Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy Free Essay
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscle. The shape and the size of the heart are both affected by this ailment, and the electrical activity of the heartbeat also becomes abnormal. Heart failure is a condition whereby the heart is not able to pump blood efficiently to the body. It is a disease that is slow, progressive, and makes the patient visit the hospital frequently. Mortality rates caused by cardiomyopathy are high. The following research paper is going to discuss the approach to care for Mr. P who is suffering from congestive heart failure and cardiomyopathy and develop a treatment plan.
Approach to Care
The management program of heart failure and cardiomyopathy that Mr. P is best suited to is the heart failure outpatient clinic. Mr. P should be attended to by healthcare providers in an outpatient setting since he is not able to afford the home-based programs to pay the healthcare teams that come with them. The program could start while Mr. P is still in the hospital with cardiologists and the nurses are trying to make sure that he gets the type of care that is offered when classified as an inpatient. Mr. P should have a team of nurses that coordinate his care on a more independent basis taking care of Mr. P daily (Khan, 2005). This is because of the symptoms that he has like edema and breathing problems in the lungs. The nurses will be able to manage his diet and the drugs that he takes. The program would involve education on how Mr. P can improve his non-pharmacological treatment and offer psychological support for him (Khan, 2005). It is vital due to the financial problems he has that cause stress to him and his wife. It would be ideal because the wife is also in despair and cannot offer the mental support that Mr. P needs to improve the quality of his life. The nurses would be available at any given moment in case of any problem or complication that comes with cardiomyopathy. The program would enable him to have access to medical equipment and consultation from specialists.
Treatment Plan
With the condition and circumstances of Mr. P, diet and medication are very paramount for treatment and for his health to get better. In the nutritional plan, he should stop any sodium intake and carefully read the food labels that he buys (Torsi, 2012). Since he requires diuretics that are of high dosage, he should also restrict his fluid intake to a maximum of two liters per day. He should stop using alcohol and tobacco and restrict his diet to have low cholesterol. Mr. P should have moderate exercises with specific aerobics that will gradually improve the duration of exercise and the well-being of the patient (Torsi, 2012). Mr. P and his wife should be taught the dosage and side effects of every drug that the doctor prescribes. This is to be acutely aware of any complications that can occur in addition to side effects. He should bring all the drugs to the hospital when going for a check-up for re-evaluation and be given a written medical schedule for many drugs he is supposed to take to reduce polypharmacy.
Education Method
Telemonitoring systems would be an ideal method to provide education to both Mr. P and his wife. This system implies the link to the patient’s television that also monitors his vitals at all times. Mr. P and his wife would be asked to complete questions about the symptoms he has on the screen and also ensure the nurse or the doctor that they know how to handle and improve their management (Bossone & Erbel, 2016). The reason for this method is that it is not always possible to hold a conversation with the doctor providing education because of his schedule and commitments somewhere else, and this would be also better for Mr. P because he would not be moving too much since he would be communicating from home. This would also be easier since any forgotten detail by the doctor would not require him or her to call Mr. P and his wife but rather communicate through the telemonitoring systems.
Method Teaching Plan
Medications: you are going to get Digoxin 0.5mg per day and should not take it if your pulse is less than 60 beats per minute. The nurse will demonstrate how to take a pulse. Moreover, Lasix 30mg is prescribed thrice per day which will help make all the fluids build in the legs and feet. You should also take aspirin 325mg per day to avoid crushing the tablet.
Diet: the doctor has advised on minimal sodium of up to 2gram or total avoidance. Table salt is prohibited in meals because its significant amount will raise the blood pressure and prevent fluid buildup.
Treatments: some of the treatments for this disease are EKG and Echo which measure the heart’s electrical activity and the structure and the functionality of the heart respectively. There is no cure for these diseases, and you just have to improve your diet, reduce weight, stay active, stop smoking and any alcohol intake, and keep a positive mind.
Conclusion
The heart failure outpatient program is best suited in the case of Mr. P. A team of nurses and doctors should coordinate his care from an outpatient setting due to his financial status. Keeping a positive mind about heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and treatment will enable the patient to respond to treatment and improve the quality of life. Telemonitoring is the best method to provide learning to the patient and his family because of the financial convenience and the ease of communicating with the doctor. Adherence to medical instructions and heart-healthy diets with moderate exercise would improve the health of Mr. P.