Question

case study on an 80yrs old female african american with hypotension

Answer 1

Case Study on Hypotension

Patient : Mrs. XY , an African American Woman

Age : 80 years

Disease condition

Hypotension: The disease or disorder of abnormally low Blood pressure is called Hypotension. The normal Blood pressure of an adult is 120/ 80 mm of Hg. A blood pressure reading at or below 90/ 60 is considered as low Blood pressure or Hypotension .

Causes and Risk factors:

Hypotension is often occured as a symptom of underlying disease or disorder or due to the side effects of the certain drugs. The main causes and Risk factors are:

* Severe blood loss or Anemia

* Heart attack ; may cause impaired circulation

* Shock and weekness in conditions like dehydration

* Anaphylactic shock

* Septicemia, infection in the blood

* Endocrine or hormonal imbalance conditions like adrenal insufficiency, diabetes, thyroid problems

* Pregnancy ; increased demand of blood due to the fetal growth.

* Drugs like , Antihypertensives ( diuretics, betablockers, nitroglycerine) , antidepressants etc

( The contributing factor for hypotension in the patient may be the endocrine disorders or certain drug use, or dehydration )

Types

* Severe hypertension or shock related hypotension

* Orthostatic hypotension and Post prandial hypotension: Drop in blood pressure when the patient assumes standing position from lying or sitting .

Post prandial hypotension also is a type of Orthostatic hypotension , occurs after eating, especially in Parkinson's patients.

* Neurally mediated: Usually children experience this type of hypotension after a long standing. Emotional stress also may cause the Neurally mediated hypotension.

Clinical manifestations:

Blood pressure: at or below 90/ 60 mm of Hg

* Certain people feel slightly uncomfortable or feeling of illness.

* Others may experience;

- Dizziness

- light headedness

- loss of Consciousness

- cool skin

- blurred vision

- nausea

- depression

Treatment

* Treat underlying diseases like heart attack, Septicemia, Diabetes, adrenal insufficiency etc.

* IV fluid administration, administration of blood and blood products in case of severe Hemorrhage or shock

* Encourage fluid intake , instruct to drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration

* Instruct the patient with Orthostatic hypotension, for slow movement especially when changing the position. They should not get up at once from the bed , instead sit in the bed for few minutes after getting up and put down the legs , wait for few minutes and then get up.

* Instruct the patient to have dietary changes , if it is not contraindicated, like salty foods or caffeine products.

* Instruct to have Vitamin B12 ( meat , egg, nutritional yeast, fortified foods ) and Folic acid rich food ( citrus fruits, beans , lentils, asparagus, meat ) for optimum blood volume or to prevent Anemia .

* Instruct the patient , not to have alcohol, instead drink more water and small frequent meals.  

( Hope you have benefited with the answer . As there was no patient details, I could provide you mainly the general information about the disease. Thank you. )