Robert Reid, a 48-year-old African American computer programmer, is 5 feet 9 inches tall and weight 240 pounds. He sits for long hours at work and is too tired to exercise when he gets home at night. His meals usually includes fatty meats, eggs, and cheese, and he likes dairy desserts such as pudding and ice cream. He has a family history of CHD and HTN. His recent laboratory tests show that his blood pressure is 160/100 mmHg, and LDL and HDL levels are 160 mg/dl and 35 mg/dl, respectively. He smokes a pack of cigarettes each day and usually has two glasses of wine at both lunch and dinner.

Identify Mr. Reid’s major risk factors for CHD and HTN. which can be modified? What complications might occur if he delays treatment for his blood lipids and blood pressure?

Explanation:

His risk factors:

Almost 50

Obese

Sedentary lifestyle

Diet

Family history of the disease

Cigarettes

High lipid content in blood

WHAT COULD BE MODIFIED

Weight can be modified

Lifestyle changes

Diet can be modified

Ciggeratte smoking can be modified

COMPLICATIONS IF HE DELAYS TREATMENT

If he delays very likely to have a heart attack

Heart complications

Sudden cardiac death

High blood pressure can destroy many organs in the body

Can get diabetes

Atherosclerosis

First the fact that he is MALE can predispose him to these conditions especially heart disease (women are more likely after menopause due to decreased levels of estrogen which decreases levels of lipids in the blood)

Second closely related one to his gender is his age.

On average after the age of 40 especially with other associated conditions,heart disease and hypertension are not uncommon

3. Obesity. This man's BMI is 42.8.

BMI is also known as basal metabolic index and is usually used to tell roughly if an individual is healthy underweight, overweight or obese. Obesity is 30 and above.

Obesity in itself causes excess fat in the body, of course the fat would look for where to stay and it would start to deposit around the organs(read heart and arteries) causing excess force to be required to push blood around the body (hypertension) and can also reduce blood flow to areas of the heart causing heart diseases.

4. Sedentary lifestyle: This explains also why he is obese. Sits all day and does not exercise. Obesity is the back bone of these 2 diseases. Anything that causes you to add weight would predispose you to it

5. Based on prior, makes sense his diet plan will also be a risk factor. The foods he eats are very calorie and fat heavy thus obesity thus fat deposition thus CHD/HTN

6. Cigarette smoking: smoking contributes to having atherosclerosis thus causing heart disease

i know it happens all the time :