Advanced Pharmacology- Cardiovascular System
Women’s health and infectious disease | NURS 6521 – Advanced Pharmacology
By Day 3 of Week 9
Post a brief description of your patient’s health needs from the patient case study you assigned. Be specific. Then, explain the type of treatment regimen you would recommend for treating your patient, including the choice or pharmacotherapeutics you would recommend and explain why. Be sure to justify your response. Explain a patient education strategy you might recommend for Helping your patient with the management of their health needs. Be specific and provide examples.
Patient Case Study 1:
HH is a 68 yo M who has been admitted to the medical ward with community-acquired pneumonia for the past 3 days. His PMH is significant for COPD, HTN, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. He remains on empiric antibiotics, which include ceftriaxone 1 g IV qday (day 3) and azithromycin 500 mg IV qday (day 3). Since admission, his clinical status has improved, with decreased oxygen requirements. He is not tolerating a diet at this time with complaints of nausea and vomiting.
Ht: 5’8” Wt: 89 kg
Allergies: Penicillin (rash)
Introduction
The cardiovascular system is the body’s organ system that comprises the heart, blood vessels, and blood, and the system plays an essential role in transportation. The cardiovascular system allows the blood to circulate within the entire body and move nutrients from one body organ to another. Cardiovascular disorders are the health challenges facing the cardiovascular system, and these cardiovascular disorders can result in severe implications in the body. Early medical intervention is usually the better solution to cardiovascular disorders compared to late intervention. However, the medical intervention practices to the cardiovascular system may result in more severe health challenges. Some of these health challenges that may arise from cardiovascular medical treatment include pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.
Pharmacokinetic effects are the health impacts after altering blood or blood tissues, and these effects affect the absorption, metabolism, and distribution of blood. On the other hand, pharmacodynamic interactions entail the relationship between the drug, the entire body, and the main causative of the disorder affecting the patient (Reeve, Trenaman, Rockwood & Hilmer, 2017). However, some factors determine whether a patient is prone to pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic effects. These factors include genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behaviors. The following discussion will focus on how gender influences a patient’s likeliness of having pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic effects after undergoing a cardiovascular medical intervention.
One way gender influences the pharmacokinetics and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes is the differences in the rate at which drugs are absorbed in males and females. There is a difference in how the female body absorbs drugs from how the male body absorbs drugs (Cai, Li, Liang, Xiang, Wang, Shi & Liang, 2018). Drug absorption in males is higher than drug absorption in females; therefore, males may have high chemical concentrations than females, exposing them to a higher chance of experiencing the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic processes.
The difference in the body composition between men and women also influences an individual’s likeliness to experience the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic processes. Physical characteristic differences in terms of weight where females have more body weight compared to men. This situation accounts for why women have a high chance of experiencing pharmacokinetic or pharmacodynamic processes (Cai, Li, Liang, Xiang, Wang, Shi & Liang, 2018). Another physiological difference that exposes women to experiencing pharmacodynamic processes is the menstrual cycles, which interfere with the blood composition and plasma protein binding.
Changes in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic process can influence and change the therapy recommended to a patient with a cardiovascular disorder. A good example is where pharmacokinetics interaction changes may affect drug processing and metabolism, especially in older adults (Lu, Zhao, Chen & Wu, 2020). Therefore, medical experts should offer non-pharmaceutical therapy to a person experiencing changes in pharmacokinetic processes. On the other hand, pharmacodynamic processes determine the motion in which drugs reach the target tissue. Therefore, a change in the pharmacodynamic processes will require a modification in the therapy process a cardiovascular patient receives.
Developing other plans to improve the cardiovascular patient therapy plan is essential to help the patient recover fully from the disorder. One of the approaches that I can use to ensure the cardiovascular patient recovers fully is educating and informing the patient on what to expect from the drug therapy. Informing the cardiovascular patient about the drug therapy is essential as it helps prepare the patient mentally concerning the outcomes. Another approach that I can apply to allow a cardiovascular patient to recover fully from the disorder is through creating a nurturing relationship with the patient. A nurturing relationship with the patient will facilitate open communication with the patient, knowing whether the medical therapy is adequate.
Conclusion
Cardiovascular disorders present a potential threat to patients, which may be long-term, and some may even lead to death. Early medical intervention is essential to a patient experiencing cardiovascular disorders, but many patients do not realize they have cardiovascular diseases until the first symptom appears. However, medical interventions to cardiovascular patients may result in other health implications such as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics. Therefore, before a health specialist can recommend a medical therapy to a cardiovascular patient, it is essential to determine whether the medical treatment may have any side effects.
References
Cai, Z. Y., Li, X. M., Liang, J. P., Xiang, L. P., Wang, K. R., Shi, Y. L., … & Liang, Y. R. (2018). Bioavailability of tea catechins and its improvement. Molecules, 23(9), 2346.
Lu, D., Zhao, M., Chen, M., & Wu, B. (2020). Circadian Clock–Controlled Drug Metabolism: Implications for Chronotherapeutics. Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 48(5), 395-406.
Reeve, E., Trenaman, S. C., Rockwood, K., & Hilmer, S. N. (2017). Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic alterations in older people with dementia. Expert opinion on drug metabolism & toxicology, 13(6), 651-668.
Wilkins, E., Wilson, L., Wickramasinghe, K., Bhatnagar, P., Leal, J., Luengo-Fernandez, R., … & Townsend, N. (2017). European cardiovascular disease statistics 2017.
