By: Luke Frankel
This blog I would like to talk about the main causes and risk factors for these diseases, what we can do to prevent them, and also how my health and wellness goals have been going these past few weeks.
Firstly, heart disease and cardiovascular disease are extremely similar but not necessarily the same. Heart disease involves mostly just the heart even though it affects the system around it, whereas cardiovascular disease involves the whole system as one. Cardiovascular disease is deadly and one of the biggest killers of Americans, as well as heart disease. If the heart has issues pumping or one its many parts (aorta, ventricle, atrium, valves, etc) it can lead to issues with oxygen getting to the parts of the body that need it. You can see how this would lead to many other problems.
Cancer is a dangerous overgrowth of cells in a specific area where cell replication becomes mutated and replicates incorrectly. Cancer is usually thought of as the tumors it can cause, however there are two types of tumors, malignant and benign. Malignant means the cancerous growth is bad and out of control, whereas benign usually means the tumor is contained and not dangerous. There are numerous types of cancer, ranging from blood cancer to skin cancer and everything in between. Cancer is dangerous not only because the area that has uncontrolled growth sometimes cannot function correctly, but also because the cancer can spread by metastasizing to other areas of the body.
Lastly, we need to talk about diabetes. “Diabetes Mellitis is actually a group of diseases, each with its own mechanism but all characterized by a persistently high level of glucose (sugar) in the blood. High blood glucose levels (known as hyperglycemia) can lead to widespread damage in the body. Serious health conditions related to diabetes include heart disease, stroke, failure of wounds on extremities to heal (leading to infection and amputations), nerve damage, kidney failure, liver damage, and blindness” (Donatelle 279). Diabetes strikes close to home for me, my father has had type 2 diabetes for 30 years now among many other issues with his kidneys, sleep apnea, gout, etc. Diabetes has two types, type one and type two. Type one is diagnosed at birth, whereas type two is attained later on in life, usually due to poor lifestyle choices. The best way to prevent all of these issues is to understand your genetic factors at play, how your lifestyle choices are affecting these risks, and staying in the best physical shape you can.
Lastly, these past few weeks much like everyone else I have been dealing with a ton of coronavirus related issues. It has been hard to even get out of bed some days, and taking care of my elderly parents has left a strain on me that has left me drained and full of malaise. It is not an excuse but school has definitely taken a backfoot lately which has been bothering me greatly. My goal is to improve every week and finish these blogs that I have missed as well as the school work in other classes I have unable to complete.
Luke's Wellness Blog 