Most people are not aware that the respiratory system does more than move oxygen in and out of the lungs. The respiratory system has the role of interacting with other structures in the body. These include the skeletal, circulatory, and muscular systems that enable people to speak, smell and move oxygen into the bloodstream in addition to removing waste materials out of it. Therefore, the circulatory and the respiratory systems are known to work together in harmony to ensure that blood is circulating throughout the body and hence maintain homeostasis. In simple terms, the respiratory system is the one that constitutes the process of gaseous exchange in and out of the blood. If the two are not able to work together correctly, many people start experiencing heart problems in one way or the other, with the common one being heart failure.
The cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes that result in the patient presenting these symptoms
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Looking closely at the case provided, the 76-year-old is experiencing a heart problem in regards to the symptoms presented. The woman seems to complain of weight gain, shortness of breath, peripheral edema, and abdominal swelling, which all point out to one common cardiovascular problem known as heart failure. The heart contains muscles that enable it to pump enough blood to the body, and if the muscles are weakened, making the heart not pump enough blood is called heart failure (McCance, & Huether, 2019). Congestive Heart Failure syndrome arises when the cardiac structure is abnormal in regards to its function, rhythm, or conduction. The patient complains of peripheral edema and shortness of breath because of the fluid that builds up in the lungs when the heart is not pumping properly since there is increased pressure in the pulmonary veins (Inamdar, & Inamdar, 2016). This buildup is the one that causes peripheral edema hence resulting in the shortness of breath as explained by the patient.
Any racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning
Additionally, the impact of the patient's characteristics, as well as racial and ethnic variables, also plays a huge role in explaining her current situation. For instance, the United States has, over the years, indicated that congestive heart failure as one of the leading causes of death (Durstenfeld et al., 2016). Most African Americans are known to suffer from diabetes and hypertension, which are some of the diseases that trigger heart diseases. On the other hand, most white patients are known to have higher rates of coronary diseases hence leading to ischemic cardiomyopathy (Durstenfeld et al., 2016). The fact that she is also old is another factor that contributes to her heart failure problem.
How these processes interact to affect the patient
In cases of heart failure, the ventricles usually become stiff and unable to fill up between beats making the heart unable to keep up with the required demand of blood in the body. This means that the cardiac output is decreased causing poor venous drainage in the body, which also causes fluid buildup in most parts of the body (Inamdar, & Inamdar, 2016). Specifically, the poor venous drainage causes fluid buildup in the lower extremities and the peritoneal cavity. These weakened processes and fluid buildup in the body are the reasons why the patient is complaining of peripheral edema and abdominal swelling. The increase in weight is also due to the increased fluid in the body as time goes by (McCance, & Huether, 2019). The patient is advised to take diuretics, which are meant to treat the above symptoms through the act of removing the extra fluid in the body that has rapidly been building up. Diuretics also play the role of reducing the preload of the heart, which will help in treating the condition of heart failure.
References
Durstenfeld, M. S., Ogedegbe, O., Katz, S. D., Park, H., & Blecker, S. (2016). Racial and Ethnic Differences in Heart Failure Readmissions and Mortality in a Large Municipal Healthcare System. JACC. Heart Failure, 4 (11), 885–893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2016.05.008
Inamdar, A. A. & Inamdar, A. C. (2016). Heart failure: Diagnosis, management, and utilization. Journal of Clinical Medicine 5 (7). doi:10.3390/jcm5070062
McCance, K. L. & Huether, S. E. (2019). Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby/Elsevier.
