Left Ventricles

From the subjective data collected through history taking and objective data gathered from the physical assessment of Mr Jones, the primary differential diagnosis was AR. The left ventricle in AR is typically dilated from secondary to severe volume overload, normally the left ventricle handles both the forward flow delivered from the left atria as well as the backflow of blood from the aorta. The abnormal backflow of blood leads to pathologic changes in the heart in order to compensate for the decreased successful cardiac output . Aortic regurgitation occurs from either damage to the aortic valve leaflets or dilation of the aortic annulus (Otto, 2014). Symptoms are generally radical and usually exacerbated by a racing heart palpitations, …show more content…
In aortic regurgitation , the stroke volume increases to compensate for the volume of blood leaking back into the left ventricle. This added work causes the heart to enlarge and the left ventricle to dilate, making the heart's pumping action less effective , when the stroke volume falls, hypotension and syncope results (McDonagh, 2011). Mr Jones recovered quickly from fainting or loss of consciousness , he was neurologically normal on assessment (Appendix A). Peripheral and pulmonary edema were typical when the heart is overfilled and the heart can no longer meet the cardiovascular and oxygenation needs of the body (McDonagh, 2011).However no abnormalities or evidence of peripheral and pulmonary oedema found during the physical assessment of the patient’s respiratory system (Appendix …show more content…
Cox, C (2010) states that recognizing the red flags in the history and physical examination helps to determine the treatment of underlying physical conditions. Investigations included respiratory and cardiac monitoring for example a 12 lead ECG to establish any signs of arrhythmias and measurement of oxygen saturation. The ECG in patients with aortic regurgitation is non-specific and may show LVH and left atrial enlargement. In acute aortic regurgitation, sinus tachycardia due to the increased sympathetic nervous tone may be the only abnormality on ECG (Hampton, 2013). The chest radiograph is also non-specific in aortic regurgitation. Cardiomegaly is present in patients with chronic aortic regurgitation. In acute aortic regurgitation, pulmonary edema is almost universally present. If the aortic regurgitation is due to an aortic dissection, the mediastinum may appear widened ( Woods