NU609 Advanced Health Assessment Assignments Unit 6 Discussion

Cardiac Conditions

C. T. a 48-year-old male patient presents for a checkup.  He admits it has been 4 years since he has been seen by a medical professional and at that time was diagnosed with an upper respiratory illness. He did have his blood pressure taken a year ago at his employer’s health fair and was told it was a “little high”.

He has had no major illness or chronic diseases. He has no known allergies and does not take any regular medication.

His family history shows that is father died of a heart attack at age 68, his mother is alive and well at age 72, he has a 50-year-old brother with depression and alcoholism, and one son who is healthy at age 24. He did have a maternal uncle with prostate cancer.

On review of systems, he has occasional headaches, experiences shortness of breath when he walks upstairs, and gets up once a night to urinate.

What should the major objectives of this health maintenance visit be?

What conditions, risk factors, and health related behaviors should be screened for during this visit?

What are the common causes of morbidity and mortality for 48-year-old men in the United States?

 

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Cardiac Conditions

Introduction

There are many cardiac conditions that can affect your heart and cause symptoms. The most common of these conditions include coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation and heart attack. In this post we will discuss some of the more common cardiac conditions you may be at risk for or have recently experienced.

Coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease, or CAD, is a condition that affects the heart muscle and causes narrowing of the arteries to the heart. It’s caused by plaque buildup inside your arteries. This plaque can block blood flow, causing pain and other symptoms.

Coronary Artery Disease Risk Factors: Smoking, high blood pressure (hypertension), family history of coronary artery disease, stress/anxiety, diabetes mellitus with complications such as retinopathy or nephropathy (kidney disease), obesity with associated hypertension

Atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a condition that causes the heart to beat chaotically, resulting in rapid and irregular heartbeats. This can cause blood flow to be turbulent and increase the amount of oxygen your body receives.

The symptoms of atrial fibrillation include palpitations (fast or erratic heartbeat), fatigue and lightheadedness, dizziness or fainting spells. If left untreated, it can lead to serious complications such as stroke or heart failure.

Causes include coronary artery disease (CAD), high blood pressure, kidney disease or diabetes mellitus; however these are not always present in every case of atrial fibrillation

Heart attack

A heart attack is a life-threatening medical condition that occurs when the blood flow to your heart muscle is blocked. This can happen because of a blood clot or an other problem with your heart. If you have symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 immediately and go to the nearest emergency room. The treatment depends on the type and severity of your condition; if you don’t receive prompt treatment, it may become more serious over time.

Transient ischemic attack

A transient ischemic attack (TIA) is a temporary disruption of blood flow to the brain. It’s often followed by a stroke, which is when a clot blocks an artery in the brain, causing death or serious disability. The risk of having a TIA increases with age and conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease.

Heart valve problems

If your heart valves are not working properly, blood can’t flow in the right direction. The heart has four valves: two atrioventricular (AV) valves and two semilunar (SL) valves.

The mitral valve separates the left atrium from the left ventricle; it also serves as an example of how important these structures are to healthy circulation.

The tricuspid valve separates the right atrium from its corresponding ventricle; again, it’s important for proper movement of blood through these chambers of your body.

Abnormal heart rhythms and conduction problems

Arrhythmias are abnormal heart rhythms that can cause chest pain, dizziness, or fainting. They may be triggered by stress or other conditions. The most common arrhythmia is atrial fibrillation, which occurs when the upper chambers of your heart beat out of sync with each other (irregularly).

Other types include ventricular tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) and ventricular fibrillation (no pulse). When you have an arrhythmia in your chest wall or abdomen, it feels like having a pounding heart but it doesn’t produce any discomfort in other parts of your body like regular pain does when there’s an issue with a joint problem or muscle spasms caused by something else going on inside those muscles.

Know your risk factors and as appropriate with your physician find ways to protect yourself from cardiac conditions.

As you may know, cardiac conditions are serious and can be fatal. Cardiac conditions also cost the healthcare system more than $200 billion annually in the U.S., according to research from Harvard Medical School.

Although there are no specific tests that can screen for all types of heart diseases, knowing your risk factors will help guide you toward treatment options that may be right for you or your loved one if they develop symptoms later on down the road (elderly people have an increased risk). For example:

• A family history would indicate whether one has inherited genes that predispose them toward certain forms of heart disease; this could include an uncle who died young or an aunt with hypertension—both signs that something is wrong with their hearts’ ability to pump blood properly throughout their bodies.* If someone smokes too much tobacco (cigarettes), then even if they quit smoking completely now, it could still leave traces behind inside their bodies which cause damage to arteries over time.* If someone takes medications daily such as birth control pills or cholesterol drugs called statins which require regular checkups because those drugs work by lowering cholesterol levels within us humans so we don’t get sicker despite having high cholesterol levels already present earlier on when first diagnosed back during secondary school days when starting out these types

Conclusion

Cardiac conditions can be a devastating diagnosis that can change your life. The best way to protect yourself from cardiac conditions is to learn all you can about them and take steps to reduce your risk of developing one or any other heart condition.