Heart Disease and Stroke and Disparities Involved

Facilitating public health is one of the principal objectives of any government. Among many illnesses and health conditions, addressing heart disease and stroke is of utter significance in the United States. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) puts heart disease and stroke into a list of prioritized issues. The primary reason is that heart disease and stroke cause the majority of deaths in the country (ODPHP, 2020). They also account for more than 300 billion dollars in annual healthcare expenditure, making them one of the most expensive conditions to treat (ODPHP, 2020). Every third person in the United States has some cardiovascular disease (ODPHP, 2020). Among the outcomes of these conditions is a physical disability, which significantly deteriorates the quality of life.

Although one-third of the population struggles with heart issues, the burden of cardiovascular conditions is not distributed proportionally. Namely, some social strata are affected more than others, and race, age, and geographical location all contribute to the disparity (ODPHP, 2020). People with lower socioeconomic status may have less access to treatment, while ethnicity may affect the prevalence of risk factors (ODPHP, 2020). The goals of Healthy People 2020 include addressing these disparities (ODPHP, 2020). Collecting relevant statistical data may be a reasonable first step.

Reference

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020). Heart disease and stroke. Healthy people. Web.