Jane Oshinowo, RNEC,
Primary health care Nurse Practitioner,
York Community Services,
Toronto, ON.
Sharon Dolman, RN
Medical copy writer,
HEADCAN,
Toronto, ON.
Introduction
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in Canada and the second leading cause of disability. Since the mid-1960's there has been a gradual decline in overall mortality rates due to heart disease; however, there has been little improvement in the mortality rates from ischemic heart diseases (HD) and acute myocardial infarction (MI).1 Abookire27 noted that many physicians failed to adhere to the guidelines designed to reduce CVD risks. One strategy in this arena is to expand collaborative practice with nurse practitioners and other health care providers.
This paper will review the epidemiology of coronary heart disease (CHD) and the evidence about primary prevention designed to reduce cardiovascular risk factors, highlighting the role of the primary health care provider.
Epidemiology of Cardiovascular Disease
CVD is responsible for 36% of the deaths in Canada every year. Of these deaths, 21% are attributed to ischemic heart disease, and half of those are ascribed to acute MI (See Figure 1).1 Huge costs are accrued to society from CVD.
