Module 2: Week 4 Case Study Analysis Assignment Alterations in the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems

Advanced Pathophysiology:
Alterations in the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems:
Module 2: Week 4 Case Study Analysis Assignment
An understanding of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems is a critically important component of disease diagnosis and treatment. This importance is magnified by the fact that these two systems work so closely together. A variety of factors and circumstances that impact the emergence and severity of issues in one system can have a role in the performance of the other.

Effective disease analysis often requires an understanding that goes beyond these systems and their capacity to work together. The impact of patient characteristics, as well as racial and ethnic variables, can also have an important impact.

Scenario 3: 11-year-old boy complains of wheezing and difficulty “getting enough air.” Notices it more when he is playing baseball and symptoms improve when exercise activity stops. He says that the symptoms are getting worse, and the symptoms are even occurring at rest. Mother says the child is allergic to cat dander and his next-door neighbor in their apartment building recently began sheltering cats for the local humane society. Auscultation demonstrates wheezes on forced expiration throughout all lung fields.

In your Case Study Analysis related to the scenario provided, explain the cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes that result in the patient presenting these symptoms, any racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning, and how these processes interact to affect the patient.

This week, you examine alterations in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and the resultant disease processes. You also consider patient characteristics, including racial and ethnic variables, and the impact they have on altered physiology.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze processes related to cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.
Analyze alterations in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and the resultant disease processes.
Analyze racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning.
Evaluate the impact of patient characteristics on disorders and altered physiology.