ESSAY: Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Disorders

11-year-old boy complains of wheezing and difficulty “getting enough air.” Notices it more when he is playing baseball and symptoms improve when exercise activity stops. He says that the symptoms are getting worse and the symptoms are even occurring at rest. Mother says the child is allergic to cat dander and his next-door neighbor in their apartment building recently began sheltering cats for the local humane society. Auscultation demonstrates wheezes on forced expiration throughout all lung fields.
Develop a 1- to 2-page case study analysis, examing the patient symptoms presented in the case study. Be sure to address the following:

Explain both the cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes of why the patient presents these symptoms. Explain how the cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes interact to affect the patient. Explain any racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning.

ANSWER

Hepatobiliary and Gastrointestinal Disorders

The cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes play a significant role in the wellbeing of a person. The two systems are critical in the supply of oxygen, blood, and other body nutrients. This case study provides an example of the implication of allergy to the functioning of two critical body systems.

Cardiovascular and Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiologic Processes of why the patient presents these symptoms

The 11-year old experiences breathing difficulties while playing baseball and symptoms stop when he stops playing. This could be a result of exercise-induced asthma especially because he experiences shortness in breath due to lack of enough air supply in the lungs. While playing, the child develops breathing difficulties as the heart doesn’t have enough power to supply blood in all the blood vessels. Furthermore, the child has an allergy for cat dander. Such allergies lead to problems in the respiratory systems as well as a decline in the ability of the lungs to function effectively (Ungern-Sternberg & Regli, 2017). The child is reacting to the proteins found in the cat’s skin and probably urine. Furthermore, the fact that wheezing doesn’t stop even at rest shows that the small airways to the heart have become even narrower due to chronic asthma. 

How the cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes interact to affect the patient

There is a close association between cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiologic processes that lead to negative implications on the patient. It is imperative to note that while cardiovascular entails the heart and other related blood vessels while the cardiopulmonary system involves the movement of blood and supply of air from the heart to the lungs. The two systems are interrelated by the fact that the cardiopulmonary system (basically the lungs) contains the alveoli which absorbs oxygen from the air during the inhalation process. The air moves from areas of high pressure to those of low pressure such as the heart through blood vessels. The cardiovascular system, on the other hand, is made of the heart and related blood vessels. The work of the heart is to pump blood in the whole body. Just like the veins and arteries, the capillaries play a central role as they get blood to and from the cells including from the alveoli which is part of the cardiopulmonary system.

The two pathophysiological processes, therefore, interact through the supply of blood, gases, and nutrients. Therefore, a physiological reaction on one system will have a ripple effect on the other consequently affecting the patient. For the 11-year old case study, not getting enough air means the alveoli in the lungs is affected and so not enough oxygen can be inhaled from the air. Subsequently, the capillaries will not supply enough air to the heart hence the wheezing when auscultation is done.

How racial/ethnic variables that may impact physiological functioning Racial and ethnic variables may play a big role in the physiological functioning of a person. For instance, research by Volpe, Lee, Hoggard and Rahal (2019) has demonstrated that Americans of African descent tend to have a stronger immune system and hence they are not easily susceptible to easily acquired infections such as asthma. Furthermore, this immune system is noted to be genetic as they inherit it from their ancestors (Volpe et al., 2019). There are specific diseases that are known to mostly affect people of color due to their body physiological functioning. For instance, diabetes has been shown to affect 60% of the populace being black. Furthermore, blacks almost have a double chance of being infected with asthma as compared to white people. Although it is not clear why diabetes…