2. INTRODUCTION
Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (Malaysian Health Ministry) has been
more concern with cardiovascular diseases due to this chronic disease
being the main cause of death in Malaysia. According to the World
Health Organization (WHO), the death rate for cardiovascular disease
in Malaysia is 36% in 2014. This disease takes up approximately 1/3 of
the total deaths. Even so, Malaysians are still not aware of the negative
consequences and solutions of this disease.
Cardiovascular disease is a general term that describes a disease of the
heart of blood vessels. This disease is divided into four main types. It
occurs when the blood flow to a part of the heart which is blocked by a
blood clot.
The survey conducted is to analyze the understanding level of female
and male students in Taylor’s University about cardiovascular disease.
Therefore, the survey forms were distributed and later gathered to
analyze the statistical data collected. The data are then compiled and
presented as an infographic poster to allow the public to grasp the
understanding level of male and female towards this disease.
Reference:
World Health Organization - Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD)
Country Profiles, 2014
http://www.who.int/nmh/countries/mys_en.pdf
3. OBJECTIVES
This survey allows us to be involved in collecting, interpreting and
analyzing statistical data. Furthermore, it also enable us to be aware
of the understanding level of male and female in Taylor’s University
on cardiovascular disease by drawing a conclusion from our survey.
The objectives that we hope to achieve through this survey are:
¬ To raise the awareness of Taylor’s University students on
cardiovascular disease.
¬ To collect the data and observe the level of understanding of
students in Taylor’s University on cardiovascular disease in the
age range of 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, <30.
¬ To analyze the data and to be able to draw a conclusion
through the understanding and applying various mathematical
principles.
4. METHODOLOGY
Preparation
Before distributing the survey forms, a meeting was held to discuss
on setting the questions and the topic that will be carried out in the
survey. The conclusion was to investigate on cardiovascular disease
as this disease causes the highest death rate in Malaysia. The
questions are separated into 15 questions into 3 parts that are
general questions, causes and effects and solutions. In detail, 11
questions are set for the general part and 2 questions each for
causes and effects and solutions. The reason that the questions was
prepared in this format is because how well the students in Taylor’s
University know in which aspect, that is either general, causes and
effects, or solutions has to be concluded. Lastly, 250 copies of survey
forms are printed and each group member will distribute 50 copies
respectively. The 250 copies of survey forms are distributed equally
for both genders. Having a total of 125 survey forms distributed to
the male students and 125 survey forms to the female students.
Later on, all 250 of the survey forms were sorted according to their
gender. Moreover, charts and tables were created based on the
statistics compiled for all 15 questions. The average for the data for
each category were calculated by using the method, mean. The
formula for mean is as follow:
6. General Questions:
Question 1:How many main types of cardiovascular diseases are there?
Answer: 4
There are four main types of
CVD. They are:
• coronary heart disease
• stroke
• peripheral arterial disease
• aortic disease
32.0 % of male got the
correct answer, while 32.8%
of female got the correct
answer. While others chose 3
for their answer due to their
uncertainty.
Female has a slightly higher
understanding in the types of
cardiovascular diseases.
Question 2: Which of the following is a cardiovascular disease?
Answer: Stroke
A stroke is a serious medical
condition that occurs when the
blood supply to part of the
brain is cut off.
Like all organs, the brain
needs a constant supply of
oxygen and nutrients to
function properly. This is
provided by the blood, so if
your blood flow is restricted or
stopped, brain cells will begin
to die. This can cause brain
damage and possibly death.
61.6 % of male got the correct
answer, while 64.0% of female got the correct answer. Others chose lymphatic diseases as their
answer as they do not know much about CVD.
Female has a slightly higher understanding in identifying cardiovascular diseases.
Question 1 Female Male
Answer 3 4 3 4
No. of response 46 41 49 40
Percentage (%) 36.8 32.8 39.2 32
Question 2 Female Male
Answer Stroke Lymphatic diseases Stroke Lymphatic diseases
No. of Response 80 34 77 35
Percentage (%) 64 27.2 61.6 28
0
10
20
30
40
3 4
Female Male
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
Stroke Lymphatic diseases
Female Male
7. Question 3: What is the most common type of heart disease?
Answer: Coronary artery disease
Coronary heart disease (CHD)
occurs when the flow of oxygen-
rich blood to your heart is
blocked or reduced by a build-up
of fatty material (atheroma) in
the coronary arteries.
