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Nursing School Edition #3

Aortic Regurgitation

This is a condition where the hearts aortic valve doesn’t close tightly enough. Due to this, some of the blood pumped out of the heart leaks backward.

This can have many complications, the most extreme is heart failure.

Q: What can cause this?

A: Congenital heart valve disease, other genetic heart diseases.

Q: What are some of the symptoms?

  • heart palpitations
  • chest pain
  • shortness of breath
  • fatigue
  • weakness
  • fainting
  • swollen ankles and feet

Q: Can this be treated?

A: Yes! This will typically require a surgery to fix the valve. Sometimes it can be treated with medications.

HEART.ORG
PENNMEDICINE

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Nursing School Edition #2

Hypercarbia

Hypercarbia is defined as the increase of carbon dioxide within the bloodstream. Another name that might be used instead is Hypercapnia. This can be caused due to hyperventilation or not being able to breathe properly.

Some of the symptoms that might be seen are:

  • Drowsiness or the inability to focus
  • Flushed looking skin
  • Headaches and feeling disoriented
  • Feeling short of breath or fatigued

If feeling abnormal seek medical treatment or consult your physician.

Reference

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Nursing School edition #1

This week we have been focusing on the circulatory system of the body. One thing that was talked about multiple times was the MAP. What is the MAP you might ask? It is an acronym that stand for Mean Arterial Pressure. Now what does that exactly mean? Its the average arterial pressure through one cardiac cycle, systole, and diastole.

This Youtube video is a great example of how to calculate the MAP.

Resource:

DeMers D, Wachs D. Physiology, Mean Arterial Pressure. [Updated 2022 Apr 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan