Paper Example on Silent Myocardial Infarction

Symptoms and Signs

From the evaluation of Mrs Paula Johnson personal and social history, all the descriptions and disorders, remarkably point to the confirmed diagnosis. From Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association, patient's age, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus type II, are major risk indicators for a cardiovascular disease (Grundy et al.,1999). This shows critical nature of these records in diagnosis.

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Primarily, the silent myocardial infarction(SMI), which Mrs Johnson suffered, is a heart attack that just a few or no common symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, which are related to heart problems. For this patient, this could have been triggered by several factors. First of all, her age,65, falls under the highly vulnerable women age category that is at the highest risk of SMI. Additionally, she has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heavy smoking habits, does not exercise and has diabetes, all of which attenuates the risk of a silent heart attack(Garber,2000).

From the lab tests ordered, it is expected that the Complete blood count (CBC) will show a high white blood cells count and hematocrit that is highly associated with the presence of a coronary heart disease (Majid & Fatemi, 2013). For the cardiac enzymes test, it is likely that the results will show high levels of troponin enzymes due to the high rate of release after a heart attack. Glucose level test of the patient's blood, on the other hand, is likely to show a higher-than-normal level due to the stress caused by the attack (NIH,2018). The lipid panel test is expected to yield results showing above the desirable levels of LDL cholesterol, HDL Cholesterol and Triglyceride lipids. Finally, the cardiac catheterization test on the patient is likely to show a blockage in the arteries supplying the heart muscle with the blood.

While the signs and symptoms strongly point to silent myocardial infarction, there were other diagnoses made through the same symptoms. These include dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus and essential hypertension. When a patient experiences SMI, he or she develops some complications that may even be fatal. For instance, the free wall of the free wall and papillary muscle are likely to rapture in addition to obstruction of dynamic outflow in the left ventricle of the heart. SMI has also been associated with Left Ventrical thrombus and Right myocardial infarction (Wilannsky et al., 2007).

Heart Valvular Disorders

Apart from SMI, there are other types of heart diseases. Endocarditis is one of them. This disease essentially refers to an infection of the inner lining of the heart chambers, also known as endocardium, and the heart valves. It is mainly caused by bacteria and fungi originating from other parts of the such as the mouth and deposited to the injured parts of the heart through the bloodstream (Cabell et al.,2003). Shocks are also heart disorders that lead to weakened hearts and poor circulation of the oxygenated blood throughout the body. Depending on the cause, shocks can either be septic, which is caused by bacteria, anaphylactic due to allergic reactions, cardiogenic caused by heart damage, neurogenic arising from spinal cord trauma or hypovolemic resulting from fluid or blood losses (John, 2018).

Respiratory Disorders

Lifetime smokers are likely to develop respiratory disorders.one of the is COPD. COPD, which stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is a collective term for lung diseases such as chronic bronchitis, refractory asthma and emphysema diseases. While COPD can be genetic, the main causes of these diseases are inhalation of pollutants such as those in a cigarette and chemical fumes from work environment (COPDFoundation,2018). Asthma is another respiratory disorder, which is a chronic disease affecting the body airways to the lungs making them very sensitive to allergic reactions and ultimately delimiting the supply of air. Most asthma cases trace their origin to family histories where a person coming from a family with a history of asthma is more prone to the development of the disease. Other cases also trace their origin from working in an environment with fumes, dust and gases. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease but a patient can manage it and live a quality life ("Asthma | AAAAI", 2018).

Pneumothorax is another respiratory complication that results in a collapsed lung. This phenomenon occurs when the air escapes into the spaces between the lungs and chest wall hence causing the collapse. The push of this air may be caused by chest injuries, lung diseases or mechanical ventilation, which causes air pressure imbalance within the chest. The principal symptoms of pneumothorax are shortness of breath and chest pain which escalates fast and becomes life-threatening hence need for emergency care ("Pneumothorax - Symptoms and causes", 2018).

References

Asthma | AAAAI. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/asthma

Cabell, C. H., Abrutyn, E., & Karchmer, A. W. (2003). Bacterial endocarditis. Circulation, 107(20), e185-e187.

COPDFoundation. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.copdfoundation.org/What-is-COPD/Understanding-COPD/What-Causes-COPD.aspx

Garber, A. J. (2000). Attenuating cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes. American family physician, 62(12), 2633-42.

Grundy, S. M., Benjamin, I. J., Burke, G. L., Chait, A., Eckel, R. H., Howard, B. V., ... & Sowers, J. R. (1999). Diabetes and cardiovascular disease: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 100(10), 1134-1146.

John P. Cunha, F. (2018). Shock: Facts on Symptoms & Treatment. Retrieved from https://www.medicinenet.com/shock/article.htm

Madjid, M., & Fatemi, O. (2013). Components of the complete blood count as risk predictors for coronary heart disease: in-depth review and update. Texas Heart Institute Journal, 40(1), 17.

NIH. (2018). Blood sugar test: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003482.htm

Pneumothorax - Symptoms and causes. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pneumothorax/symptoms-causes/syc-20350367

Wilansky, S., Moreno, C. A., & Lester, S. J. (2007). Complications of myocardial infarction. Critical care medicine, 35(8), S348-S354.