Health promotion for non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular diseases

Introduction

This is the first article in a series covering health promotion for non-communicable diseases, looking at:

Nurses must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to help people make lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases. The World Health Organization (2022) state that most non-communicable diseases share four lifestyle risk factors:

1. tobacco use
2. alcohol use
3. physical inactivity
4. unhealthy food choices

For further reading on person-centred health promotion and lifestyle approaches, see Webster and Morris (2024), where the authors explore why people participate (or do not) in certain lifestyle behaviours and choices. Nurses must understand that there are also factors outside of people's control that can influence their health-related behaviours.

Cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of global