“Imagine a world in which cardiovascular disease (CVD) is not the No. 1 cause of death decade after decade because self-care is pushed to the top of the hierarchy of best practices to managing health. Now, imagine the more probable scenario in which a “perfect storm” of an aging population, increased numbers of individuals with multiple CVD risk factors, and increased prevalence of people with multiple chronic conditions converge to create a healthcare crisis because self-care has been ignored. The latter scenario is the reality we are facing as fragmented, episodic, acute care remains a major focus of the healthcare system, whereas primordial and primary disease prevention fostered by optimal self-care receive far less attention….”
This is the opening statement of a review paper just published, lead by Professor Barbara Riegel and co-authored by a group of American professors and ISF’s David Webber. The overall purpose of the paper is to synthesize the evidence for the effectiveness of self-care in preventing, delaying, and managing CVD and stroke.
The full citation is as follows:
Riegel B, Moser DK, Buck HG, Dickson VV, Dunbar SB, Lee CS, Lennie TA, Lindenfeld J, Mitchell JE, Treat-Jacobson DJ, Webber DE; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease; and Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research.
Self-care for the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease and stroke: a scientific statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association.
J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6:e006997. DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.117. 006997.
The paper may be viewed here: http://jaha.ahajournals.org/content/6/9/e006997