44.0% of male got the correct
answer, while 46.4% of female
got the correct answer. Others
chose irregular heart rhythm as
their answer as this type of
disease is more recognisable to
the public.
Female has a slightly higher understanding in recognising common type cardiovascular diseases.
Question 4:
Cardiovascular disease takes up the largest portion of death in Malaysia that is:
Answer: 36%
56.8 % of male got the correct answer, while
46.8 % of female got the correct answer.
Others chose 21% as they do not keep in track
of health report datas.
Male has a higher understanding in the latest statistic of cardiovascular disease.
Question 3 Female Male
Answer Irregular Heart
Rhythm
Coronary artery
disease
Irregular Heart
Rhythm
Coronary artery
disease
No. of Response 23 58 17 55
Percentage (%) 18.4 46.4 13.6 44
Question 4 Female Male
Answer 21% 36% 21% 36%
No. of Response 24 61 22 71
Percentage (%) 19.2 46.8 17.6 56.8
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
Irregular Heart Rhythm Coronary Heart diseases
Female Male
0
15
30
45
60
21% 36%
Female Male
8. Question 5: What are the symptoms?
Answer: All of the above (Chest pain, shortness of breath, pain in upper abdomen or back)
Cardiovascular disease is
caused by narrowed, blocked or
stiffened blood vessels that
prevent your heart, brain or other
parts of your body from receiving
enough blood. Cardiovascular
disease symptoms may be
different for men and women.
For instance, men are more
likely to have chest pain; women
are more likely to have
symptoms such as shortness of
breath, nausea and extreme
fatigue.
60.0 % of male got the correct
answer, while 68.0 % of female
got the correct answer. While
some of them chose chest pain
as they do not know the other
symptoms.
Female has a higher
understanding in the symptoms of cardiovascular diseases.
Question
5
Female Male
Answer Chest
Pain
Shortness
in breath
Pain in
upper
abdomen
or back
All of the
above
Chest
Pain
Shortness
in breath
Pain in
upper
abdomen
or back
All of the
above
No. of
Response
25 12 6 82 23 14 13 75
Percenta
ge (%)
20 9.6 4.8 65.6 18.4 11.2 10.4 60
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
C
hestPain
Shortness
in
breathPain
in
upperabdom
en
orbackAllofthe
above
Female Male
9. Question 6:
CT Scanning and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be used to detect cardiovascular
disease.
Answer: True
The MRI test can show your heart’s structure (muscle,
valves and chambers) and how well blood flows
through your heart and major vessels.
MRI of the heart lets your doctor see if your heart is
damaged from a heart attack, or if there is lack of
blood flow to the heart muscle because of narrowed
or blocked arteries.
A CT scan can be used to visualize nearly all parts of
the body and is used to diagnose disease or injury as
well as to plan medical, surgical or radiation
treatment.
70.4 % of male got the correct answer, while 66.4 %
of female got the correct answer.
Male understand more about diagnosing cardiovascular disease using latest technology.
Question 7:
The statistic of women dying due to a heart attack in Malaysia is 1/4.
Answer: True
In Malaysia, one in four women die of a heart
attack, a trend that has remained consistent over
the last decade. The total number of deaths from
heart disease is reportedly 2.5 times higher than
that of all types of cancers combined.
The older a woman gets, the more likely she is to
get heart disease, especially during the
menopause.
49.6% of male got the correct answer, while
63.2% of female got the correct answer. Other are
not sure of the statistic in Malaysia as most of the
articles features US’s data.
Female understand more about the statistics of women dying due to heart attack.
Question 6 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 83 42 88 37
Percentage (%) 66.4 33.6 70.4 29.6
Question 7 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 79 46 62 63
Percentage (%) 63.2 36.8 49.6 50.4
0
20
40
60
80
True False
Female Male
0
20
40
60
80
True False
Female Male
10. Question 8:
The golden time in rescuing a patient suffering in a sudden cardiovascular disease is 2
hours.
