Case Study Example on US Heart Disease: Cardiac Crisis

Introduction

In the U.S., heart disease is the leading cause of death. Also, it is a major cause of disability. In P.L.'s cardiac disease and crisis case study, the patient was having chest pains and had taken two nitroglycerin tablets without relief, prompting her family to call an ambulance (Cohen & DePetris, 2017). She was taken to the emergency room with chest pain radiated down her arm, dyspnea, and syncope. On accessing the patient medical history from her family as the patient was being admitted to the emergency room. It was established that she routinely took medications to prevent heart disease including Lanoxin from slowing and strengthening her heartbeat, Inderal to support her heart rhythm, Lipitor to lower her cholesterol, nitroglycerin prn for chest pain, Catapres to reduce her hypertension, and HydroDIURIL to eliminate fluid and decrease the heart’s workload, Coumadin to prevent blood clots, and Diabinese for her diabetes (cohen & DePetris, 2017). Also, she took Tagamet for her stomach ulcer and several OTC preparations that included a herbal sleeping formulation in tea or orange juice. During the 12-lead ECG, the patient blood pressure and heart rate deteriorated to full cardiac arrest. Therefore, there are many risk factors to the condition that can be controlled while others cannot. In this light, this paper will examine how heart disease can be prevented.

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Preventative Drug

Heart disease can be prevented through preventative drug administration. According to (cohen & DePetris, 2017), a drug is any substance that changes people's body functions. Preventative heart attack drug names may be quoted by either their brand names or generic names. The brand name is a listed trademark of the producer and is recorded with an initial capital letter (Cohen & DePetris, 2017). A generic name is usually a simpler form of the drug's chemical name and is not capitalized (Cohen & DePetris, 2017). According to the history of P.L, she was given a regular dosage of preventative drugs of a heart attack. For instance, the patient usually takes Lanoxin to slow and strengthen her heartbeat, which is the brand name for digoxin. Therefore, to prevent heart disease cardiac arrest, a patient can take digoxin through the mouth or inject it into a vein.

Therefore, to prevent heart attacks, a person needs to control their blood pressure. High blood pressure is among the risk factors for heart disease. It is imperative to get your blood pressure checked regularly at least once every year, and in case of high blood pressure, one should check more often (Muller et al., 2010). An individual should take actions like lifestyle adjustments to control or prevent high blood pressure.

Triglyceride and Cholesterol Levels

A person needs to keep their triglyceride and cholesterol levels under control. Triglyceride is a type of fat in the blood. High levels of these fats enhance the risk of heart disease, particularly among women (Muller et al., 2010). Another type of fat in the blood are cholesterols. High cholesterol levels clog the artery and increase the risk of heart disease (Muller et al., 2010). A person is required to take medication and alter their lifestyle if needed to lower cholesterol. In the case of P.L, she took Lipitor to lower her cholesterol (cohen & DePetris, 2017).

Obesity

Being overweight is another heart disease risk factor. As such, having obesity or being overweight can raise heart disease risk. Indeed, obesity is associated with many other heart disease risk factors, including triglyceride and cholesterol levels, diabetes, and high blood pressure (Rippe & Angelopoulos, 2016). Besides, managing diabetes reduces the probability of developing heart disease. High sugar levels in the blood due to diabetes damage the blood vessels and nerves that control blood vessels and hearts (Rippe & Angelopoulos, 2016). Thus, people should test for diabetes, and those having it should keep it under control. In the P.L case, she took Diabenes to lower her diabetes, which is associated with being obese and overweight (cohen & DePetris, 2017). Therefore controlling a person's weight through diet and lifestyle changes can lower these other heart disease factors.

Methods of Prevention

Eating a healthy diet is a good method to prevent heart disease. Proper diet and nutrition limits a person’s intake of saturated fats, added sugars, and foods with high sodium levels (Muller et al., 2010). Eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and fresh fruit prevents one from developing heart disease risk factors such as overweight, obesity, and diabetes. For instance, utilizing the DASH diet eating plan can help lower an individual’s cholesterol and blood pressure decreasing the risk for coronary artery disease.

Another means of preventing heart disease is getting regular exercise. Exercising has several health advantages, such as strengthening an individual’s heart and enhancing circulation (Cole et al., 2011). However, in P.L's case, she often took Lanoxin to slow and strengthen her heartbeat (cohen & DePetris, 2017). Also, exercise can help maintain low cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and a healthy weight, which can reduce the risk of heart disease.

Other preventative methods of preventing heart attack include stopping smoking and limit alcohol intake levels (Eysenck, 2012). Too much alcohol increases an individual’s blood pressure and adds calories making a person gain weight, raising the risk of heart disease (Cole et al., 2011). Besides, smoke from cigarettes raises a person’s blood pressure putting them at a higher risk for stroke and heart disease. Therefore, quitting smoking lowers the risk of heart disease.

Lastly, heart disease is associated with stress in several ways. First, stress can increase individual blood pressure, while extreme stress can cause a heart attack (Eysenck, 2012). Furthermore, several ways of dealing with stress, such as smoking, drinking, and overeating. Therefore, managing a person’s stress like meditating, focusing on something peaceful or calm, listening to music, and exercising can reduce the risk of heart disease. Also, not getting enough sleep enhances the risk of diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, which are heart disease risk factors. People with problems such as sleep apnea should contact their healthcare providers for help.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Heart disease is the leading cause of mortality in the U.S. Its seriousness is demonstrated in the cardiac disease and crisis whereby P.L succumbs to the condition. As such, it is vital to prevent the condition to reduce the rate of death. Heart disease can be prevented in several ways which include using medication to control and manage blood pressure, keeping the levels of triglyceride and cholesterol levels under control, maintaining a healthy weight, manage diabetes, eating a balanced diet, regular exercise, reduce alcohol consumption, quit smoking, managing stress, and getting enough sleep. Therefore, following these preventative measures can reduce the heart attack death rate.

References

Cohen, B. J., & DePetris, A. (2017). Medical terminology: An illustrated guide (8th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Cole, J. A., Smith, S. M., Hart, N., & Cupples, M. E. (2011). A systematic review of the effect of diet and exercise lifestyle interventions in the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Cardiology Research and Practice, 2011. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crp/2011/232351/abs/

Eysenck, H. J. (2012). Smoking, personality, and stress: Psychosocial factors in the prevention of cancer and coronary heart disease. Springer Science & Business Media.

Müller-Riemenschneider, F., Meinhard, C., Damm, K., Vauth, C., Bockelbrink, A., Greiner, W., & Willich, S. N. (2010). Effectiveness of nonpharmacological secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 17(6), 688-700.
https://www.repo.uni-hannover.de/bitstream/handle/123456789/3031/hjr.0b013e32833a1c95.pdf?sequence=1

Rippe, J. M., & Angelopoulos, T. J. (2016). Added sugars and risk factors for obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. International Journal of Obesity, 40(1), S22-S27.
https://www.nature.com/articles/ijo201610/

Sattar, Y., & Chhabra, L. (2019). Electrocardiogram. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.