Scenario 4: A 45-year-old woman presents with a chief complaint of 3-day duration of shortness of breath, cough with thick green sputum production, and fevers. The patient has a history of COPD with a chronic cough but states the cough has gotten much worse and is interfering with her sleep. Sputum is thicker and harder for her to expect. CXR reveals a flattened diaphragm and increased AP diameter. Auscultation demonstrates hyperreal resonance and coarse rales and rhonchi throughout all lung fields.

Scenario 4: A 45-year-old woman presents with a chief complaint of 3-day duration of shortness of breath, cough with thick green sputum production, and fevers. The patient has a history of COPD with a chronic cough but states the cough has gotten much worse and is interfering with her sleep. Sputum is thicker and harder for her to expect. CXR reveals a flattened diaphragm and increased AP diameter. Auscultation demonstrates hyperreal resonance and coarse rales and rhonchi throughout all lung fields.

Scenario 4: A 45-year-old woman presents with a chief complaint of 3-day duration of shortness of breath, cough with thick green sputum production, and fevers. The patient has a history of COPD with a chronic cough but states the cough has gotten much worse and is interfering with her sleep. Sputum is thicker and harder for her to expect. CXR reveals a flattened diaphragm and increased AP diameter. Auscultation demonstrates hyperreal resonance and coarse rales and rhonchi throughout all lung fields.

1. Cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiology

The patient in this case study presents with a history of COPD, which has worsened. Since the heart and lungs work together, diseases such as COPD are likely to extend their effects to the heart COPD manifests in the form of chronic bronchitis, characterized by chronic cough production and hypersecretion of mucus. The pathophysiology commences with damage to the air sacs and airways in the lungs, which put pressure on the arteries between the lungs and the heart (Brandsma et al., 2020). The resultant effect is Group 3 hypertension, which is the occurrence of high blood pressure between the lungs and the heart. The damaged arteries further impair blood exchange between the heart, causing susceptibility to cardiovascular events related to inadequate flow and supply of oxygenated blood, such as heart disease.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE ON;Scenario 4: A 45-year-old woman presents with a chief complaint of 3-day duration of shortness of breath, cough with thick green sputum production, and fevers. The patient has a history of COPD with a chronic cough but states the cough has gotten much worse and is interfering with her sleep. Sputum is thicker and harder for her to expect. CXR reveals a flattened diaphragm and increased AP diameter. Auscultation demonstrates hyperreal resonance and coarse rales and rhonchi throughout all lung fields.

2. The race/ethnic variabilities

Whites are more at risk of COPD compared to Blacks and Hispanics. According to a study, the prevalence of COPD among the white population was 47.6% against 20% in African American population (Gilkes et al., 2018). Hence, the physiological reactions in COPD will affect Whites more than other populations, increasing their risk of morbidity and mortality.

3. The processes and effects on the patient

Exposure to irritants causes inflammation of the central airways, lung parenchyma, and peripheral airways. The inflammation causes bronchial edema, which increases the number of mucus glands and the narrowing of the airways (Agarwal & Raja, 2021). The resultant effects are hypersecretion of thick mucus, which presents in the patient as thick sputum. Additionally, the narrowing of the airways affects the patient by causing difficulties in breathing. Furthermore, these activities impair the functioning of the lungs, making them susceptible to infection because of the destruction of the lung’s defense mechanism. Thus, it leads to the chronic condition of COPD and chronic bronchitis, as evident from the patient’s symptoms, including coarse rales and rhonchi.

References

Agarwal, A. K., & Raja, A. (2021). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing.

Brandsma, C., Van den Berge, M., Hackett, T., Brusselle, G., & Timens, W. (2020). Recent advances in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathogenesis: from disease mechanisms to precision medicine. J Pathol. , 250(5): 624-635. https://doi.10.1002/path.5364.

Gilkes, A., Ashworth, M., Schofield, P., Harries, T., Durbaba, S., Weston, C., & White, P. (2018). Does COPD risk vary by ethnicity? A retrospective cross-sectional study. Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis, 11,739-46. https://doi.10.2147/COPD.S96391.

Scenario 4: 45-year-old woman presents with chief complaint of 3-day duration of shortness of breath, cough with thick green sputum production, and fevers. Patient has history of COPD with chronic cough but states the cough has gotten much worse and is interfering with her sleep. Sputum is thicker and harder for her to expectorate. CXR reveals flattened diaphragm and increased AP diameter. Auscultation demonstrates hyper resonance and coarse rales and rhonchi throughout all lung fields.

In your Case Study Analysis related to the scenario provided, explain the following
• The cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes that result in the patient presenting these symptoms.
• Any racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning.
• How these processes interact to affect the patient.
Reminder: The College of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The sample paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available at https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/templates). All papers submitted must use this formatting.