Answer: False
The Golden Hour is a critical time because the
heart muscle starts to die within 80-90 minutes
after it stops getting blood, and within six hours,
almost all the affected parts of the heart could be
irreversibly damaged according to Dr Manoj
Agarwal.
36.8 % of male got the correct answer, while 53.6
% of female got the correct answer.
Female can identify the golden time better than
male.
Question 9:
Cardiovascular disease can occur in children.
Answer: True
Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a defect, or
abnormality of the heart or blood vessels near the
heart, and not a disease, so many people use the
term “congenital heart defect”. The majority of
children born today with CHD will survive and with
proper treatment be able to lead a normal or near-
normal life. Some kinds of CHD are mild and may
not be diagnosed in infancy according to the
World Heart Federation.
72.8 % of male got the correct answer, while 76.8
% of female got the correct answer. Some thinks
that CVD only occurs in adults so that chose the
wrong answer.
Female’s understanding is slightly better than male about the occurring of cardiovascular disease in
children.
Question 8 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 67 58 46 79
Percentage (%) 53.6 46.4 36.8 63.2
Question 9 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 96 29 91 34
Percentage (%) 76.8 23.2 72.8 27.2
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
True False
Female Male
0
20
40
60
80
True False
Female Male
11. Question 10:
The heart stops beating during a heart attack.
Answer: False
A heart attack is when blood flow to the heart is
blocked, the heart usually does not stop beating
during a heart attack.
Most of the people believe that the heart stops
during a heart attack, but actually it is a myth.
Both male and female with percentage of 48 got
the correct answer.
Both gender have the same understanding
towards the general fact of heart attack.
Question 11:
Obesity has the largest risk factor for heart disease.
Answer: False
The important risk factors for heart disease are
uncontrolled high blood pressure, high
cholesterol and smoking. Staying inactive is
also one of the risk factor.
Both gender have a lower percentage of
getting correct answer, that is male 30.4 % and
female 20.8 %.
This may be their misunderstanding about
obesity and it’s relation with heart disease.
Thus, this is the question that most of them got
wrong.
Question 10 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 60 65 60 65
Percentage (%) 48 52 48 52
Question 11 Female Male
Answer TRUE FALSE TRUE FALSE
No. of Response 26 99 38 87
Percentage (%) 20.8 79.2 30.4 69.6
47
48.25
49.5
50.75
52
True False
Female Male
0
20
40
60
80
True False
Female Male
12. Causes & Effects Questions:
Question 12: What causes cardiovascular diseases?
I. Inheritance
II. Exposure to UV rays
III. Lack of exercise
Answer:
i. Inheritance
iii. Lack of exercise
Physical activity protects you by regulating your
weight and improving your body’s use of insulin.
Being active is beneficial for your blood pressure,
which is powerful promoter of cardiovascular
disease. If both parents have suffered from heart
disease before the age of 55, the risk of developing
heart disease can rise to 50% compared to the
general population.
48.0 % of male got the correct answer, while 47.2
% of female got the correct answer.
Male’s understanding is slightly better than female
regarding the causes of cardiovascular disease.
Question 12 Female Male
Answer i,iii ii,iii All i,iii ii,iii All
No. of
Response
59 26 40 57 23 45
Percentage
(%)
47.2 20.8 32 45.6 18.4 36
0
12.5
25
37.5
50
i,iii ii,iii All
Female Male
13. Question 13:
What are the effects of this disease?
i. Irregular heart rhythm
ii. Congestive heart failure
iii. Cancer
Answer:
i. Irregular heart rhythm
ii. Congestive heart failure
The indirect effects of cardiovascular disease
stem from changes in the heart muscle as a result
of sudden decreased blood flow, which leads to
cardiac arrest and some irregular heart rhythms,
or gradually decreased flow, which can cause
congestive heart failure and other irregular heart
rhythms.
51.2 % of male got the correct answer, while 53.6
% of female got the correct answer.
Female’s understanding in the effects of
cardiovascular diseases is slightly better than
male.
