Case Study Of James Smith's Health

James Smith is a self employed 59-year-old male, who is a senior citizen of Australia. Mr. Smith has attended this interview in the interest of his health and to obtain a general health perspective for himself. In regards to past and present history, Mr. Smith has minimal health ramifications and seems to be a healthy male for his age. One issue that was noted, however was the minimal exercise that Mr. Smith completes daily, his present exercise being below the recommended levels for someone of his age. Mr. Smith additionally empathised that he presently suffers from blood pressure issues as well as general aches and pains, which he claims is due to his old age. The interview suggests that Mr. Smith has a robust mental capacity, supported by …show more content…
Smith does not appear to have many health issues’ apart from blood pressure and general aches and pains, as founded during the interview. This links into Erikson’s developmental stages, Mr. Smith is identified under the stage of middle adulthood that links with the central task of ‘generativity versus stagnation’ (Guerin & Guerin 2013, p. 39). Mr. Smith does not play any sports or undergoes any regular exercises, he does however say he makes up for it in his self employment. With this lack of exercise Mr. Smith has the potential to form many different health implications due to his fitness level and his current age. This could lead to issues such as obesity if the right balance of food and fitness are not concluded, this could impact Mr. Smith’s health significantly that could impact his self employment due to not being able to work to his past/full capacity. This kind of stress in the human body could then go to cause further health issues such as hypertension, this is something that carries a higher risk to Mr. Smith as he has mentioned that he currently takes medications for blood pressure. With these health implications also comes a higher risk of a stroke, this could cause permanent damage or even death (Kelishadi 2014). With minimal exercise, fluid and food intake, Mr. Smith runs’ a high risk of gaining weight that could potentially worsen his current health issues with hypertension. This in theory could lead to ‘considerable health burdens and will have a significant impact on health expenditures’ (Kelishadi 2014). Through research it has been estimated that ‘about 54% of strokes worldwide are attributable to high blood pressure’ (Aiyagari & Gorelick 2011) With this risk identified it should be recommended that Mr. Smith undertakes further daily exercise and forms a balanced healthy diet. This potential health issues could also impact Mr. Smith’s lifestyle as obesity and hypertension could prevent him from being able to work, impacting further on his