Question Description
I'm working on a nursing case study and need guidance to help me learn.
Bertha is 81 years old, and was admitted to the hospital after contracting community-acquired pneumonia. She had been bedridden for 3 days, so her nurse arranged for a physiotherapist to assist her out of bed to help her slowly regain her mobility. Bertha decided not to wait for the physiotherapist, and after arising in the morning, she eased herself out of the bed and stood up. Suddenly, Bertha’s vision dimmed, and she felt light-headed and dizzy. A passing nurse saw her fall back to the bed and rushed to help her. The nurse comforted Bertha, and then suspecting orthostatic hypotension, went to find a sphygmomanometer to check her blood pressure.
- Prolonged bed rest decreases plasma levels and vasomotor tone, which can both lead to orthostatic hypotension. How do changes in vascular resistance and radius affect blood flow? Assuming Bertha is otherwise healthy, how does her heart activity change to compensate for the orthostatic hypotension she experienced?
- Considering the venous circulation, how is blood from the lower extremities returned to the heart?
- Why did Bertha’s capillary fluid pressure (or hydrostatic pressure) change when she moved from a lying to standing position?
Explanation & Answer
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1
Cardiovascular System
2
Cardiovascular System
According to the case study, Bertha, an 81 years old patient, got admitted to a hospital
due to community-acquired pneumonia. She had been in a lying position as a result of being
bedridden for three days. When she finally stood up, her vision dimmed, and she felt lightheaded and dizzy. The nurse suspected an issue of orthostatic hypotension. That is a condition in
which individual blood drops very quickly when standing up from their sitting position. The
reduction into low blood pressure is referred to as postural hypotension, and it can cause a person
to feel various conditions such as dizziness or even faintness. It is common for the symptoms to
improve depending on how the person does more into an upright position. There is a need for the
orthostatic hypotension condition to be restored within a few minutes after standing to remedy
the symptoms.
How changes in vascular resistance and radius affect blood flow
Both changes in vascular resistance and radius do affect blood flow. Laplace law
indicates that blood flow depends on the amount of pressure that changes between 2 ends of a
vessel. An increase in resistance will decrease blood flow, while a decrease in resistance will
facilitate its flow. Blood pressure will increase due to intense pressure, while weak pressure will
reduce it (Saternos, et al., 2018). Any change in vessel radius has an impact on the movement of
blood in which blood flow will increase due to a decrea...