Question 13 Female Male
Answer i,ii ii,iii All i,ii ii,iii All
No. of
Response
67 24 34 62 20 43
Percentage
(%)
53.6 19.2 27.2 49.6 16 34.4
0
15
30
45
60
i,ii ii,iii All
Female Male
14. Solutions Questions:
Question 14:
What are the physical treatments that can be performed at home?
i. Do more exercise
ii. Eat healthy food
iii. Stay indoors
Answer:
i. Do more exercises
ii. Eat healthy food
Exercise helps you achieve and maintain a healthy
weight and control diabetes, elevated cholesterol
and high blood pressure — all risk factors for heart
disease.
A heart-healthy diet based on fruits, vegetables and
whole grains — and low in saturated fat,
cholesterol, sodium and added sugar — can help
you control your weight, blood pressure and
cholesterol.
56.8 % of male got the correct answer, while 64.0
% of female got the correct answer.
Female understand more in the physical treatments
that can be performed at home of cardiovascular diseases than male.
Question 14 Female Male
Answer i,ii ii,iii All i,ii ii,iii All
No. of
Response
80 16 29 72 19 34
Percentage
(%)
64 12.8 23.2 57.6 15.2 27.2
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
i,ii ii,iii All
Female Male
15. Question 15:
What are the treatments that can be performed at the hospital?
i. Clot Buster Drug
ii.Heart Transplant
iii. Antiplatelet Drugs
Answer: All of the above
Antiplatelet drugs are used to treat heart
disease. They are a group of powerful
medications that prevent the formation of blood
clots.
Clot buster drugs, or thrombolytic therapy, are a
type of heart medication given in the hospital
through the veins (intravenous) to break up
blood clots.
A heart transplant is an operation to replace a
damaged or failing heart with a healthy human
heart from a donor who has recently died.
46.4 % of male got the correct answer, while
56.8 % of female got the correct answer.
Female understand more in the treatments that can be performed at the hospital of cardiovascular
diseases than male.
Question 15 Female Male
Answer i,ii ii,iii All i,ii ii,iii All
No. of
Response
20 28 77 33 34 58
Percentage
(%)
16 22.4 61.6 26.4 27.2 46.4
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
i,ii ii,iii All
Female Male
16. Conclusion
In a nutshell, our main purpose for this survey is to investigate and analysis on the
level of understanding of cardiovascular disease among students in Taylor’s University.
We targeted 250 students where 125 are males and 125 are females. We also categorized
the age range of all the target to 4 groups (aged 16-20, 21-25 ,26-30, >30) .As for the
question , we divided it into 3 parts , general , causes and effects and
preventions .However, It is a shocking result where the overall marks for all 250 targets is
only 8/15 .
Apart from that, we also can conclude that female students in Taylor’s University has
a higher understanding of Cardiovascular disease than male students where the
percentage is 54.03% over 50.99% . Through the statistic that we have obtained, we also
found that there is a misconception in female students as they think that the golden time
in rescuing a patient suffering in heart attack is 2 hours where the correct answer is 80
minutes instead of 2 hours. This observation can be clearly shown through question No.8
where the percentage of female students answer true is 53.6% but the percentage for
false (which is the true answer is only 46.4%). Additionally, there is also question where
the percentage of female and male students answered correctly is the same .This is
question No. 10 and the percentage is 52.0%.
Moreover, the overall number of questions which female understand more is far
higher than male which is 13/15 over 2/15. This is a disappointing result as we can
conclude that most of the male students in Taylor’s University do not have enough
knowledge in cardiovascular disease. This can be dangerous as they may not able to
prevent themselves from having cardiovascular disease effectively in the future. For
example, question No.11 in the survey stated that the greatest risk for heart disease is
obesity which is false but only 69.6% of male students answered it correctly in compared
to female students whose percentage is 79.2%.
It is beyond shadow of a doubt that, this survey has clearly shown the level of
understanding of cardiovascular disease among students in Taylor’s University. The
statistics are not quite where and this proved that the authorities still need to work hand
in hand and improve the current situation drastically so that the youth can prevent
themselves from being a victim in cardiovascular disease in the future .
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