Asthma Case Study

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Case Study The flow of blood through blood vessels and the rate of airflow through the airways both have one thing in common, they both depend on pressure difference and resistance. According to the text book, “Any condition that narrows or obstructs the airways increases resistance, so that more pressure is required to maintain the same airflow” (p. 861). The bronchioles are usually the primary source to offer some kind of resistance for the flow of air going into and out of the lungs. Two of the main reasons for asthma or COPD would include an increased airway resistance due to a hindrance or a collapse of airways. Over time smoking cigarettes can greatly impact changes in a person’s body. Some of the factors that come from the smoke can swell the mucosal lining in the trachea which can obstruct the airflow into and out of the lungs. According to the textbook, “Inhaled irritants lead to chronic inflammation with an increase in the size and number of mucous glands and goblet cells in the airway epithelium” (p. 880). When this happens the mucus produced can narrow the airway and impair the cilia function which leads the inhaled pathogens to become enclosed in airway secretions. In the trachea there is a lining called cilia, and some of the irritants in the smoke can destroy the cilia in the lining for the respiratory …show more content…

“Causes of a high hematocrit include: Dehydration, Low availability of oxygen (smoking, pulmonary fibrosis), Genetic, Erythrocytosis, Cor pulmonale (COPD, chronic sleep apnea, pulmonary embolisms)” What Does a High Hematocrit Mean, 2016). Also, with Edna’s COPD it is harder for her to exhale which could be a contributing factor to the higher- than- normal numbers of red blood cells. When the hematocrit levels are higher is raises the viscosity of blood which in the end makes the blood much harder for the heart to

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