Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Case Study

Henry Williams is a 74-year-old African American who was admitted for shortness of breath secondary to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation. His past medical history is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, asthma, hear loss, and hypertension. His neighbor brought him to the emergency room because he was having difficulty breathing and weakness. When he was brought to the emergency room, he was very weak and restlessness. Williams breathing was visibly labored and he was very anxious and worried for his wife Ertha, who has memory problem and forgetful at times. For over two months now, Williams’s appetite has diminished which made him lost some weight. He also lost interest in
In a normal mechanism of airflow, the airway with elastic fiber will give traction and open the airway. In a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patient, the mechanisms of airflow obstruct the air way, this is caused by inflammation and fibrosis of the fibers that hold the airway open (Porth, 2015). There are two types of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: emphysema and chronic obstructive bronchitis. “The mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease usually are multiple and include inflammation and fibrosis of the bronchial and loss elastic lung fibers and alveolar tissue” (Porth, 2015, p.578). In most cases and situation, long-term smoking is the leading cause and major risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There are lots of other risk factors that can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease like exposure to tobacco smoke, occupational exposure to dusts and chemicals, exposure to fumes, age, and genetics. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbation; exposure to tobacco smoke, occupational exposure to dusts and chemicals, exposure to fumes, age, genetics and race. COPD can cause so many complications which are respiratory infections, heart problems, lung cancer, high blood pressure in lungs, arteries and depression. Henry Williams has already developed most of the complications above. He smoked for 50years and worked as a trained engineer which exposed him to lot of dust which made him susceptible to CDOP. The aftermath and complication of COPD has made Williams to develop cardiovascular disease, asthma and hypertension