Case Study, Chapter 26, Disorders ofBlood Flow and Blood Pressure Regulation
Deborah is 56 years old, smokes half a pack of cigarettes a day,and is overweight. Her friend wants her to come to a local women’sfitness class she attends to once a week. She knows Deborah’s dadhad died an acute myocardial infarction when he was 56, and shefears, seeing Deborah’s lifestyle, the same fate awaits her friend.What she did not know was that Deborah had also been to her doctorfor her annual physical where she was told her LDLs were 180 mg/dL,HDLs were 36 mg/dL, and cholesterol was 239 mg/dL.
a. What are Deborah’s known risk factors for coronary heartdisease?
b. Deborah’s doctor referred her to a dietician for strictdietary therapy, hoping the intervention would raise her HDL andlower her LDL and cholesterol levels. Why is diet modificationnecessary to control and moderate the lipids indicated?
c. Deborah’s doctor also gave her pamphlets describingstrategies to stop smoking and a list of exercise ideas she mightwant to try. How is smoking thought to contribute toatherosclerotic plaque formation? Why would exercise have apositive effect on Deborah’s lipid profile?
d. Atherosclerosis is thought to be an inflammatory disorder.What is the role of macrophages in the formation of atheroscleroticplaques? What is the significance of elevated serum hs-CRP levelsin at-risk individuals?
Don’t copy and paste your answers. Please use your own words toavoid plagiarism.
