
If you have difficulty printing your certificate,
click here.
You may retake the test once.
Questions
Do the following for self-study. Do not submit the answers.
Heart disease is an inevitable result of aging.
High-density lipoproteins take excessive cholesterol back to the liver.
There are no signs or symptoms associated with stroke.
Slightly obese women will more likely have heart attacks than thin ones.
Classification of Diseases and
Injuries ICM-9 CM: 1. Infectious and Parasitic Diseases 2. Neoplasm 3. Endocrine, Nutritional,
and Metabolic Diseases and Immunity Disorders 4. Diseases of the Blood and
Blood-Forming Organs 5. Mental Disorders 6. Diseases of the Nervous System and
Sense Organs 7. Diseases of the Circulatory System
8. Diseases of the
Respiratory System 9. Diseases of the Digestive System 10. Diseases of the
Genitourinary System 11. Complications of Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Puerperium 12. Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue 13. Diseases of the
Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue 14. Congenital Anomalies 15.
Certain Conditions Originating in the Perinatal Period 16. Symptoms, Signs, and
Ill-Defined Conditions 17. Injury and Poisoning
Disease Risks: Assess your risks
Online Clinical Calculators:
http://www.intmed.mcw.edu/clincalc.html
Coronary Heart Disease Risk Calculator:
http://www.intmed.mcw.edu/clincalc/heartrisk.html
http://hin.nhlbi.nih.gov/atpiii/calculator.asp?usertype=pub
http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/heart_disease_risk.asp
High-Risk Behaviors
Certain behaviors—often begun while young—put people at high risk for
premature death, disability, or chronic diseases. The following are the most
common such behaviors:
- Smoking and other forms of tobacco use.
- Eating high-fat and low-fiber foods.
- Not engaging in enough physical activity.
- Abusing alcohol or other drugs.
- Not availing of proven medical methods for preventing disease or
diagnosing disease early (e.g., flu shots, Pap smears, mammograms,
colonoscopies).
- Engaging in violent behavior or behavior that may cause unintentional
injuries (e.g., driving while intoxicated).
1.
What are infectious diseases and how are they prevented?
Assess in some detail your risk for 5 specific infectious
diseases and describe your planned preventive measures for each. Use
the HealthFinder online checkup and other resources.
Infectious diseases are caused mainly by
viruses (that live in other cells), bacteria, and fungi. They are transmitted
through insects, persons, sex, food, water, or airborne means. Many diseases can
be prevented by hand-washing with plenty of soup and hot water, the avoidance of
close contact with obvious carriers and vaccinations. Explore
Salmonella.
The microbes that cause infections are viruses, bacteria,
fungi and parasitic worms. Study them at http://www.cellsalive.com.
They cause infectious diseases, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS.
Explore the ways you can protect yourself from them.
The recommended handwashing technique depends on the purpose of the
handwashing. The ideal duration of handwashing is not known, but washing times
of 15 seconds or less have been reported as effective in removing most transient
contaminants from the skin. Therefore, for most activities, a vigorous, brief
(at least 10 seconds) rubbing together of all surfaces of lathered hands
followed by rinsing under a stream of water is recommended. If hands are visibly
soiled, more time may be required for handwashing.
The absolute indications for handwashing with plain soaps and detergents
versus handwashing with antimicrobial-containing products are not known because
of the lack of well-controlled studies comparing infection rates when such
products are used. For most routine activities, handwashing with plain soap
appears to be sufficient, since soap will allow most transient microorganisms to
be washed off . www.cdc.gov
Keep your nails short and wash well under and around them. Remove rings and
watches so you can wash well in those places. If there is danger of a problem,
turn off the faucets with a paper towel. Wash before eating, drinking, handling
food, and after using the bathroom, blowing your nose, sneezing, and shaking
many hands etc. When washing your hands, keep ypur fingers pointed down so the
water runs off your fingertips. Be generous with the soup and wash between your
finger, the nail edges, the back of your hand, and your wrist. Then dry your
hands well.
Injuries
and Violence Adolescent
and School Health
2.
What is heart disease and how is it prevented?
Assess in some detail your risk for heart disease and
describe your planned preventive measures for each. Use
the HealthFinder online checkup and other resources.
Circulatory
System Diseases. Lower your risk of heart
disease (and also cancer
and diabetes) by exercising, eating low-fat, low-cholesterol foods, controlling
your weight, regular screening tests, and not smoking. CyberLearning Modules News - Cardiovascular
disorders http://americanheart.org
Explore the heart at http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp
Understand some terms like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),
electrocardiogram (EKG), myocardial infarction (MI) and transient ischemic
attacks (TIA).
The signs of a heart attack are: paleness,
anxiety-fear-denial, sweating, shortness of breath, indigestion, tightness or
chest pain, overall weakness and nausea. If you have one or more of these 8
signs, don't wait. Call for help. More on this at
www.hsf.ca .
Risk factors are conditions or behaviors that increase your
likelihood of developing a disease. When you have more than one for heart
disease, your risk greatly multiplies. So if you have high blood pressure, you
need to take action. Fortunately, most of the heart disease risk factors are
largely within your control.
