Heart disease includes several types of conditions that center on different disorders in the heart’s functioning. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and its main risk factors are high blood pressure levels, high blood cholesterol levels, and smoking (CDC, 2021). Furthermore, considering the prevalence of heart disease risk factors in the large proportion of the population and the high possibility of risk factors combinations, heart disease presents a significant threat to the population’s well-being. Developing a preliminary care coordination plan for patients with heart disease is essential for providing effectiveness and safety of care. Thus, this preliminary care coordination plan will focus on addressing the physical, psychosocial, and cultural considerations for high blood pressure (hypertension) and identifying community resources that can improve the safety and effectiveness of care.
Firstly, high blood pressure or hypertension presents one of the primary risk factors for other heart diseases, including stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension condition occurs when the blood is circulating against the walls of arteries with a high force. Many people can live an ordinary life with high blood pressure without paying attention to the symptoms. Furthermore, most symptoms of high blood pressure, including occasional headaches and breath shortness, may go unnoticed for a long time, slowly increasing the individuals’ risk of developing stroke, heart failure, and cardiovascular diseases. However, hypertension can be promptly diagnosed through blood pressure checks. Measuring blood pressure also allows for defining different stages of hypertension, including two stages of hypertension and hypertensive crisis condition. The hypertensive crisis condition is an emergency with an increased risk of heart failure or stroke. Therefore, preventing dangerously high blood pressure levels presents the main established goal of care.
Furthermore, considering the psychosocial needs of the patient with high blood pressure, sudden bursts of emotions and stress can increase blood pressure through additional hormone production. According to Gordon and Mendes (2021), increased blood pressure as a part of the human reaction to stress is one of the main pathways of how stress negatively influences physical health. In addition, it is assumed that patients’ socioeconomic status may influence hypertension conditions as populations with low socioeconomic status are more likely to experience stress in daily life. Furthermore, many young adults with anxiety are at higher risk of developing hypertension (Johnson, 2019). Anxiety presents a stress reaction, but its origin is internal and lasts longer than stress responses, making individuals with anxiety more prone to hypertension.
Next, hypertension is more prevalent in some cultures where lifestyle factors favor the development of hypertension risks. For example, high sodium diets in Asia and South Asia, combined with a low population awareness of hypertension, resulted in a significantly increased number of patients with high blood pressure (Chia et al., 2019). Therefore, the care should consider p[psychosocial and cultural factors and focus on reducing the possibility of blood pressure increase because of additional stress and diet. Collaborating with patients and their families to make positive changes in lifestyle can improve care results. Thus, analyzing the physical, psychosocial, and cultural needs of patients with hypertension allowed for defining specific goals for care.
Best practices in hypertension care are focused on reducing opportunities for increases in blood pressure. Furthermore, as a healthy lifestyle leads to reduced risks of hypertension development, the recommendations include self-care practice or managing changes in the existing lifestyle in favor of developing healthy habits. Thus, care practices for patients with hypertension include antihypertensive medications, such as ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers, stress-reducing programs and activities, physical activities, and lifestyle and dietary changes. The primary goal of the care is to achieve blood pressure levels of 130/80 mm Hg or lower. Medications for hypertension require prolonged use to achieve significant results. Furthermore, antihypertensive treatment can have adverse effects on the patient’s health, such as kidney injury (Albasri et al., 2021). Therefore, it is important to adhere to several well-established practices to ensure the effective achievement of positive results.
Self-care practice presents one of the essential components of care in hypertension as it allows comprehensive risk management. According to Hussen et al. (2020), a lack of self-care is associated with uncontrolled hypertension and negative health outcomes. Lifestyle changes and regular physical activities are also included in self-care practice. It is recommended to reduce the number of extra work tasks for stress management, primarily focusing on the main work functions, limiting negative throughs, and maintaining positive relationships. Furthermore, regular physical activity is required for hypertension maintenance as weight gain can negatively influence hypertension. Lastly, lifestyle changes include quitting smoking, reducing the sodium proportion in diet, and limiting alcohol intake. Cooperating with patients and their families to convey the importance of self-care for hypertension can increase patients’ adherence to recommendations and improve patients’ approach toward self-monitoring and regular visits to check-ups.
Lastly, community resources can provide significant informational support for the effective continuum of care. Websites of federal agencies such as the CDC have a wide range of information about hypertension, including explanations of different hypertension prevention and management methods (CDC, 2020). The American Heart Association (2021) provides substantial information about scientific research on high blood pressure. The organization’s website provides the latest valuable statistical information about hypertension and helpful recommendations for hypertension self-care and monitoring.
References
Albasri, A., Hattle, M., Koshiaris, C., Dunnigan, A., Paxton, B., Fox, S. E., Smith, M., Archer, L., Levis, B., Payne, R. A., Riley, R. D., Roberts, N., Snell, K., Lay-Flurrie, S., Usher-Smith, J., Stevens, R., Hobbs, F., McManus, R. J., & Sheppard, J. P. (2021). Association between antihypertensive treatment and adverse events: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 372, 1-15.
American Heart Association. (2021). Science and research.
CDC. (2021). About heart disease.
CDC. (2020). Prevent and manage high blood pressure.
Chia, Y. C., Kario, K., Turana, Y., Nailes, J., Tay, J. C., Siddique, S., Park, S., Shin, J., Buranakitjaroen, P., Chen, C. H., Divinagracia, R., Hoshide, S., Minh, H. V., Sison, J., Soenarta, A. A., Sogunuru, G. P., Sukonthasarn, A., Teo, B. W., Verma, N., Zhang, Y., … Wang, J. G. (2020). Target blood pressure and control status in Asia. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 22(3), 344–350.
Gordon, A. M., & Mendes, W. B. (2021). A large-scale study of stress, emotions, and blood pressure in daily life using a digital platform. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(31), 1-7.
Hussen, F. M., Adem, H. A., Roba, H. S., Mengistie, B., & Assefa, N. (2020). Self-care practice and associated factors among hypertensive patients in public health facilities in Harar Town, Eastern Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study. SAGE Open Medicine 8, 1-9.
Johnson H. M. (2019). Anxiety and hypertension: Is there a link? A literature review of the comorbidity relationship between anxiety and hypertension. Current hypertension reports, 21(9), 1-7.
