Reduction of Moderate Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Adults through Community Based Intervention Programs

Abstract

Per the American Heart Association (AHA) 2016, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 2016, most recent reports, cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the leading cause of death nationally and globally. In the United States (U.S.), more than 600,000 adults die each ear of heart disease (CDC, 2015). The economic burden that cardiovascular disease places on society is tremendous. In the U.S. alone, the estimated direct and overall cost resulting from CVD is reported to be between 273 billion and 444 billion dollars annually (CDC/MMWR, 2011; WHO, 2016). Because of estimations like these, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (OCPHP) has urged health care providers to "improve cardiovascular health and quality of life through it's Healthy People 2020 campaign initiative (HealthyPeople.gov, 2017). Studies have shown that one of the most effective ways to decrease risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease is through making modification to one's behavior and lifestyle. In fact, the most prevalent risk factors for developing CVD are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, poor diet, obesity, and smoking. All of which are modifiable. They can be prevented, and treated with education, behavioral modifications, and, or medications. A well proven, effective, and relatively low-cost way of achieving this is through participation in community based intervention programs aimed at reducing these modifiable risk factors. The following literature review seeks to answer the questions, "among the adult population, what types of community-based interventions have shown the greatest achievements in reducing modifiable, moderate cardiovascular disease risk factors?"