L IFE S TYLE D ISEASES What are Lifestyle Diseases? Life Style Diseases are diseases that are caused by unhealthy behaviors and other factors. Controllable Risk Factors Diet and Body Weight Level of Physical Activity Smoking and Alcohol Abuse Uncontrollable Risk Factors Age Gender Heredity How can you lower your risk for developing a lifestyle disease? Exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet are 2 ways to reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases later in life.
Cardiovascular Diseases What are cardiovascular diseases? Cardiovascular diseases are diseases and disorders that result from progressive damage to the blood vessels and the heart. How can a person’s lifestyle contribute to cardiovascular disease? Although cardiovascular disease can be hereditary, poor lifestyle habits such as smoking, being overweight, having high blood cholesterol, having high blood pressure, or having diabetes can increase a person’s risk
for developing a cardiovascular disease. Strokes are sudden attacks of weakness caused by blocked blood vessels in the brain. They can also occur when a blood vessel inside the skull leaks into the brain. Symptoms include sudden numbness, trouble seeing, dizziness, and sudden severe headache. High Blood Pressure or hypertension is when the force that blood exerts against the inside
Page 2
becomes too high. This places a strain on the walls of the blood vessel and the heart. Heart Attack is a sudden loss of blood flowing to the heart muscle. They are fatal and can occur without any previous symptoms. These symptoms include, uncomfortable pressure in the center of the chest, pain spreading to the neck and arms, lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath.
Life Style Diseases
Prevent Cardiovascular Disease Exercising Lowering salt and saturated fats consumption Maintain a recommended weight Avoid Smoking Watch Blood Pressure Lower Stress
Atherosclerosis is a fatty buildup on the inside of arteries. This can stop blood flow to the certain parts of the body and cause clots that lead to a heart attack or stroke. Cardiovascular disease can be detected by checking blood pressure or using ultrasound. It can be treated with diet and exercise, medicine, surgery, or transplants.
Cancer What is Cancer? Cancer is a disease caused by uncontrolled cell growth. It occurs when the body continues to produce cells after replacing the ones that have died. These new faulty cells clump together to form a tumor. A malignant tumor is a group of cells that invade and destroy healthy tissue. A brain tumor is a group of cancerous cells that forms on the brain.
breast and is more common in women. It kills about 40,000 people a year.
Causes of Cancer Radioactivity and Ultraviolet radiation Chemicals found in tobacco smoke Asbestos
Urinary Cancer is a cancer of the urinary organs such as the kidneys and bladder. It kills approximately 27,000 people a year.
Breast Cancer is a cancer of the tissue of the
Skin Cancer is cancer that affects the skin such as basal cell carcinoma and melanoma. It kills approximately 11,000 people a year. Leukemia is a cancer of the tissues that produce blood. It is more common in men. It kills approximately 22,000 people a year.
Cancer can be detected using x-rays, an MRI (Magnet Resonance Imaging) or blood/DNA
Page 3
Life Style Diseases
tests. Cancer is most treatable when caught in the early stages. It can be treated using surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. However, it also kills the healthy cells. Side effects include nausea, fatigue, vomiting, and hair loss.
Ways
to lower the risk of getting cancer Don’t smoke Wear sunscreen Eat properly Stay active Get regular medical checkups
Living With Diabetes Insulin is hormone that makes cells remove glucose from the bloodstream. Diabetes is a disorder where cells cannot obtain enough glucose from the blood. A diabetic coma is a loss of consciousness that happens when there is too much blood sugar and a build of toxic substance in the blood. Type 1 Diabetes Immune system attacks insulinproducing cells of the body Caused by both genetic factors and viruses Treated with insulin injections Type 2 Diabetes The body fails to respond to the
produced insulin Buildup of glucose in the blood Treated with diet and exercise
Type 2 Diabetes can be prevented by reducing stress and maintaining a healthy weight.