Mortality Morbidity Heart Conditions

Care Plan Morbidity and Mortality Statistics: Hypertension affects around 1 in 3 Americans and according to the CDC only 52% of people have this condition under control (CDC.gov, 2016). In older men, two-thirds have hypertension, and one-third of white men have hypertension. There are nearly 1000 deaths from hypertension daily in the United States, around 360,000 per year. Hypertension is related to first heart attacks, strokes and chronic heart failure. The patient also suffers from orthostatic hypotension, which is when blood pressure drops when going from a lying or sitting position to standing.

The largest risk for elderly people is the increased risk of falling that this brings. The patient may have fallen because of this condition. It is caused by, or linked to, high blood pressure and prolonged bed rest, as well as other conditions not faced by this patient. Anemia or vitamin B12 deficiency is another potential contributor to this (CDC.gov, 2015). The fact that loss of consciousness may have occurred with this patient due to orthostatic hypotension could indicate a more serious underlying condition.

Hyperlipidemia, or high cholesterol, affects 73.5 million adults in the U.S., or 31.7%, and fewer than 1/3 have their condition under control. People with high total cholesterol have double the risk for heart disease as those who do not, according to the CDC. Among white males, 29.4% have high cholesterol. Fewer than half of Americans with high cholesterol are receiving treatment for it. Coronary atherosclerosis, or coronary artery disease, is a common type of heart disease.

Caused by the buildup of plaque in arteries, the arteries narrow over time, partially or fully blocking the flow of blood through the artery, ultimately weakening the heart muscle. Heart disease is related to three key factors -- hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. The patient has two of the risk factors. A former pack a day smoker, he stopped smoking in 1954. His mother died from a stroke in her 70s, so there is some family history as well.

Heart disease kills 610,000 people in the United States every year, nearly 1 in 4 deaths nationwide from all causes. 735,000 Americans suffer a heart attack annually. Among non-Hispanic whites, 23.8% die from heart disease. Heart disease deaths are concentrated in the South, but this is one of the broadest diseases in terms of who it afflicts. Men are more likely to die from heart disease than women, even though it afflicts them both equally (CDC.gov, 2016). One outcome the patient may face is congestive heart failure, which affects 5.1 million Americans annually.

Heart failure was a contributing case to one in nine deaths. Around 50% of the people diagnosed with heart failure die within five years. With this patient, the heart failure is related to the other heart problems, and to the hypertension. It is difficult to say whether diet or the former history of smoking has any impact on this. Feeling tired or weak is one of the symptoms, and may contribute to the orthostatic hypotension. The patient also faces atrial fibrillation. This condition affects somewhere between 2.7 and 6.1 million Americans.

It is a condition normally associated with old age. Roughly 9% of people over 65 have it, compared with less than 2% of people under 65. The risk for this increases with age, and white Americans are more likely than African-Americans to develop this condition. Among symptoms, light-headedness is an important one, as this is a shared symptom with orthostatic hypotension. The patient has the following risk factors for atrial fibrillation: high blood.