Warneke 1

Haley Warneke
Mrs. Somer
15 April 2016
Physiology, period 4

Clinical:
This patient has a blood pressure of 140/90. The patient is overweight for his age and is a heavy
smoker. He has been rushed to the hospital complaining of sever crushing chest pain. An MRI of
his heart muscles shows an enlarged heart and a clogged coronary artery. What is this patient
suffering from and what treatment do you recommend? Be sure to include in your answer the
following points. Be sure to in your answer the following points;
a. The connection between hypertension and atherosclerosis.
b. The significance of the patients blood pressure, weight, and smoking addiction.
c. What is angina pectoris, ischemia, and myocardial infarction? How does it relate to the
patient?
d. What do coronary arteries supply the heart with and why is it dangerous if the coronary
arteries become blocked?
e. What specific surgery would you recommend to help this patient?

a.) Atherosclerosis, or arteriosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD), is a condition where the

artery walls thicken because of a buildup of fatty substances and plaque. This leads to
hypertension, or high blood pressure, because the narrowing arterial walls cause a smaller

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space for the blood to be pushed through. When high blood pressure becomes prolonged,
the buildup of plaque increases over time. The buildup of fatty substances and plaque in
the arterial walls cause narrowing arteries and the blood is pumped harder so that it can
squeeze through the narrowing arteries.
b.) The fact that the patient is overweight, has a high blood pressure of 140/90, and is a
heavy smoker are all reasons for the patients chest pains. Obesity and hypertension cause
the heart to work harder so that blood is pumping through the body efficiently. The hard
work the patients heart is doing causes the heart to become tired. With the combination
of high blood pressure and nicotine in the patients blood stream, there is an excessive
amount of tearing of the inner walls of the arteries. Plaque is layered, like a band-aide,
over the tearing inner wall to prevent the walls from tearing even more. Over time the
plaque builds up, and causes atherosclerosis throughout the body. The coronary arteries
that supply the myocardium, the muscle in the heart that helps the heart to contract, with
blood becomes blocked due to atherosclerosis. When the coronary arteries become
blocked, the myocardium does not receive the needed oxygen, rich blood to help the heart
work properly. The deprivation of blood flow that leads to a suffocation and starvation of
the cells is known as ischemia. The starved muscle cells in the heart begin to die as they
suffer from ischemia, leading to a heart attack.
c.) Angina pectoris is a crushing pain in the chest caused when the myocardium is deprived
of oxygen. The pain feels like it originates in the pectoralis major and minor muscles.
Ischemia is a localized decrease in blood flow which starves and suffocates the affected
cells. Myocardial infarction is commonly known as a heart attack. This is caused when
there is an oxygen deprivation of the heart leading to tissue death. The patients high
blood pressure and blocked arteries has caused oxygen deprivation of his heart muscles.

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The oxygen deprivation and tissue death is responsible for the chest pains, or angina
pectoris, the patient is experiencing.
d.) The coronary arteries nourish the myocardium with oxygen, rich blood. If the coronary
arteries become blocked, then the myocardium becomes deprived of oxygen and the
hearts muscle cells become malnourished and begin to die. This is dangerous because the
oxygen deprivation causes a myocardial infarction.
e.) A percutaneous coronary intervention is the best surgery to relive the patient from his
myocardial infarction. By inserting a cathedra into the coronary artery leading to the
heart, we can open up the narrow coronary artery by inserting a metal stent. The stent is
opened in the coronary artery by a small balloon so that to open the narrowed artery to
allow for efficient blood flow. This will allow for blood to flow efficiently to the oxygen
deprived heart muscles.