The Nature of Cardiac and Pulmonary Dyspnea, Essay Example

The case narrative offers a summary of an experience with a 74 year-old female patient who presented with symptoms such as dyspnea, shortness of breath, and dizziness. This case narrative meets a number of domains, such as Domain 1, Competency 3, whereby differential diagnoses must be formulated in order to effectively manage the condition and to treat its symptoms. The patient’s chief complaint is dyspnea with increased exertion; therefore, it is important to evaluate her health history, current medications, and other symptoms in an effort to make a definitive diagnosis and to execute the appropriate treatment strategy. The patient’s pacemaker may be dysfunctional, which could pose additional challenges for her health status. Her dyspnea, however, must be further examined in order to determine the primary cause, which may include diseases of the heart values, arrhythmias, and stenosis, among others (Richards, 2015). From this perspective, it is important for the patient to receive the appropriate diagnostic assessment in order to determine which course of treatment will be most effective.

Based upon the patient’s presentation and current health status, it is likely that she is experiencing problems associated with pacemaker function; therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the leads and to irrigate as necessary in order to determine if this will improve the situation. Questions regarding pacemaker longevity are of critical importance in this case because the patient’s condition appears to be reflective of dysfunction within the pacemaker itself (Shepard & Ellenbogen, 2009). The case narrative is successful in addressing the pacemaker as a key contributor to the patient’s current health status and to use this as a focal point of the differential diagnosis. Based upon the case narrative, it appears that the appropriate decisions were made to evaluate the patient’s pacemaker status and level of functionality, and upon further examination, was determined to be a key contributing factor to her current dyspnea and other related symptoms.

References

Richards, D. (2015). The nature of cardiac and pulmonary dyspnea. American Heart Association Journal. Retrieved from http://circ.ahajournals.org/.

Shepard, R., & Ellenbogen, K. (2009). Leads and longevity: how long will your pacemaker last? Europace, 11, 142-143.