We had a unit in seventh grade about communicable diseases (diseases that can be spread from person to person) but I didn’t really know much about non-communicable diseases which are diseases that are genetic or hereditary. All I knew was the difference between them. Through our NCD (non-communicable disease) prevention calendar, I really grew in understanding the different diseases that are common in today’s people, how they can be prevented or treated, unhealthy behaviors that can lead to each disease, and warning signs/symptoms.

 

Something we did towards the beginning of the project were NCD research notes. We were given a sheet with questions on it, like what is happening in the body in this disease, prevention measures that can reduce the risk of developing the disease, and warning signs/symptoms. What we had to do was go to websites such as cdc.gov and research the given prompts/questions for our chosen disease. The disease I chose was Coronary Heart Disease. We had taken class notes on the diseases already but just copying them down did not help me to remember them. While I was researching I had to find all the information myself, even if we had already taken notes. This really helped me to learn the warning signs/symptoms which included difficulty breathing, nausea and vomiting, and angina. Angina is chest pain or discomfort due to the heart muscle not getting enough blood. I also learned more about prevention measures and more about what exactly the disease was and what it does to your body. For example, I learned plaque buildup in the arteries causes there to be a narrower space for the blood to travel so your heart does not receive the blood it needs.

 

After we took our notes and researched our disease, we used what we knew to make a calendar. The calendar had to explain what our disease was, have 15 prevention strategies and a local resource. The local resource had to be an event that you and your family could possibly go to and learn more about the disease you guys are at risk for. It also had to be specific to your family, meaning that everything chosen to be used in the calendar (the disease, prevention strategies, and local resource) had to be things that your family could use. The local resource that I had chosen was the Greater Dayton Heart 5k walk/run. Before we could actually make our first paper draft of the calendar we had to research 15 actions that we could do that could reduce our chances of getting that disease. Since my disease was CAD (Coronary Artery Disease) I looked up things about how to prevent plaque from building up. Plaque is made up of cholesterol deposits, so many of my actions were things that included reducing sodium, fat, and cholesterol intake. Many of mine included switching one thing out for another, for example, try using olive oil or canola oil instead of margarines, or switch fried foods for steamed, baked, or fresh foods. Then, after that was finished I put each action on a different day of my calendar, making sure I put the local resource on the day it happened. The calendar also included a box for a description of the disease and a description of the local resource.

 

Before I did not know that consuming saturated fats and cholesterol could cause plaque to build up in your arteries. I didn’t even know that plaque built up in your arteries or what plaque was. Now I can tell you in detail what CAD is, risk factors of it, and how you can prevent it. This will help me to be able to make better choices in how I am eating so that I can do everything that I learned to prevent my family and I from getting this disease.