Non-Communicable

Diseases
Lesson 1

Bell Activity

What is a non-communicable
disease?
A. A disease that you dont talk about.
B. A disease that attacks your social
skills.
C. A disease that cant be passed
around.
D. A disease that can be passed around.

Health Goal # 28

I will be informed about my

heredity.

What is it??

A non-communicable disease,
or NCD, is a medical condition
or disease which is
non-infectious.

About NCDs

NCDs are diseases of long

duration and generally slow
progression.
They include: heart disease ,
stroke, cancer, asthma, diabetes,
chronic kidney disease ,
osteoporosis , Alzheimer's disease
, cataracts , and more.

Non-infectious

While often referred to as "

chronic diseases", NCDs are
distinguished by their noninfectious cause.
The World Health Organization
(WHO) reports NCDs to be by far
the leading cause of mortality in
the world, representing over 60%
of all deaths.

Death from NCD

Out of the 35 million people who

died from NCDs in 2005, half were
under age 70 and half were
women.
Risk factors such as a person's
background, lifestyle and
environment are known to
increase the likelihood of certain
NCDs.

Death from NCD

Every year, at least 5 million

people die because of tobacco
use and about 2.8 million die
from being overweight.
High cholesterol accounts for
roughly 2.6 million deaths and
7.5 million die because of
high blood pressure .

Risk Factors

Risk factors such as a person's

background, lifestyle and environment
are known to increase the likelihood of
certain non-communicable diseases.
They include: age, sex, genetics,
exposure to air pollution, and
behaviors such as smoking,
unhealthy diet and physical inactivity
which can lead to hypertension and
obesity, in turn leading to increased
risk of many NCDs.

Are they preventable?

Most NCDs are considered

preventable because they are
caused by modifiable risk
factors.
What does modifiable
mean?

Five Important Risk

Factors

The WHO's
World Health Report 2002
identified five important risk
factors for non-communicable
disease in the top ten leading
risks to health. These are raised
blood pressure, raised
cholesterol , tobacco use, alcohol
consumption, and overweight.

Eliminate the Risk

Factors

It has been estimated that if

the primary risk factors were
eliminated, 80% of the cases
of heart disease, stroke and
type 2 diabetes and 40% of
cancers could be prevented.

Interventions

Interventions targeting the main

risk factors could have a
significant impact on reducing
the burden of disease worldwide.
Efforts focused on better diet
and increased physical activity
have been shown to control the
prevalence of NCDs

Environmental
Diseases
-

NCDs include many

environmental diseases, covering a
broad category of avoidable and
unavoidable human health conditions
caused by external factors, such as
sunlight, food, pollution, and lifestyle
choices.
The diseases of affluence are noninfectious diseases with
environmental causes.

Examples of
Environmental
Diseases
Examples include:

- Many types of cardiovascular disease

(CVD)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) caused by smoking tobacco
- Diabetes mellitus type 2
- Lower back pain caused by too little
exercise
- Malnutrition caused by too little food, or
eating the wrong kinds of food (e.g. scurvy
from lack of Vitamin C )
- Skin cancer caused by radiation from the
sun

Inherited Diseases

Genetic disorders are caused by

errors in genetic information that
produce diseases in the affected
people. These errors may include:
A change in the chromosome numbers,
such as Down syndrome
A defect in a single gene caused by
mutation
A rearrangement of genetic
information.

Inherited Diseases
Contd

Cystic fibrosis is an example of an

inherited disease that is caused by a
mutation on a gene.
The faulty gene impairs the normal
movement of sodium chloride in and out
of cells, which causes the mucussecreting organs to produce abnormally
thick mucus.
The gene is recessive , meaning that a
person must have two copies of the faulty
gene for them to develop the disease.

Cystic Fibrosis Contd

Cystic fibrosis affects the respiratory,

digestive and reproductive systems,
as well as the sweat glands.
The mucus secreted is very thick and
blocks passageways in the lungs and
digestive tracts.
This mucus causes problems with
breathing and with the digestion and
absorption of nutrients.

