By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned to a specific case study scenario for this Case Study Assignment. Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your assignment from your Instructor. Scenario: 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.

Expert Answer and Explanation

Case Study Analysis

Various factors can exacerbate the respiratory distress in non-adult individuals, and the level of physical activity, for example, can worsen the condition. This means that the symptoms linked to this condition may become more noticeable when the patient engages in physical activity. Certain key variables can affect the manifestations of these clinical symptoms, and the patient may present these symptoms because of different pathophysiological processes.

The symptoms may range from wheezing to breathlessness, and some factors such as allergic reactions, can equally cause these symptoms to worsen (Braun, 2015). It is imperative to explore the case of an 11-year-old boy with focus on ethnic or racial variables which could affect their physiological health, and the pathophysiological processes which cause the clinical manifestations in the patient.

Pathophysiological Processes which Cause the Symptoms

The clinical manifestations which the patient present indicate the change in the patient’s cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary pathophysiological processes. During exercise, the patient experiences an increase in the rate at which their heart pumps blood to produce more oxygen-rich blood, and supply the alveoli with this blood. However, this is not often the case with the respiratory distress.

The buildup of the fluids in the lungs, can make it difficult for the blood rich-oxygen to reach the alveoli, and this may create a feeling of suffocation in the patient. As the patient exercises, only small amount of oxygen reaches their lungs, and this further worsens their breathing problems (Forfia, Vaidya, & Wiegers, 2013). Conditions within one’s environment such as allergies can exacerbate the breathing distress.

Racial and Ethnic Variables which affect the Patient’s Physiological Health

One’s physiological functioning depends on certain key ethnic and racial variables. Race or ethnicity determine individuals’ socioeconomic status, and this implies that access to care can be a challenge for some and not for some, and this all depends on their ethnic backgrounds. Minority populations have a higher risk of developing cardiac conditions compared to the non-minorities.

Different groups with different racial identities have divergent cultural practices, and the distinctiveness in these cultures reflect in the foods they eat (Vaz Fragoso et al., 2014). Because nutrition affects the level of one’s risk to cardiovascular diseases, the minority communities are at higher risk of developing these conditions.

The Impact of the Interaction of the Pathophysiological Processes on Patient’s Health

The Interaction of the pathophysiologic processes can alter the health of the 11 year old. The reduction in the supply of the blood to the lung due to the constriction of the blood vessels can cause the patient to experience the breathing difficulties. The exposure of this patient to the cat dander can cause the increase in the amount of the dander on the alveoli, and this may trigger breathing difficulties in the patient.

Diet plays an essential role when it comes to maintaining a healthy heart that can sufficiently supply blood. Poor diet is a key factor that negatively affects the health of the heart (Romero-Dapueto et al., 2015). Thus, poor feeding habits due to poverty can cause the child’s health to worsen.

Conclusion

In overview, various factors including one’s ethnic background, impact the pathophysiology of the cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary health issues which may manifest as breathing distress. The heart and the lungs work in coordination, and the impairment in the heart’s function can expose the patient to the risk of developing the breathing difficulties. An individual’s ethnic background also may affect their risk of developing the disease.

References

Braun L. (2015). Race, ethnicity and lung function: A brief history. Canadian journal of respiratory therapy: CJRT = Revue canadienne de la therapie respiratoire : RCTR, 51(4), 99–101. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4631137/.

Forfia, P. R., Vaidya, A., & Wiegers, S. E. (2013). Pulmonary heart disease: The heart-lung interaction and its impact on patient phenotypes. Pulmonary circulation, 3(1), 5–19.&nbs