Stigma 3: Heart Disease Does NOT Only Afflict The Elderly

There is a common social conception that heart disease is directly connected to age, and, therefore, only the elderly have it. Furthermore, it is assumed only the elderly who did not care for their physical wellbeing in their younger years develop it.

This is untrue.

Despite popular opinion, cardiac disease does not only impact the elderly. Just like how cardiac disease has a spectrum of intensity, it also targets people of all ages, from infants to the elderly and everyone in between. Some are born with it, and some develop it later in life.

However, there is a reason heart disease is assumed to afflict only the older population, as organs, including the heart, tend to function less efficiently as an individual ages. The article, Global Responses to Prevent, Manage, and Control Cardiovascular Diseases discusses how "in 2020, an estimated 523 million have had some form of CVD" (Coronado et al., 2022). The article, Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Among Elderly: Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 says that "according to the American Heart Association on Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics in 2019, the incidence of CVDs was typically 35-40% in people between the ages of 40 and 60, patients between the ages of 60 and 8- hand an average incidence of 77-89%, and patients over the age of 8- ad an incidence of over 85%" (Qu et al., 2023). However, these high statistics relating to the aging population have also led to the development of a cultural and sociological understanding of heart disease within both the general population and how to react to it.

According to the article, Reframing Cardiovascular Disease by Karolay Lorenty, despite it being the deadliest disease, including cancer, it is not considered to have the same sharp edge of fear attached. This is because "People tend to be aware of the role of lifestyle in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. When it comes to cancer, however, prevention is often overlooked, and genetics are seen as a key cause. In reality, up to 50% of cancer cases are said to be preventable. Smoking, alcohol, and obesity are the biggest contributors to cancer across the world – and these risk factors are all shared with cardiovascular disease" (Lorenty, 2023). So, while cancer can spontaneously appear, there is an assumed, albeit mostly inaccurate, illusion of control when it comes to heart disease. This "control" makes the deadliest disease less frightening but also comes with a caveat of this assumed peace of mind (Lorenty, 2023) as not only is it assumed it could be prevented, which means that those who have it, cruelly deserve it, and that only a certain demographic is afflicted with heart disease due a combination of their own poor self-maintenance and age.

The existence of congenital heart disease as, by definition, it is present at birth proves that heart disease is neither preventable nor does it afflict a certain age demographic. The article, CHD Facts by the Children's Heart Foundation discusses the prevalence and rising levels of congenital heart disease within the nation as the "congenital most common birth defect in the United States. Nearly one of every 110 babies is born with a CHD" (The Children’s Heart Foundation, n.d.). Furthermore, this means that "each year, approximately 40,000 babies are born in the United States with a congenital heart defect. This equates to 1 child every 15 minutes" (The Children’s Heart Foundation, n.d.). Not only are they born with the disease, but they are growing up as well. Thus, "approximately two to three million individuals are thought to be living in the United States with CHDs" (The Children’s Heart Foundation, n.d.). These individuals range in all ages from infants to some even reaching old age. However, there is no way to tell for certain how many there are "because there is no U.S. system to track CHDs beyond early childhood, more precise estimates are not available" (The Children’s Heart Foundation, n.d.). However, congenital heart disease is not only found in the USA, but on a global scale.

According to the article, Global, Regional, and National Burden of Congenital Heart Disease, 1990–2017: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 by Meghan S. Zimmermann and others, "Congenital heart disease is a large, rapidly emerging global problem in child health. Without the ability to substantially alter the prevalence of congenital heart disease, interventions and resources must be used to improve survival and quality of life" (Zimmerman et al., 2020). disease is, in fact, not something that can be controlled, nor is it right to assume that the person who is afflicted is older.

Heart disease is the deadliest disease in the world and affects both old and young. While the elderly are more likely to be diagnosed with it due to factors associated with age, this does not mean it should be assumed that only that certain group gets heart disease. Nor should the circumstances of it being diagnosed be assumed either because there is a myth that heart disease can always be prevented, and therefore, if it is diagnosed, it is therefore deserved.

No one, neither young nor old, deserves that treatment.

Reference list

Coronado, F., Melvin, S.C., Bell, R.A. and Zhao, G. (2022). Global Responses to Prevent, Manage, and Control Cardiovascular Diseases. Preventing Chronic Disease, [online] 19(220347). doi:https://doi.org/10.5888/pcd19.220347.

Lorenty, K. (2023). Reframing Cardiovascular Disease. [online] The Health Policy Partnership. Available at: https://www.healthpolicypartnership.com/reframing-cardiovascular-disease/.

Qu, C., Liao, S., Zhang, J., Cao, H., Zhang, H., Zhang, N., Yan, L., Cui, G., Luo, P., Zhang, Q. and Cheng, Q. (2023). Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Among Elderly: Based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. European Heart Journal - Quality of Care and Clinical Outcomes, 10(2). doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/ehjqcco/qcad033.

Su, Z., Zou, Z., Hay, S.I., Liu, Y., Li, S., Chen, H., Naghavi, M., Zimmerman, M.S., Martin, G.R., Wilner, L.B., Sable, C.A., Murray, C.J.L., Kassebaum, N.J., Patton, G.C. and Zhang, H. (2022). Global, Regional, and National Time Trends in Mortality for Congenital Heart Disease, 1990–2019: An Age-Period-Cohort Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study.

eClinicalMedicine, [online] 43, p.101249. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101249.

The Children’s Heart Foundation (n.d.). CHD Facts. [online] www.childrensheartfoundation.org. Available at: https://www.childrensheartfoundation.org/about-chds/chd-facts.html.

Zimmerman, M.S., Smith, A.G.C., Sable, C.A., Echko, M.M., Wilner, L.B., Olsen, H.E., Atalay, H.T., Awasthi, A., Bhutta, Z.A., Boucher, J.L., Castro, F., Cortesi, P.A., Dubey, M., Fischer, F., Hamidi, S., Hay, S.I., Hoang, C.L., Hugo-Hamman, C., Jenkins, K.J. and Kar, A. (2020). Global, regional, and National Burden of Congenital Heart disease, 1990–2017: a Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, [online] 4(3), pp.185–200. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s2352-4642(19)30402-x