Abstract
Although the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been decreasing worldwide,
Aboriginal populations of Canada (including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples)
continue to experience a rapidly growing burden of CVD morbidity and mortality. This
article provides a succinct summary of the current crisis of CVD among Canadian Aboriginal
peoples, including how and why it originated, elucidates the underlying population
health risks driving higher rates of aboriginal CVD, and articulates the urgent need
for community-engagement solutions and innovations in the areas of prevention, treatment
and care, rehabilitation services, aboriginal-specific CVD surveillance, and advanced
knowledge. In the past, particularly in rural and remote communities, Aboriginal Peoples'
survival depended (and often still does) on hunting, fishing, and other forms of traditional
food-gathering. However, the traditional life is being changed for many Aboriginal
communities, resulting in significantly impaired dietary options and the undermining
of a long-established way of life that was healthy and physically active. Reclaiming
CVD health and well-being requires replacement of the calorie-dense and nutritionally
inadequate diets of highly processed store-bought foods with fresh and nutritionally
balanced diets and addressing the physically inactive lifestyles that together have
contributed to an increase in CVD prevalence. Furthermore, disparities exist for hospital-based
treatment experiences for patients from areas with high proportions of Aboriginal
Peoples vs those with low proportions of Aboriginal Peoples. It is crucial to investigate
and develop concrete plans to reduce the burden of CVDs among Aboriginal Peoples by
improved prevention and treatment in a community-centred way.
Résumé
Bien que la prévalence des maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) ait diminué à travers
le monde, les populations autochtones du Canada (y compris les Premières nations,
les Métis et les Inuits) continuent de subir une augmentation rapide du fardeau de
la morbidité et de la mortalité liées aux MCV. Cet article fournit un résumé succinct
de la crise actuelle des MCV chez les peuples autochtones du Canada, y compris comment
et pourquoi cela à commencé, met en évidence les risques sous-jacents pour la santé
de la population conduisant à des taux plus élevés de MCV chez les autochtones, et
articule le besoin urgent de solutions communautaires pour un engagement et des innovations
dans les domaines de la prévention, le traitement et les soins, les services de réadaptation,
la surveillance particulière des MCV chez les autochtones, et des connaissances avancées.
Par le passé, en particulier dans les collectivités rurales et éloignées, la survie
des peuples autochtones dépendait (et c’est encore souvent le cas) sur la chasse,
la pêche et d'autres formes de cueillette traditionnelle. Toutefois, ce mode de vie
traditionnel est en cours de changements pour de nombreuses communautés autochtones,
entrainant un choix alimentaire significativement diminué et en une remise en cause
d'un mode de vie établi de longue date qui était sain et physiquement actif. Un rétablissement
de la santé cardiovasculaire et d’un certain bien-être nécessite le remplacement des
régimes alimentaires inadéquats riches en calories faits de nourritures commerciales
hautement transformées par des régimes alimentaires équilibrés avec des produits frais
et nutritionnels et de traiter les modes de vie physiquement inactifs qui, ensemble,
ont contribué à une augmentation de la prévalence des MCV. En outre, des disparités
existent concernant des expériences de traitement en milieu hospitalier pour les patients
des zones avec de fortes proportions de populations Autochtones vs celles ayant de
faibles proportions de peuples autochtones. Il est crucial d'étudier et d'élaborer
des plans concrets pour réduire le fardeau des MCV chez les peuples autochtones par
une prévention et un traitement améliorés de façon centrée sur la communauté.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 21, 2015
Accepted:
June 15,
2015
Received:
March 18,
2015
Footnotes
See page 1079 for disclosure information.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
