Atrial fibrillation

Jennifer Lockie Joliet Junior College According to the American Heart Association, there are, at minimum, 2.7 million Americans currently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (a-fib). This condition accounts for 15-20% of strokes. As a result, patients are prescribed an anticoagulation therapy to decrease this risk (What is atrial fibrillation, 2016). While warfarin has been the medication of choice for decades, new anticoagulation medications have been approved in recent years that may be…

fatigue, edema and shortness of breath. On an echocardiogram, the left ventricle is well preserved with normal wall thickness and systolic function. However, the ventricular walls become stiff causing diastolic dysfunction and elevated filling pressure. Atrial enlargement then occurs, along with valvular regurgitation. Due to the difficulty in diagnosis, along with a transthoracic echocardiogram, MRI’s, CT’s and tissue biopsy are also needed. Since adults experience long term signs, medications…

Most people could probably guess that heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death, but many may not know that strokes are the fourth leading. Strokes are also one of the leading causes in long-term adult disability. A stroke occurs when there is a clot in a blood vessel or an artery located in the brain, interrupting or severely reducing blood flow to the brain, preventing it from getting the oxygen it needs. There are two different types of strokes, and there are multiple types…

out these episodes were the heart arrhythmia atrial fibrillation (AF). Ben explained his episodes could be brought on as easily as his very first rep in the gym. “Any form of stress had a high probability of inducing an episode.” His episodes could be anywhere from once a week to several times per day. He…

patient and the health care provider (Parnell, 2015). Patients are responsible to do their own self-monitoring for signs and symptoms associated with their medical condition. An example of the self-monitoring would be with a client that has atrial fibrillation. The client’s medication is changed from Warfarin, which requires lab monitoring, to one of the new anti-coagulants Xarelto or Pradaxa. The clients will not have the lab monitoring associated with the former treatment, so they will need to…

Introduction The clinical connection that I would like to share relates to the patient I was caring for who has a history of actinic keratosis, aortic insufficiency, aortic valve replaced, basal cell carcinoma, clostridium difficile, chronic lymphoid leukemia, erosive esophagitis, GERD, heart failure, hematuria, total hip replacement, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, influenza A, osteoarthritis, iron deficiency, major depressive disorder, MERSA-nares, pressure ulcer of sacral region, squamous cell…

In general, pediatric epilepsy consists of transient cardiac events. Adult seizures, particularly those with underlying cardiovascular conditions, pose risk to the cardiovascular system, including cardiac ischemia. Respiratory changes are possible across the lifespan, from infants to older adults. Cardiac function seems to be dependent upon the type of seizure occurring. The majority of complex partial, tonic-clonic and temporal lobe seizures are associated with increased heart rate. This…

Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is a serious and oftentimes life threatening condition that is sadly easily treatable if caught early. The definition of Pulmonary Embolism is a blockage or thrombi in one of the pulmonary arteries of your lungs (Pulmonary Embolism). Most of these thrombi originate in the veins in your lower extremities; though sometimes the thrombi can come from upper extremity veins, renal, pelvic, or right heart chambers, instead. Once in the pulmonary arteries, large thrombi sometimes…

unit at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Massachusetts. During my time at Lahey, I cared for patients suffering from a myriad of cardiac conditions. This included caring for patients recovering from the treatment of AV blocks, atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, acute coronary artery syndrome, and post-surgical repair of the coronary arteries. In completing this preceptorship, I learned how to analyze EKG strips, perform tracheostomy care, initiate tube feedings, and…

The possible causes for this disorder can be due to an abnormalities in cardiac structure, function, rhythm or conduction. In developed countries, ventricular dysfunction is a frequent problem, which can be a result from myocardial infarction (systolic dysfunction), hypertension (diastolic and systolic dysfunction) or both (Krum and Abraham, 2009). For children, the various causes of congestive heart failure differ slightly to adults. This condition can develop due to volume and pressure…