Stroke Can Occur in Different Cultures and Genders - Essay Sample

Introduction

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017), the primary traditional signs and symptoms that a registered nurse (RN) would link to an individual having a stroke include a drooped mouth, drifting of the arm or leg, and trouble speaking or slurred speech. Mainly, drooping occurs on one side of the body. Other signs may include a severe headache, lack of coordination or dizziness, loss of balance, confusion, and difficulty understanding speech.

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These symptoms would be diverse between different cultures and genders. Normally, women experience dissimilar symptoms of stroke to men. Also, more women in the United States are more likely to have a stroke than men (Hinkle & Cheever, 2014). Similarly, the symptoms would differ among cultures. For instance, Hispanics, unlike non-Hispanics, have strokes at a younger age, the average age of a stroke being 67 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017).

The risk factors specific to women mainly include endogenous hormone levels, pregnancy, exogenous estrogens, and menopause (Burchum & Rosenthal, 2016). Particularly, women are presumed to show non-traditional signs, for example, pain on one side of the body or in the face and neurological symptoms such as nausea. They are also likely to display non-neurological signs such as chest pain, lightheadedness, and shortness of breath (Pillitteri, 2014).

During the first 60 minutes of identifying a stroke, a simple test that involves the face, arms and speech can be completed. The test identifies drooping in the face, drifting of the arms, and slurred speech, which are the symptoms of stroke (Ladwig, Ackley & Makic, 2017). Correspondingly, the treatments that should be completed to enhance the highest level of recovery from a stroke include a thrombolytic such as a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a kind of medicine that disintegrates blood clots.

Conclusion

Finally, the most crucial items to include in a teaching plan for this patient are the elements of a medical diagnosis of stroke. Also, it would be important to encompass cultural considerations mostly language, dietary elements, and traditional practices.

References

Burchum, J. R., & Rosenthal, L.D. (2016). Lehne's pharmacology for nursing care (9th ed.). St Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Stroke. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/stroke/index.htm

Hinkle, J., & Cheever, K. (2014). Brunner and Suddarth's textbook of medical-surgical nursing (13th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health.

Ladwig, G., Ackley, B., & Makic, M. (2017). Mosby's guide to nursing diagnosis (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Pillitteri, A. (2014). Maternal and child health nursing: Care of the childbearing and childrearing family (7th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.