Question

John’s brother was an all-star football player. He was going to make it to the NFL, no one had any doubt. One day John got a call – his brother was found dead in his bedroom. He was only 26 years old. The autopsy results suggested that his heart might have been to blame. John’s dad had a heart condition, and a pace-maker, but he didn’t know much about it and wasn’t on speaker terms with him. John decided to see a cardiologist.

At the cardiologist’s, a nurse took his vitals. His blood pressure was 135/90. The doctor ordered a chest x-ray, ECG and echocardiogram. The chest x-ray and ECG came back normal. The echocardiogram however showed that John’s cardiac output was a little low and his left ventricular wall, thicker than average. The doctor asked him to wear a holter monitor for the next 72hr to track and record all of the electrical activity of his heart. 72hr later, John returned to his cardiologists, only to learn that the monitor had picked up some atrial fibrillations. He was shocked, he had felt nothing. The doctor explained that these could feel like rapid fluttering palpitations. “Ah, yes,” he thought, he had felt that.

1. Identify all abnormal test results, and use one proper clinical term:

2. Connect 3 of the abnormal test results to the health of the heart.

3. Provide a primary diagnosis and a secondary condition (complication) that can arise from having this disease.

4. Present one treatment option for this patient. Include a brief explanation.

Answer 1

1.Cardiac arrhythmia

3.thromboembolism

Answer 4.-

Medical procedure --

Cardioversion-

Using electrical shocks to restore normal heart rhythm in people with irregular heartbeats.

Catheter ablation-

Using electrical energy to remove abnormal tissue. For example, in the heart to restore a regular heartbeat.

Medications ------

beta blockers-

Slows heart rate and decreases blood pressure. When taken in eye-drop form, it reduces eye pressure.

Calcium channel blockers-

Relaxes blood vessels.

Antiarrythmic-

Helps control abnormal or irregular heart rhythms.

Blood thinners -

Helps prevent blood clots from forming or helps dissolve existing clots.