Exploration of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disorders

Case Study

Module 2 Assignment: Research and Report Overview After making your observations of the patient this week, and after reading about and researching the conditions covered in this module, you will now put it all together in a report. You should spend approximately 6 hours on this assignment.

 

Instructions In at least 375 words, or 1.5 double-spaced pages, prepare a case report that addresses the following: Based on the case study provided, respond to the following questions:

 

Mention the symptoms and signs you found in this patient. Did you find any remarkable detail in the personal and social history of our patient that can help to make the diagnosis? What is a silent myocardial infarction, and why did it happen to this patient? What results do you expect to find in the tests ordered? What are some differential diagnoses? What are some complications of myocardial infarction?

 

The patient suffers from silent myocardial infarction, but there are other types of heart diseases. Consider these questions: Describe the heart valvular disorders and how they can produce cardiac failure. What is endocarditis, and what are the most common causes? How many types of shocks are there? Explain them. As a lifetime smoker, the patient is at risk of several respiratory disorders. Consider these questions: What is COPD?

 

What are the three most common diseases that produce a COPD? What are their causes? What is asthma? Explain the origin of its symptoms. What is a pneumothorax? What are its symptoms and signs, and what are its causes?

 

Case Study

 

Exploration of Cardiovascular and Respiratory Disorders Overview Review this module's case study, terms, and materials. Estimated time: 3 hours Case Study Woman Personal Information Name: Mrs. Paula Johnson Age: 65 years old Gender: Female Description Mrs. Paula Johnson is a 65-year-old white woman with a previous history of a sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus type II. She is a heavy smoker since she was 20 years old. She was brought to the emergency room because her family found her unresponsive on the floor. She was diaphoretic.

 

Her family thought she had her diabetes decompensated. Mrs. Johnson’s daughter indicated her mother was complaining of nausea and epigastric pain the day before. Also, her blood pressure was high. On the physical examination we found: Remarkable Signs on Physical Exam by Regions Chest: Palpitation Remarkable Signs on Physical Exam by Systems Integumentary system: Profuse diaphoresis, coldness, and pallor Respiratory system: Tachypnea Cardiovascular system: Weak pulse, tachycardia, and hypotension Nervous system: Unconsciousness. No other neurologic signs.

Important Terms

 

Lab Tests Complete blood count (CBC) Cardiac enzymes Glucose level Lipid panel EKG Cardiac catheterization Diagnosis Silent myocardial infarction Other Diagnoses Essential hypertension Dyslipidemia Diabetes mellitus Supporting Material Mrs. Johnson has been diagnosed with silent myocardial infarction. As we learned last module, the first step in pathophysiology is observation of noticeable changes, but what do we do when the patient does not outwardly experience symptoms? Chest pain is a scary symptom that usually alerts the physician and patient.

 

However, if the patient or the physician is not alerted, the medical practitioner has to dig deeper to understand the cause or set of causes that contribute to the condition. Explore this module's content by clicking on each section below. Open All Important Terms (20 minutes) Heart and Circulatory Diseases Coronary artery disease: This is the most common type of heart disease.

 

 This disease commonly happens because of a narrowing, or stenosis, of the coronary arteries due to the deposit of lipids in the wall of the arteries. Consequently, the heart muscle does not get the appropriate amount of blood, and patients experience ischemic heart diseases such as angina, heart attack, and heart failure (Mayo Clinic staff, 2017). Heart disease: Heart disease refers to any condition that affects the heart. Examples of heart disease are angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, myocarditis, mitral stenosis, arrhythmias, and endocarditis.

 

Heart attacks: Heart attack is the term commonly used to name the myocardial infarction. This serious condition occurs when a coronary artery or its branches are completely obstructed. As a consequence, a portion of the heart does not receive blood causing necrosis of the heart tissue (Maziar Zafari & Abdou, 2017). Hypertension: Hypertension means high blood pressure. This medical condition is multifactorial and happens when the blood pressure in the blood vessels is abnormally increased.

 

In the majority of cases the normal pressure is below 140/90 mmHg (National Library of Medicine, n.d.). Cyanotic heart disease: This refers to a group of congenital heart conditions where an abnormal heart defect makes possible a communication between the right and left cavities of the heart, or great vessels. As a result, deoxygenated blood will be pumped out to the systemic circulation producing a bluish color in the patient (Ellis, 2016). Valvular heart disease: This happens when one of the four valves of the heart is damaged. Basically, two conditions are derived from valvular diseases: stenosis or regurgitation. Myocarditis: This medical condition is characterized by damage to the heart muscle.

 

The damage may be due to different causes (Myocarditis Foundation, 2017). Pericarditis: This is the inflammation of the pericardium, which is the serous membrane surrounding the heart (American Heart Association, 2016). Respiratory Diseases Asthma: This is a lung disease where bronchi are narrowed, inflamed, and produce excessive amounts of mucus. This is a chronic condition. Patients experience breathing difficulties when having an asthma attack (American Lung Association, 2017).

 

Cystic fibrosis: This is a genetic disease that produces an increasing amount of thick mucus in the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. Patients commonly have respiratory infections and produce severe breathing issues over time (Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, n.d.). Pneumonia: This is a lung infection produced by several microorganisms. The most common causes are viruses and bacteria. As with any other infection, patients have a fever.

 

Pneumonia compromises the breathing process due to inflammation and pus formation in the alveoli and bronchi (WebMD, 2017). An Introduction to Cardiovascular Disorders (26 minutes) This video from Leslie Samuel explains what happens when things go wrong with the cardiovascular system. It provides a general review of the cardiovascular system, starting with the absorption of nutrients into the blood all the way to the function of the heart. It reviews topics like edema, ischemia, and infarctions, as well as how the dysfunction of the circulatory system can result in significant problems.

 

 What is Hypertension?  What is pericarditis? What is valvular heart disease?