Diabetes Mellitus Type

2

Formerly non-insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or
adult-onset diabetes is a
metabolic disorder that is
characterized by high
blood glucose in the context of
insulin resistance and relative
insulin deficiency

Diabetes Mellitus Type

2 Contd

Diabetes is often initially managed by

increasing exercise and
dietary modification. If the condition
progresses, medications may be needed.
Long-term complications from high blood
sugar can include increased risk of
heart attacks, strokes, amputation, and
kidney failure.
For extreme cases, circulation of limbs is
affected, potentially requiring
amputation. Loss of hearing, eyesight,
and cognitive ability has also been linked
to this condition.

Lesson 2 Bell Activity

What is cancer?
A. A disease you can catch from
germs.
B. A sexually transmitted
disease.
C. Occurs when cells divide.
D. Occurs when abnormal cells
grow out of control.

Health Goal # 29

I will get regular check ups

regarding family diseases.

Heart Disease

Your heart is an amazing organ. It

continuously pumps oxygen and
nutrient-rich blood throughout your
body to sustain life.
This fist-sized powerhouse beats
(expands and contracts) 100,000 times
per day, pumping five or six quarts of
blood each minute, or about 2,000
gallons per day.

How the Heart Works

As the heart beats, it pumps

blood through a system of blood
vessels, called the circulatory
system. The vessels are elastic,
muscular tubes that carry blood
to every part of the body.

The Hearts Functions

Blood is essential.
In addition to carrying fresh oxygen
from the lungs and nutrients to your
body's tissues, it also takes the
body's waste products, including
carbon dioxide , away from the
tissues.
This is necessary to sustain life and
promote the health of all the body's
tissues.

Three Main Types of

Blood Vessels

Arteries.
They begin with the aorta, the
large artery leaving the heart.
Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood
away from the heart to all of the
body's tissues.
They branch several times,
becoming smaller and smaller as
they carry blood further from the
heart and into organs.

The 2nd Type of Blood

Vessel

Capillaries.
These are small, thin blood
vessels that connect the
arteries and the veins.
Their thin walls allow oxygen,
nutrients, carbon dioxide, and
other waste products to pass
to and from our organ's cells.

The 3rd Type of Blood

Vessel

Veins.
These are blood vessels that take blood
back to the heart; this blood has lower
oxygen content) and is rich in waste
products that are to be excreted or removed
from the body. Veins become larger and
larger as they get closer to the heart.
The superior vena cava is the large vein
that brings blood from the head and arms to
the heart, and the inferior vena cava brings
blood from the abdomen and legs into the
heart.

Did you know?

This vast system of blood vessels -arteries, veins, and capillaries -- is

over 60,000 miles long. That's long
enough to go around the world more
than twice!
Blood flows continuously through
your body's blood vessels. Your heart
is the pump that makes it all possible.

Heart Disease

When you think of heart disease,

usually people think of
coronary artery disease
(narrowing of the arteries leading
to the heart), but coronary artery
disease is just one type of
cardiovascular disease.

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease includes a number of

conditions affecting the structures or function of the
heart. They can include:
Coronary artery disease (including heart attack)
Abnormal heart rhythms or arrythmias
Heart failure
Heart valve disease
Congenital heart disease
Heart muscle disease (cardiomyopathy)
Pericardial disease
Aorta disease and Marfan syndrome
Vascular disease (blood vessel disease)

Leading Cause of
Death in the U.S.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading

cause of death for both men and
women in the U.S.
It is important to learn about your heart
to help prevent heart disease.
And, if you have cardiovascular disease,
you can live a healthier, more active life
by learning about your disease and
treatments and by becoming an active
participant in your care.

Abnormal Heart
Rhythms

The heart is an amazing organ.

It beats in a steady, even rhythm, about
60 to 100 times each minute (that's about
100,000 times each day!).
But, sometimes your heart gets out of
rhythm. An irregular or abnormal
heartbeat is called an arrhythmia. An
arrhythmia (also called a dysrhythmia)
can involve a change in the rhythm,
producing an uneven heartbeat, or a
change in the rate, causing a very slow or
very fast heartbeat.

