Health Care Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health Care Plan - Case Study Example Smoking and alcohol both lead to hypertension and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The headache for which he takes Panadol may well be associated with hypertension, and he has a history of hypertension (Grundy, et al. 2004). Gordon also has hypercholesterolemia, which independently and in association with smoking, alcohol, and probable hypertension would predispose to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, where deposition of fat in the arterial walls would cause narrowing of the coronary arteries (Davis, 2002). Unfortunately Gordon also has diabetes mellitus, which makes him more prone to atherosclerotic coronary heart disease, would lead to more hypercholesterolemia, would aggravate the effects of hypertension, and would lead to a predisposition of adverse coronary events associated with coronary artery disease. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is usually associated with one or more characteristics known as risk factors. A risk factor is an aspect of personal behaviour or lifestyle, an environmental exposure or an inborn or inherited characteristic, which on the basis of epidemiologic evidence is known to be associated with" the occurrence of disease. The risk of MI is thus doubled in the smokers, or a 200% increase in risk compared with nonsmokers. Higher systolic blood pressure (Nichols, 2003), higher low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, higher fasting glucose levels and 2-hour insulin values, higher body mass index (BMI), and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are all associated higher mortality in this group of patients (Roth & Laurent-Bopp, 2004). Given this scenario, there must be a measure to assess his blood pressures and blood sugars. Laboratory tests may be included to measure his serum lipid levels. His medication history is important in that over-the-counter medi cation must be stopped. These also may aggravate hypertension. For hypertension regular intake of antihypertensive medication may be necessary. For a steady control of blood sugars abstinence from alcohol is a must along with regular medication, diet, exercise, and regular monitoring of the blood sugars. As expected, in his case, there is a high chance of the lipid profile