Question

A 76-year-old man complained to his wife of severe sub-sternal chest pains that radiated down the inside of his left arm. Shortly afterward, he collapsed on the living room floor. Paramedics arriving at his house just minutes later found him unresponsive, not breathing, and without a pulse. CPR and electroconvulsive shock were required to start his heart beating again. Upon arrival at the Emergency Room, the man started to regain consciousness, complaining of severe shortness of breath (dyspnea) and continued chest pain. On physical examination, his vital signs were as follows: His breathing waslabored, his pulses were rapid and weak everywhere, and his skin was cold and clammy. An ECG was done, revealingsignificant "Q" waves in most of the leads. Blood testing revealed markedly elevated creatine phosphokinase (CPK)levels of cardiac muscle origin. Arterial blood was sampled and revealed the following:

Vital Signs:
Systemic blood pressure: 85 mm / 50 mm Hg
Heart rate: 175 beats / minute
Respiratory rate: 32 breaths / minute
Temperature: 99.2°F
Blood test results:
pH: 7.22
pCO2 : 30 mm Hg
pO2: 70 mm Hg
Hemoglobin - O2 saturation = 88
[HCO3-] = 2 meq/liter
Explain about the disease, causes, and diagnosis.

Answer 1

According to the sign and symptoms together with the blood test result, the diagnostic disease is myocardial infarction which is also known as heart attack. Chest pain is the most common symptom of acute myocardial infarction.

It occurs when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the heart. Blood contain vital nutrients and oxygen and helps to carry them to other parts of the body. Without blood flow to other parts of the body, the tissue loses oxygen and dies.