Determining Signs of Disability in the Practice of Family Doctor: Functional State of Cardiovascular System

The article explains the need to use in clinical practice specific criteria characterizing the patient's life impairment. Criteria of life impairment and degree of their expressiveness are used as signs of disability and characteristics of rehabilitation treatment in the practice of medical and social expertise. Identifying the signs of disability in patients or people with disabilities is very important in practice of a family doctor. In addition, it has some features because of "social" criteria. In patients with diseases of the cardiovascular system the following criteria of life are impairment: ability to walk, ability to work, ability to self-service and ability to study (in the context of the need for a new profession or re-training). In Ukraine, according to statistics, the number of people with disabilities does not exceed 6% in recent years. There are 2709982 people with disabilities, among them are 310 494 persons of Group I, 1078 721 persons of Group II, 1155 646 people of Group III, and 165 121 children with disabilities. According to the results of the work of state medical and social commissions, the first ranked place among the adult population is occupied by cardiovascular system diseases, which accounts for 22.5%. To determine the degree of life impairment criteria in patients with cardiovascular system diseases, it is necessary to use additional methods of research. First, the functional state of the cardiovascular system should be studied using functional load tests and additional studies characterizing the functional capacity of the blood flow, for example, echocardiography, 24 hour blood pressure monitoring, electrocardiography. The study brought us to the following conclusions. Issues of medical and social expertise on the identifying signs of disability in daily practice of a family doctor are quite important and have certain features due to the use of "social" criteria. The leading pathology in the practice of a family doctor today is the disease of the cardiovascular system: CHD, GC, CH. To determine the violations of the criteria for viability in patients with cardiovascular diseases, a thorough investigation of the functional state of the cardiovascular system through functional loading tests and additional studies characterizing the functional capacity of the circulatory system, in particular, echocardiographic studies and daily studies of pressure and electrocardiographic activity of the myocardium.