Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Trivia

 This blog has begun to plumb your depth of knowledge, about modes of intervention to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). Is there a possibility prevention activities could become a significant product line for most speech - language pathologists (SLP's)? Another way to ask the same thing: can SLP's serve their communities above and beyond their traditional roles as clinical practitioners, through education and advocacy, so that risk management for conditions e.g. CVD is proactive, focused and accessible to all? 

CVD remains the top cause of mortality in the United States, according to the 2018 National Center for Health Statistics publication, Mortality in the United States. Stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases ranked fifth among the leading causes of death. In addition, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that 1 out of every 250 persons suffers from aphasia, an impairment in the use of language because of cerebrovascular insult. SLP's, specialists in the diagnosis and management of cognition - communication impairments, have a mandate to include prevention activities in their scope of practice. 

What follows is an example of a prevention tool that an SLP clinician might utilize with adult consumers of prevention services: a CVD prevention TRIVIA GAME. The game questions selected encompass selected knowledge domains, from the 2019 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guideline on the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. Those domains include physical activity (here called FITNESS), nutrition, obesity (called here WEIGHT CONTROL), diabetes (BLOOD SUGAR), lipids, hypertension (BLOOD PRESSURE), and tobacco (SMOKING). 

Risk - enhancing factors, identified in the 2019 joint guideline, were also utilized to select game questions. They encompass family history, kidney function, inflammatory conditions, gynecologic risk and ethnic risk factors. Additional domains, described as social determinants of health by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Department of Health and Human Services, will yield game questions in the areas of economic stability, education, social and community context, health and healthcare, and neighborhood and built environment. 

Your feedback is not only welcomed, but sorely needed. Thanks for your interest in growing the field. Stay safe!

CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE PREVENTION TRIVIA:

Select the best answer for each question below, unless specific directions direct a different response. 

1. If you divide the total recommended weekly minutes for moderate physical activity, into equal weekday periods, that EXACT time period would replace:

A. Breakfast at Brennan's

B. Licking and applying a Forever stamp

C. Mixing a chocolate cake batter

D. Running a 10K race

E. Watching an episode of "The Conners"

2. To protect your cells and keep your skin healthy, eat plenty of foods high in Vitamin ________. 

3. All cholesterol is bad for your heart and blood vessels.       T       F

4. Describe common behavioral methods for managing your triglyceride levels. 

5. Areas on your body that do not allow for reliable blood pressure readings include:

A. Earlobe

B. Finger

C. Toe

D. Upper arm

E. Wrist

6. Supplements like _______ and _______ help stabilize your blood sugar levels. 

7. Reluctance to eat protein could be a sign of kidney disease.       T       F

8. Explain how rheumatoid arthritis can lead to cardiovascular disease. 

9. Women's health risks that do not trend with cardiovascular disease include: 

A. Hormone replacement therapy

B. Mommy's locked in the bathroom

C. Oral contraceptive use

D. Pre - eclampsia

E. Preterm delivery

10. South Asians will benefit from lower cardiovascular risk, by focusing on their best levels of _______, _______ and _______. 

11. E - cigarette use is safer for adults than smoking or otherwise using tobacco.        T        F

12. Talk about what habits of yours have most helped you maintain a healthy weight. 

13. Takeaways from any discussion of a genetic predisposition for CVD should mention:

A. If you have CVD,  your siblings have a 40% greater risk of developing CVD. 

B. You face a 60 - 75% higher risk of CVD, if your parents presented with CVD. 

C. Nothing you might achieve from lifestyle management can lower your CVD risk. 

D. Your risk for having a heart attack (myocardial infarction) is increased, if one parent had an MI. 

E. The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease framework gives researchers and clinicians, tools for better understanding the transmission of CVD between branches of a family tree.