Case Study 1 Cardiac Function
Case Studies on Cardiac Function
This is the first case study that is required for the class. Please submit a paper (doesn’t have to be long; you could even give me bullet-point answers to the questions listed below) that answers all of the questions posed after Case Study 1. I have included an easy second case study which, if you complete it, will be worth extra credit. Answers to the first Case Study are worth 25 points and responding to Case Study 1 is required work for the course. The extra credit, which is not required, will be worth a total of 10 points. Both are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 17, 2015.
Case 1
A.O. is an 89-year-old woman with a long history of systolic heart failure secondary to a large left ventricular infarct when she was in her 70s. She had poor activity tolerance and required assistance with activities of daily living. Even minimal activity was associated with moderately severe dyspnea and exertional chest pain, which was relieved by rest. A.O. also exhibited marked pedal edema bilaterally. She is being treated with digitalis, furosemide (Lasix), KCl, and sublingual nitroglycerin.
Discussion Questions
1. Which type of heart failure (left or right sided) is usually associated with dyspnea? What other clinical findings are likely to be present with left-sided heart failure?
2. What compensatory mechanisms are likely to be operative in A.O. to enhance cardiac output?
3. What is the most likely cause of A.O.’s pedal edema?
4. What is the cause of A.O.’s exertional chest pain? What laboratory tests would be useful to confirm this diagnosis?
5. What is the rationale for the use of each of A.O.’s medications in managing her heart disease?
1. -Left sided heart failure on the backwards effect. - Orthopnea, cough, cyanosis, basilar crackles
2. - SNS activation, Increased preload, myocardial hypertrophy
3. - since the left side of the heart is unable to pump properly, the highway of blood is not circulating
This is the first case study that is required for the class. Please submit a paper (doesn’t have to be long; you could even give me bullet-point answers to the questions listed below) that answers all of the questions posed after Case Study 1. I have included an easy second case study which, if you complete it, will be worth extra credit. Answers to the first Case Study are worth 25 points and responding to Case Study 1 is required work for the course. The extra credit, which is not required, will be worth a total of 10 points. Both are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, February 17, 2015.
Case 1
A.O. is an 89-year-old woman with a long history of systolic heart failure secondary to a large left ventricular infarct when she was in her 70s. She had poor activity tolerance and required assistance with activities of daily living. Even minimal activity was associated with moderately severe dyspnea and exertional chest pain, which was relieved by rest. A.O. also exhibited marked pedal edema bilaterally. She is being treated with digitalis, furosemide (Lasix), KCl, and sublingual nitroglycerin.
Discussion Questions
1. Which type of heart failure (left or right sided) is usually associated with dyspnea? What other clinical findings are likely to be present with left-sided heart failure?
2. What compensatory mechanisms are likely to be operative in A.O. to enhance cardiac output?
3. What is the most likely cause of A.O.’s pedal edema?
4. What is the cause of A.O.’s exertional chest pain? What laboratory tests would be useful to confirm this diagnosis?
5. What is the rationale for the use of each of A.O.’s medications in managing her heart disease?
1. -Left sided heart failure on the backwards effect. - Orthopnea, cough, cyanosis, basilar crackles
2. - SNS activation, Increased preload, myocardial hypertrophy
3. - since the left side of the heart is unable to pump properly, the highway of blood is not circulating