Risk factors under your control are:
- High blood pressure
- High blood cholesterol
- Cigarette smoking
- Diabetes
- Overweight
- Physical inactivity
Risk factors beyond your control are:
- Age (45 or older for men; 55 or older for women)
- Family history of early heart disease (having a mother or sister who has
been diagnosed with heart disease before age 65, or a father or brother
diagnosed before age 55)
Blood Pressure:
| Category |
Systolicb
(in mm Hg)c |
|
Diastolicb
(in mm Hg)c |
Result |
| Optimal |
less than 120 |
and |
less than 80 |
Good for you! |
| Normal |
less than 130 |
and |
less than 85 |
Keep an eye on it. |
| High-Normal |
130-139 |
or |
85-89 |
Your blood pressure could be a problem. Make needed changes in what
you eat and drink, get physical activity, and lose extra weight. If you
also have diabetes, see the doctor. |
Hypertension
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3 |
140-159
160-179
180 or higher |
or
or
or |
90-99
100-109
110 or higher |
You have high blood pressure. Ask your doctor or nurse how to control
it. |
www.nih.gov
Reducing Sodium Leads to Substantial Drop in
Blood Pressure, Finds NHLBI Study
Sodium reduction combined with either a typical U.S. diet or the
"DASH" diet, which is rich in vegetables, fruit, and low-fat dairy
products and low in total and saturated fat, substantially lowered blood
pressure in persons with high blood pressure and persons with higher than
optimal blood pressure, according to the results of a study supported by the
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes
of Health.
The DASH-Sodium study found that the lowest blood pressure
levels were in those eating sodium levels much lower than the currently
recommended maximum of 2,400 milligrams a day while also eating the DASH (Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. In both the DASH
diet and a typical American diet, the lower the sodium, the lower the blood
pressure. The combination of following the DASH diet at the lower sodium level
reduced blood pressure more than either the DASH diet or lower sodium intake
alone.
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE Wednesday, January 3, 2001 NHLBI
Communications Office (301) 496-4236
3.
What are cancer and diabetes and how are they prevented?
Assess in some detail your risk for 4 types of cancer and for diabetes and
describe your planned preventive measures for each. Use
the HealthFinder online checkup and other resources.
Cancer is a group of more than 100 different diseases. Cancer occurs when
cells become abnormal and keep dividing and forming more cells without control
or order.
All organs of the body are made up of cells. Normally, cells divide to
produce more cells only when the body needs them. If cells divide when new ones
are not needed, they form a mass of excess tissue, called a tumor. Tumors can be
benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer).
The cells in malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissues and
organs. Cancer cells can also break away from a malignant tumor and travel
through the bloodstream or the lymphatic system to form new tumors in other
parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.
What are the signs and symptoms of cancer? Cancer often causes symptoms that you can watch for. The word CAUTION can
remind you of the most common warning signs of cancer:
Change in bowel or bladder habits,
A sore that does not heal,
Unusual bleeding or discharge,
Thickening or lump in the breast or any other part of the
body,
Indigestion or difficulty swallowing,
Obvious change in a wart or mole,
Nagging cough or hoarseness.
These symptoms are not always warning signs of cancer. They can also be
caused by less serious conditions. It is important to see a doctor if you have
any of these symptoms. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Don't wait to feel
pain: Early cancer usually does not cause pain.
A biopsy is the only sure way to know whether a medical problem is cancer. In
a biopsy, the doctor removes a sample of tissue. The tissue is examined under a
microscope to check for cancer cells.
How is cancer treated? Cancer is treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone
therapy, or biological therapy. The doctor may use one method or a combination
of methods. The choice of treatment depends on the type and location of the
cancer, whether the disease has spread, the patient's age and general health,
and other factors.
Many cancer patients take part in clinical trials (research studies) testing
new treatment methods. Such studies are designed to improve cancer treatment.
Can cancer be prevented? Many cases of cancer can be prevented by not using tobacco products, avoiding
the harmful rays of the sun, and choosing foods with less fat and more fiber. In
addition, regular checkups and self-exams can reveal cancer at an early stage,
when treatment is likely to be effective. Source: National
Cancer Institute. See also http://cancer.org
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu and http://www.noah.cuny.edu/qksearch.html
. Explore skin cancer at http://www.maui.net/~southsky/introto.html.
4. Diabetes
Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism--the way our bodies use digested food for
growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form
of sugar in the blood. Glucose is the main source of fuel for the body.
After digestion, glucose passes into the bloodstream, where it is used by
cells for growth and energy. For glucose to get into cells, insulin must be
present. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas, a large gland behind the
stomach.
When we eat, the pancreas is supposed to automatically produce the right
amount of insulin to move glucose from blood into our cells. In people with
diabetes, however, the pancreas either produces little or no insulin, or the
cells do not respond appropriately to the insulin that is produced. Glucose
builds up in the blood, overflows into the urine, and passes out of the body.
Thus, the body loses its main source of fuel even though the blood contains
large amounts of glucose.
The most common form of diabetes is type 2 diabetes. About 90 to 95 percent of
people with diabetes have type 2. This form of diabetes usually develops in
adults age 40 and older and is most common in adults over age 55.
About
80 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight. Type 2 diabetes
is often part of a metabolic syndrome that includes obesity, elevated blood
pressure, and high levels of blood lipids. Unfortunately, as more children
become overweight, type 2 diabetes is becoming more common in young people.
When type 2 diabetes is diagnosed, the pancreas is usually producing enough
insulin, but, for unknown reasons, the body cannot use the insulin effectively,
a condition called insulin resistance. After several years, insulin production
decreases. The result is the same as for type 1 diabetes--glucose builds up in
the blood and the body cannot make efficient use of its main source of fuel.
The symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually. They are not as sudden in
onset as in type 1 diabetes. Some people have no symptoms. Symptoms may include
fatigue or nausea, frequent urination, unusual thirst, weight loss, blurred
vision, frequent infections, and slow healing of wounds or sores.
Healthy eating, physical activity, and blood glucose testing are the basic
management tools for type 2 diabetes. In addition, many people with type 2
diabetes require oral medication and insulin to control their blood glucose
levels. www.nih.gov . Explore http://www.niddk.nih.gov
http://www.diabetes.org http://www.diabetes.com
http://www.diabetesnet.com http://www.mdcc.com
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