Hypertension Assignment

1. Choose a patient that you have seen in your practicum.
2. Choose a patient who presents with symptoms indicating hypertension.
3. Identify the diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) you ordered for this patient with the actual or suspected diagnosis.
4. Provide evidence-based rationale as to why you ordered the diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) for this diagnosis.
5. Provide an estimate of what each of the diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) you ordered costs in your practicum setting.
6. How did you interpret the findings of diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) you ordered? For example, what are the pertinent positive/negative findings of the diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) you ordered?
7. How did you notify the patient of the results of the diagnostic test(s) or laboratory study(s) you ordered?
8. What follow-up and/or referral to another health care provider are needed for further care of the patient?
9. Describe what is meant by “cost-benefit” of a diagnostic test.
Format

The information should be provided in the form of a 2-4-page paper not including the title page or reference page.

The paper should be written in paragraph form with each component of the assignment included as a subheading. For example, there will be a subheading for each of the 9 points.

Assignment Requirements:

Before finalizing your work, you should:

be sure to read the Assignment description carefully (as displayed above);
consult the Grading Rubric (under the Course Home) to make sure you have included everything necessary; and
utilize spelling and grammar check to minimize errors.
Your writing Assignment should:

SAMPLE SOLUTION

Patient with Hypertension
Hypertension is a risk factor that increases a person’s probability of developing heart attack, stroke, and kidney disease. Various symptoms signify the presence of high blood pressure, they include a severe headache, difficulty in breathing, and vision problems. In addition, other distinguishing symptoms only appear if the patient is suffering from severe high blood pressure. They include irregular heartbeat, the presence of blood in the urine, pounding in the chest, chest pain, fatigue and sometimes confusion.
Diagnostic Test
I recommended taking 2-3 blood pressure readings each at four or more separate appointments before proceeding to diagnosing the patient. This is because blood pressure usually fluctuates throughout the day, and occasionally during visits to the physician, a state known as “white coat hypertension”. The patient’s blood pressure was taken in both arms to establish whether there was a variance. Applying an appropriate-sized arm cuff was significant. To improve efficiency in test results, I also requested the patient to record…