Nursing Homework – Cardiovascular
Alterations
Nursing Homework – Cardiovascular Alterations
Cardiovascular Alterations: At least once a year, the media report
on a seemingly healthy teenage athlete collapsing during a sports
game and dying of heart complications. These incidents continue
to outline the importance of physical exams and health
screenings for teenagers, especially those who play sports. During
these health screenings, examiners check for cardiovascular
alterations such as heart murmurs because they can be a sign of
an underlying heart disorder. Since many heart alterations rarely
have symptoms, they are easy to miss if health professionals are
not specifically looking for them. Once cardiovascular alterations
are identified in patients, it is important to refer them to specialists
who can further investigate the cause.
Consider the following scenario on Cardiovascular Alterations:
A 16-year-old male presents for a sports participation
examination. He has no significant medical history and no family
history suggestive of risk for premature cardiac death. The patient
is examined while sitting slightly recumbent on the exam table
and the advanced practice nurse appreciates a grade II/VI
systolic murmur heard loudest at the apex of the heart. Other
physical findings are within normal limits, the patient denies any
cardiovascular symptoms, and a neuromuscular examination is

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