Larry Garcia Education Plan
Lorena Mendez
Nur/427 Health and Chronic Disease Management
March 30, 2015
Dr. Kassis
Larry Garcia Education Plan
In this essay, we will be discussing the case of Mr. Larry Garcia a 45year old male newly diagnosed with high blood pressure. The points that are going to be addressed would be an evaluation of the patient, including gaps in education about high blood pressure and ways to fill gaps. The disease process, developmental issues based on age, ethnicity, cultural background, spiritual and developmental issues. We will also be discussing how suffering from hypertension will affect the quality of life of Mr. Garcia. Also the educational needs of Mr. ...view middle of the document...
Mr. Garcia doesn't smoke and drinks alcohol only socially. His father is 72years old and suffers from CHF and macular degeneration. His mother is 70years old and suffers from hypertension but has never taken any medication for the high blood pressure. Mr. Garcia is also 12 pounds over his ideal weight and is not able to exercise.
As we can see, Mr. Garcia has risk factors that are contributing to his high blood pressure. Nurses and health care providers have the obligation to educate patients. In Mr. Garcia's case he was told of the high blood pressure, but was never given any education on the risks of having high blood pressure. Also, the importance of taking medications or what can help him, reduce his high blood pressure. Mr. Garcia needed to be aware that because of the history of cardiovascular disease in his family his blood pressure could be considered hereditary. He needed to understand the importance of losing weight, of being on a low fat, low sodium diet, exercising and lowering his stress level. It is important for Mr. Garcia to be aware that having high blood pressure increases the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. All this information is vital, and patients need to know all of this.
Disease Process
In the United States, there are 70 million people suffering from Hypertension one of every three adults have high blood pressure. One of every three adults is considered pre-hypertensive which means that their blood pressure is high but not high enough to be considered hypertensive (CDC 2015 ). Hypertension is also considered the silent killer, mostly because there are people that have high blood pressure, without having any symptoms. The best way to know if you suffer high blood pressure is by getting routine check- ups with your primary doctor and by taking your blood pressure whenever possible. Very rare, people that have high blood pressure complain of headaches. High blood pressure is how hard the blood pushes against the walls of the arteries. The arteries carry blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Blood pressure generally can go up and down depending on the type of activity you're doing, but if the blood pressure stays high it can also damage the heart. (NIH 2015)
Mapping age, ethnic, cultural, spiritual and developmental issues.
As we age, the risk of high blood pressure will increase. Mr. Garcia is now 45 years-old, at this age his considered to be middle age. Being middle- aged, male and Hispanic put's Mr. Garcia at a higher risk for high blood pressure, and that is not taking in consideration that there is a family history of high blood pressure and CHF. Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death among Hispanics. More than a quarter 26.1 percent of Hispanics report suffering from high blood pressure. Nearly a third 30.4 percent of Hispanics that suffer from high blood pressure were not even taking their medicines. Cultural beliefs sometimes make it hard for a person to manage a chronic...
