Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region Essay (Article Review)

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The fight against cardiovascular diseases both in separate regions and around the world has acquired a global scale since these ailments often cause death. The exposure of older adults to heart problems makes it necessary to identify the main areas of work and the prerequisites for certain interventions to help the population. As an example of an activity aimed at studying this topic, the article “Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease and Associated Risk Factors Among Adult Population in the Gulf Region: A Systematic Review” by Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) will be analyzed and discussed. The authors seek to determine the incidence of these diseases and the emergence of concomitant problems to assess the epidemiological situation in the area mentioned and find out potential solutions (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015). As a result of the work done, educational interventions and preventive work strategies are considered the key plans to reduce the mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases in the coming years. The work under consideration is a rather good source of new knowledge about the problem and can be used as a background for further activities.

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Summary

The primary goal of the work is to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in the countries of the Gulf region, as well as to analyze the attendant factors that adversely affect the health of the elderly population. According to the authors of the article, the number of deaths associated with this health problem in the countries of the Middle East is significant to take measures (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015). For instance, “CVD was estimated to account almost half of the deaths in Oman and Kuwait, 49% and 46%, respectively” (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015, p. 2). Such statistics are threatening, and the factors that influence the spread of cardiovascular diseases in this area are considered. As the methods of analysis, the authors carried out the review of the existing literature on this topic and studied the accompanying health problems separately (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015). For this purpose, academic research on CVD in all the countries of the Gulf region was considered when taking into account such criteria as patient age, diagnostic methods, and the major outcomes of interventions.

As the results of the authors’ research show, “there is a lack of information on the prevalence of CHD with the only exception in Saudi Arabia where one national survey reported 5.5% prevalence of CHD” (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015, p. 19). According to the information presented in the tables for the convenience of visual perception, such attendant problems as hypertension and diabetes are identified as the frequent symptoms of cardiovascular diseases. Also, the possible causes of CVD development are named – smoking, obesity, and lack of physical activity. The search for preventive strategies is called the important component of medical activities in the entire region examined. It is essential “to increase the awareness of the high prevalence of CVD and associated risk factors among the public along with education programs on nutrition and healthier lifestyles” (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015, p. 20). Moreover, social and cultural problems mentioned, in particular, the addiction to smoking sheesha and the difficulty for women to exercise outside their homes, also harm the fight against the problem. Work on the issues given may be continued, and additional research can be conducted.

Critique

The article in question has enough justification to consider the proposed health problem. Nevertheless, Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) pay insufficient attention to possible interventions aimed at reducing the spread of cardiovascular diseases among the population. For example, Turk-Adawi et al. (2018) suggest taking into account risk assessment in primary care and examining all the groups of diseases related to CVD in detail. However, Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) list such potentially useful procedures as exercises and a healthy diet but do not focus on the results of work by this way of life. Moreover, an important indicator implying drug intervention as the way of treatment with special drugs is not mentioned. As Turk-Adawi et al. (2018) remark, medications aimed at reducing such associated symptoms as hypertension and diabetes can be the effective components of treatment. Therefore, even despite the comprehensive assessment of patients’ problems in the Gulf region, Aljefree, and Ahmed (2015) do not give possible options for interventions, except for a healthy lifestyle. At the same time, this type of treatment is not always possible, especially among older adults who may have mobility problems.

Nevertheless, despite the aforementioned limitations, the article by Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) has enough strengths. The statistics of cardiovascular diseases given in the paper coincide with the data from other scientific studies. According to Saquib, Zaghloul, Mazrou, and Saquib (2017), in Saudi Arabia, “CVD has been estimated to account for 42% of the total mortality,” and the same figures are given in the article by Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) (p. 112). In addition, the authors provide comprehensive statistics of diseases in all the countries of the Gulf region, which allows assessing the ratio of all CVD cases and find the most crucial areas for interventions (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015). The methods of searching and evaluating information correspond to the declared type of work (a systematic review) and help to review various studies to compile a comprehensive picture of the issue. A large list of articles (7800) is used for the initial search, and further, “a total of 190 full-text papers were identified and further reviewed” (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015, p. 2). It has allowed obtaining the most current information about the CVD problem in the specified region.

The visualization of the results is the convenient and effective way of displaying all the findings and is the evidence of productive work. If the figures were presented in text form, they would be more difficult to perceive; therefore, this method of information delivery is correct. Unlike Sözmen et al. (2015) who assess cardiovascular risk factor trends and use gender as the main evaluation criterion, Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) include different aspects in their tables. It allows them to conduct a thorough analysis of the situation in all the six countries of the Gulf region based on the existing findings and the information provided in free access. Moreover, the article presents a detailed scheme for selecting the material for the study, which demonstrates a responsible approach to work and shows that all the sources used are not chosen randomly. Therefore, the validity of the information provided and the process of data collection is supported visually, and all the sources used are included in the article’s reference list.

The results of the work by Aljefree and Ahmed (2015) are consistent with the stated goals and are the logical conclusion of the study. The search for information is carried out in multiple and credible databases. Despite some limitations, for instance, the heterogeneity of sources and the lack of reports at the national level, the purposes have been achieved. In the future, the authors can pay attention to the ways of combating cardiovascular diseases as a whole and not focus on strokes as accompanying problems (Aljefree & Ahmed, 2015). Also, peer-reviewed sources may be used as auxiliary literature to avoid questions about the validity of the references and their conformity to the stated subject. In case a larger-scale study is conducted with the involvement of the relevant categories of the population, the benefits of the work done may be more significant. Consequently, a serious contribution will be made to the healthcare system of the Gulf region. Therefore, additional activities may be performed to find valuable information that can become a knowledge base for competent interventions.

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Conclusion

The article considered is a sufficiently high-quality work that may be utilized as the source of useful information in the subject of the influence of cardiovascular diseases in the Gulf region. The structure of the text is visually convenient and makes it easy to perceive the material of the findings. For further work, additional studies can be conducted with the involvement of the target audience and the search for real methods of helping the population. It will make the work done even more valuable in the context of relevance and will help to use the data presented as the justification for competent medical interventions.

References

Aljefree, N., & Ahmed, F. (2015). Prevalence of cardiovascular disease and associated risk factors among adult population in the Gulf region: A systematic review. Advances in Public Health, 2015. 1-23. Web.

Saquib, N., Zaghloul, M. S., Mazrou, A., & Saquib, J. (2017). Cardiovascular disease research in Saudi Arabia: A bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics, 112(1), 111-140. Web.

Sözmen, K., Ünal, B., Saidi, O., Romdhane, H. B., Abu-Rmeileh, N. M., Husseini, A.,… Critchley, J. (2015). Cardiovascular risk factor trends in the Eastern Mediterranean region: Evidence from four countries is alarming. International Journal of Public Health, 60(1), 3-11. Web.

Turk-Adawi, K., Sarrafzadegan, N., Fadhil, I., Taubert, K., Sadeghi, M., Wenger, N. K.,… Grace, S. L. (2018). Cardiovascular disease in the Eastern Mediterranean region: Epidemiology and risk factor burden. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 15(2), 106-119. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 7). Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cardiovascular-disease-in-adults-in-the-gulf-region/

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"Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region." IvyPanda, 7 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/cardiovascular-disease-in-adults-in-the-gulf-region/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region'. 7 June.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region." June 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cardiovascular-disease-in-adults-in-the-gulf-region/.

1. IvyPanda. "Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region." June 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cardiovascular-disease-in-adults-in-the-gulf-region/.


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IvyPanda. "Cardiovascular Disease in Adults in the Gulf Region." June 7, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/cardiovascular-disease-in-adults-in-the-gulf-region/.

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