QU025400: Management of Ill Health Case Study Response and Analysis

This case study analyzes Brian, a 55-year-old taxi driver recently diagnosed with myocardial infarction, building upon a prior angina diagnosis and borderline type 2 diabetes. The report delves into the physiological changes associated with these illnesses, detailing symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, and the impact of smoking, obesity, and diabetes. It explores treatment options such as angioplasty, medications, and lifestyle modifications, alongside the prognosis, which includes potential psychological impacts. The case study further examines the psychological and social effects on Brian, his wife, and family, highlighting the challenges and support needs. It concludes by discussing how family and friends can assist patients through communication, specific help, making plans, frequent visits, and attending appointments, emphasizing the importance of a supportive environment in managing chronic diseases.

Management of Ill
Health

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................................3
Physiological changes associated with the illness....................................................................................3
Treatment options and prognosis for the illness.....................................................................................3
Psychological and social impact of illness on the individual, individual's family and friends or
carers..........................................................................................................................................................4
The support needs of the patient with chronic disease...........................................................................5
CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
This report will discuss about the physiological changes that occur with the illness that
come to a patient. The signs and symptoms are also discussed to understand it better. The
discussed illness are angina, borderline type 2 diabetes and myocardial infarction (MI). The
treatment options available for the cure of the illness are discussed. The prognosis of the illness
is discussed. The social and psychological impacts on the life of the patient, the family member
and the friends are discussed. The ways in which the family and the friends can help the patient
are given.
MAIN BODY
Physiological changes associated with the illness
The physiological changes occur due the aging of all the organs and the illness make it even
faster. It may include the decrease in the cardiac output, increase in the blood pressure or
development of arteriosclerosis. The capability of lungs is impaired for gas exchanges (Stout and
et.al, 2017).
 Brian is diagnosed with angina, which causes the pain in the chest due to the reduced
blood flow towards the heart of the patient. Angina is also considered one of the causes
of coronary artery disease.
Signs: pressure, heaviness, and pain in the chest. It is reoccurring pain and Brian’s case and
required treatment.
Symptoms: discomfort, dizziness, fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and sweating.
 Brian is diagnosed with the myocardial infarction (MI) which is a type of heart attack.
This is caused by the decrease in the blood flow or when some parts of the heart stop
working. It causes the damage in the heart muscle. It is caused by the coronary artery
disease.
The signs and symptoms are same as that of the angina.
It can be life threating if Brian continues to smoke, have uncontrolled diabetes, lack of exercise
due to his sedentary job, obesity and high blood cholesterol.
 Brian is also diagnosed with the borderline type 2 diabetes. This disease cause high blood
sugar levels than the normal. This is due to the fact that the cells in the body are unable to
respond to the insulin in the way they should and the body is producing less amount of
insulin.
Signs and symptoms: constant hunger, fatigue, excessive thirst, lack of energy, itchy skin,
frequent urination and blurry vision. In case the blood sugar levels remains high for long time
then signs like foot pain and feeling of numbness or neuropathy can be observed (Rahman and
et.al, 2020).
Treatment options and prognosis for the illness
For treating the myocardial infarction and angina:
 The doctor can perform angioplasty to remove the blockage in the blood arteries to
supply sufficient blood flow to the heart.

 Aspirin for thinning the blood, thrombolytic to dissolve the clots. Other medications can
be given such as beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors and pain relievers (Doering, 2019).
Prognosis:
 Can experience from the anxiety and depression.
 It is advised by the doctors to join cardiac rehabilitation programs to gain back the
strength and achieve healthy lifestyle.
For treating the borderline type 2 diabetes:
 By improving the intake of high-fiber carbohydrates, including fruits and vegetable
consumption.
 By having 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week and by doing muscle-
strengthening exercises (Soliman and et.al, 2018).
Prognosis:
 Can cause the heart stroke, kidney diseases and can result in premature death, if not
reduced the risks.
Psychological and social impact of illness on the individual,
individual's family and friends or carers
The angina and the myocardial infarction can cause effect to the social behavior in 25-
30% of the patients, affective behavior of 40% of the patients as well as the everyday lifestyle or
in their work of 60% of the patients. The psychological consequences of the illness are different
for different genders. Women are more anxious and depressed while the men are mostly irritable.
The primary breadwinner of the family is diagnosed with angina in Brian’s family, this cause
him to stop going to work and the wife Sue have to work in order to meet the household needs of
the family. The two children are grown up and are managing their lives independently and if they
are not they need to search for jobs to meet their educational needs. Even if Sue is a working
woman she have much pressure on her to meet the needs of the household and the medical
expenses of Brian (Leng and et.al, 2019).
The family members of Brian have to deal with the emotional state of him as he being the
heart patient can easily slip to depression and anxiety. The patients with the heart disease have
little tolerance for the noises and the disturbances in the house. The family member feel more
responsible for the reason the one member in their family are ill and the real reasons and causes
should be made clear to the member of the family. The family and friends can talk about the state
of Brian and can reduce the stress and act as the support system. It is know that the higher the
depression rate in the patient the risk of reoccurring heart attack is more.
The person suffering from diabetes is stressed by the demands at home, work and other
aspects of life. The diabetes incline the patients to take self-care and take breaks from the work
and anything that is causing stress. The social life and psychological wellbeing constantly effect
the quality of life of the patient in many aspects. The feeling of depression or anxious can cause

