Mark, a single father of a 2-year-old son, Jacob, stops every...

 

Mark, a single father of a 2-year-old son, Jacob, stops every morning at a local fast food restaurant to pick up breakfast for himself and his son on their way to daycare. Mark says, "I don't have time to cook in the mornings, and I can't feed Jacob anything I make at home any cheaper than this. Besides, he really loves these sausage and egg sandwiches, and at least I can get him to eat them!"

Mark has a family history of diabetes, as well as hyperlipidemia, and has the following risk factors for cardiovascular disease: primary hypertension (treated with medication), cigarette smoking, inactive lifestyle, and occasionally eating foods high in sodium. Both of his parents died at young ages due to what Mark calls "heart troubles," and his brother has high cholesterol. During his physical, Mark learns that his lipid panel is as follows: total cholesterol 245 mg/dl, LDL 180 mg/dl, and HDL 35 mg/dl.

As his nurse, you know that risk factors for cardiovascular disease are fixed or modifiable. Give at least two examples of each.

1. For modifiable risk factors, what can be done to reduce risk?
2. What is the significance of Mark's blood work? What does a normal lipid profile look like?
3. Based on the information provided in the scenario, how would you educate him?

Be sure to include physical fitness and nutrition based on the USDA 2015 Dietary Guidelines and choosemyplate.gov

1.Changing these risk factors for the better means making some adjustments in your lifestyle. This may seem overwhelming at first, but you don't have to do everything all at once - going on a diet and starting an exercise routine at the same time may exhaust your mental and physical resources

Smoking,high blood pressure diabetes physical inactivity being overweight high blood cholesterol. The good news is that the effect of many risk factors can be changed (you cannot change the risk factor, only its effect).

—The effect of these modifiable risk factors can be reduced if you make lifestyle changes.

2.Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that's found in all the cells in your body. Your liver makes cholesterol, and it is also in some foods, such as meat and dairy products. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly.

3.educating him by advising to:

Eat Right

Healthy food habits can help you reduce three of the major risk factors for heart attack: high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess body weight. The best way to help lower your blood cholesterol level is to eat less saturated fat, avoid cholesterol and control your weight. Here are some other nutrition tips:

• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables and grain products, especially whole grains.
• Consume fat-free and low-fat dairy products, fish, beans, skinless poultry and lean meats.
• Limit foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol

Be Active

Physical activity is good for your entire body, especially your heart. While getting into a regular exercise routine is great, there are a number of quick ways to easily add more physical activity into your days

Step-by-step explanation

Modifiable risk factors for heart disease are the ones most of us have heard about and they are largely influenced by our lifestyle choices.
 

Lipid profile is a blood test that measures the amount of cholesterol and fats called triglycerides in the blood. These measurements give the doctor a quick snapshot of what's going on in your blood. Cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood can clog arteries, making you more likely to develop heart disease. Thus, these tests can help predict your risk of heart disease and allow you to make early lifestyle changes that lower cholesterol and triglyceride.

Most people have high levels of fat in their bloodbecause they eat too much high-fat food. Some people have high fat levels because they have an inherited disorder. High lipid levels may also be caused by medical conditions such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, alcoholism, kidney disease, liver disease and stress.1 May 1998