Heart Failure

The term "heart failure" can be

frightening.
It does not mean the heart has "failed" or
stopped working.
It means the heart does not pump as well
as it should.
This then leads to salt and water retention,
causing swelling and shortness of breath.
The swelling and shortness of breath are
the primary symptoms of heart failure.

Congenital Heart
Disease

Congenital heart disease is a type of defect

in one or more structures of the heart or
blood vessels that occurs before birth.
It affects about eight out of every 1,000
children. Congenital heart defects may
produce symptoms at birth, during childhood,
and sometimes not until adulthood.
In most cases scientists don't know why they
occur. Heredity may play a role as well as
exposure to the fetus during pregnancy to
certain viral infections, alcohol, or drugs.

What is Cancer?

Cancer is the general name for a group

of more than 100 diseases in which
cells in a part of the body begin to
grow out of control.
Although there are many kinds of
cancer, they all start because
abnormal cells grow out of control.
Untreated cancers can cause serious
illness and even death.

Normal Cells in the

Body

The body is made up of hundreds of

millions of living cells. Normal body cells
grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion.
During the early years of a person's life,
normal cells divide faster to allow the
person to grow.
After the person becomes an adult, most
cells divide only to replace worn-out or
dying cells or to repair injuries.

How Cancer Starts

Cancer starts when cells in a part

of the body start to grow out of
control. There are many kinds of
cancer, but they all start because
of out-of-control growth of
abnormal cells.

Cancer cell growth is different

from normal cell growth.
Instead of dying, cancer cells
continue to grow and form new,
abnormal cells.
Cancer cells can also invade (grow
into) other tissues, something that
normal cells cannot do.
Growing out of control and
invading other tissues are what
makes a cell a cancer cell.

Cells become cancer cells because of

damage to DNA.
DNA is in every cell and directs all its
actions.
In a normal cell, when DNA gets
damaged the cell either repairs the
damage or the cell dies.
In cancer cells, the damaged DNA is
not repaired, but the cell doesnt die
like it should.
Instead, this cell goes on making new
cells that the body does not need.
These new cells will all have the same
damaged DNA as the first cell does.

People can inherit damaged DNA,

but most DNA damage is caused
by mistakes that happen while
the normal cell is reproducing or
by something in our environment.
Sometimes the cause of the DNA
damage is something obvious,
like cigarette smoking.
But often no clear cause is found.

In most cases the cancer cells form

a tumor.
Some cancers, like leukemia,
rarely form tumors.
Instead, these cancer cells involve
the blood and blood-forming
organs and circulate through other
tissues where they grow.

How Cancer Spreads

Cancer cells often travel to other

parts of the body, where they
begin to grow and form new
tumors that replace normal tissue.
This process is called metastasis.
It happens when the cancer cells
get into the bloodstream or lymph
vessels of our body.

How Cancers Differ

No matter where a cancer may spread,

it is always named for the place where
it started.
For example, breast cancer that has
spread to the liver is still called breast
cancer, not liver cancer.
Likewise, prostate cancer that has
spread to the bone is metastatic
prostate cancer, not bone cancer.

Different Types of
Cancer Behave
Differently
Different types of cancer can behave

very differently.
For example, lung cancer and breast
cancer are very different diseases.
They grow at different rates and
respond to different treatments.
That is why people with cancer need
treatment that is aimed at their
particular kind of cancer.

How Common is
Cancer?

Half of all men and one-third of all women in the

US will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
Today, millions of people are living with cancer
or have had cancer.
The risk of developing most types of cancer can
be reduced by changes in a person's lifestyle, for
example, by quitting smoking, limiting time in
the sun, being physically active, and eating a
better diet.
The sooner a cancer is found and treated, the
better the chances are for living for many years.

Lesson 3 Bell Activity

Name 5 non-communicable
diseases.

Health Goal # 30

I will be informed about the

symptoms of hereditary diseases
that run in my family.

Cancer Video

What Is Cancer?