Social and Technical Issues in Ischemic Vascular Disease Prevention

Libby, Christopher

Student Work

Social and Technical Issues in Ischemic Vascular Disease Prevention

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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and other major developed countries. Within the United States, one in three people will be diagnosed with high cholesterol, and 20% of deaths annually will be due to cardiac illness. Millions of Americans are diagnosed with high cholesterol each year, and live with it for most of the rest of their lives. High cholesterol has been associated with poor diet, lack of exercise, lower than average income, geography, and genetic predispositions. Cholesterol buildup in vasculature is called a plaque, which can cause narrowing of the arteries, ishemia, and eventually lead to major cardiac events such as heart attack or stroke. In preparation for an injection based treatment for high cholesterol, this report was developed to research the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of cholesterol based cardiovascular disease; current screening methods for hypercholesterolemia; the social determinants of health that influence cardiovascular disease; current treatment methods; the value proposition of an alternative treatment; and a technical proposal for the future project.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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