the patient to have poor control over the diabetes. In many studies the relation between the
mental health and the diabetes are discussed. The patients can also suffer from the diabetes
related distress which can develop due to constantly worrying about the blood sugar levels or the
complication risks related to it. The patients can feel angry for living with diabetes and can get
guilty for not taking care of themselves at times. The family member and friends have to deal
with such emotional distress (George and et.al, 2020).
The support needs of the patient with chronic disease
The patient suffering from the chronic diseases are likely to get stressed about their
condition and fall into depression. In this case the family and friend can help the patient by:
Talk with them
The family and friends can support the patient by talking with them. They can ask the
patient about what they like to discuss about (Kim and Lee, 2017). Sometimes the patient want to
talk about his illness and the other times the patients wants to talk about other things like their
hobbies and sports. The peers can ask whatever that makes the patient feel normal. By asking the
patient about their needs the peers can accomplish the task of being there for there friend.
Offering specific help
The patients at times become too distant that they do not know what help they want from
their peers. The patients can sometimes be too shy to ask for the help but if the peer ask it for
their side it makes it easier for the patient. In this case the peers can ask specific questions to help
the patient. Questions that can help the patient from coping up with their difficulties. The
questions can be of any type like:
Can I help you vacuum the area?
What are your favorite meals so I can make it for you?
Should call and email you for regular check-ups?
Make plans
The friends and family can make future plans with the patient like planning some
vacation or a trip. This gives the patient hope for the future and such events can help them give
some purpose. Friends can do the usual planning like going out on a movie and planning for a
night out after the patient is perfectly fine. It’s important the patients look forward and ahead the
illness.
Frequent visits
The sickness can be lonely sometimes and the make the patient overwhelming. The peers
can help the patients by visiting them and checking up on them. The care giver can give a call or
ask what will be the right time to visit the patient. The friends also need to understand that the
visiting hours can also change and the visitor needs to reschedule their plans according the

patients preferences. The peers can choose the non-busy days to visit the patients as they can
spend more hours with their patient friend (Moe and et.al, 2017).
Attending the appointments
The friends and family can join the patients with their appointments with the doctors or
some programs they might join for the improvement in their condition. The patient can feel
stressed while going to some appointments, accompanying your patient friend can help them
through this feeling away.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the file that the psychological changes can occur due to the
aging of the organs. The signs and symptoms of the angina, myocardial infarction (MI) and
diabetes are discussed. The treatment options for the myocardial infarction and angina include
the angioplasty and medication prescribed from the doctor. The treatment for the diabetes
includes improving the food habits of the patient. The prognosis of the illness is also discussed.
The psychological and social impact of the illness on the patient, patient’s family and friends are
included. The ways in which the family and friends can help the patient are also discussed.
REFERENCES
Doering, 2019. Borderline personality disorder in patients with medical illness: a review of
assessment, prevalence, and treatment options. Psychosomatic medicine. 81(7). pp.584-
594.
George and et.al, 2020. Psychological distress among carers and the moderating effects of social
support. BMC psychiatry. 20. pp.1-9.
Leng and et.al, 2019. Quality of life in caregivers of a family member with serious mental
illness: Evidence from China. Archives of psychiatric nursing. 33(1). pp.23-29.
Rahman and et.al, 2020. Physiological stratification of patients with angina due to coronary
microvascular dysfunction. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 75(20).
pp.2538-2549.
Soliman and et.al, 2018. The ability of intensive care unit physicians to estimate long-term
prognosis in survivors of critical illness. Journal of critical care. 43. pp.148-155.
Stout and et.al, 2017. Physiological aging: links among adipose tissue dysfunction, diabetes, and
frailty. Physiology. 32(1). pp.9-19.
Kim and Lee, 2017. Smart devices for older adults managing chronic disease: a scoping
review. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 5(5). p.e69.
Moe and et.al, 2017. Effectiveness of interventions to decrease emergency department visits by
adult frequent users: a systematic review. Academic Emergency Medicine. 24(1). pp.40-
52.