Case Study Analysis: BMI, Coronary Artery Disease, and Health

This case study analyzes the health of a 55-year-old male, John, focusing on his Body Mass Index (BMI) and the potential development of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). John's BMI of 27.76 kg/m2 indicates he is overweight, requiring lifestyle changes to reach an ideal BMI. The study explores the causes and progression of CAD, detailing how elevated LDL cholesterol levels contribute to arterial plaque buildup, leading to reduced oxygen supply to the heart. The analysis further explains the physiological effects of oxygen deprivation, including the shift to anaerobic respiration, lactic acid production, and the onset of angina pectoris. The case study highlights the importance of maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle to prevent CAD and related health complications, referencing relevant literature to support the findings.

Running head: CASE STUDY
Healthcare
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CASE STUDY
Answer 1
BMI is defined as an attempt that helps in determining what the ideal body weight and
height should be for a person, in relation to the age. The value is usually obtained from the
height and mass weight of an individual, and is defined as body mass divided by body height
square, expressed in terms of kg/m2. Upon calculating the BMI for John, the 55 year old
male, it was found to be 27.76 kg/m2. The fact that normal levels of BMI should range from
18.5kg/m2 - 25 kg/m2, provides evidence for the fact that John is overweight (Chukhraiev et
al. 2017). The ideal body weight that he should have, based on his height is 63.3kgs - 85.6
kg. Furthermore, John also needs to lose an estimated 9.4 kg for reaching the ideal BMI of 25
kg/m2. An analysis of the BMI indicates that he might be having a pear body shape. Thus, for
reaching the ideal BMI levels, John needs to adopt a ruler shape body. This shape will be
characterised by presence of hips and waist that are of similar width and absence of any
curves in the body. Owing to the fact that abdominal obesity has been closely associated with
an increase in susceptibility for cardiovascular diseases, and other chronic non-contagious
disorders, John needs to reduce his weight to 65-85 kg and waist circumference to <90 cm
(Müller 2016).
Answer 3
If John develops coronary artery disease (CAD), all the blood vessels that are
responsible for the delivery of blood (arteries) to the muscles underlying the heart would
become hardened and narrow. Taking into consideration the fact that the lipid property of
cholesterol prevents its dissolution into the bloodstream, presence of elevated levels of low-
density lipoproteins, will act in the form of major risk factors, which in turn would have
contributed to the incidence of coronary artery disease. This would lead to the build-up of
deposits that are rich in cholesterol or plaques in the inner lining of the arterial vessels.

2CASE STUDY
Thickening of the arterial walls, commonly referred to as atheroma would further lead to
narrowing of the space in the arteries, through which the blood circulates (Dixon et al. 2015).
Hence, there would be a reduction in the amount of oxygen rich blood that supplies the
myocardium. Absence of adequate oxygen in the cardiac muscles would lead to death of the
cardiac cells, a condition referred to as myocardial infarction. However, absence of adequate
oxygen would also make the cardiac cells shift to anaerobic mode of glucose respiration. This
condition would subsequently be followed by lactic acid production as a chief by-product.
Lactic acid would stimulate the nociceptive pain receptors and result in the onset of an
excruciating feeling in the chest. This pain is generally expressed in the form of Angina
Pectoris. Anaerobic respiration can also begin when John engages in strenuous exercise.
Anaerobic respiration followed by the succeeding build-up of lactic acid would also
underwrite a deterioration in the competency of the muscles to produce some strength. This
can be accredited to the fact that lactic acid has been established liable for elevating
intracellular acidity of the muscles (Lund et al. 2018).

3CASE STUDY
References
Chukhraiev, N., Zukow, W., Chukhraieva, E. and Unichenko, A., 2017. Integrative approach
to reduction of excess weight. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 17(2), p.563.
Dixon, J.B., Lambert, E.A., Grima, M., Rice, T., Lambert, G.W. and Straznicky, N.E., 2015.
Fat‐free mass loss generated with weight loss in overweight and obese adults: what may we
expect?. Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 17(1), pp.91-93.
Lund, J., Aas, V., Tingstad, R.H., Van Hees, A. and Nikolić, N., 2018. Utilization of lactic
acid in human myotubes and interplay with glucose and fatty acid metabolism. Scientific
reports, 8(1), p.9814.
Müller, M.J., 2016. Ideal body weight or BMI: so, what’s it to be?. Retrieved from doi:
10.3945/ajcn.116.134221