Will They Ever Pull the Plug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Will They Ever Pull the Plug - Essay Example Elmer’s wife of 50 years, Wilma Beard, is requesting the hospital to remove her husband from the life support system and spare him the torture of living as a vegetable, recognizing no one and being given food by a pipe through his nose. She says that the comma has now persisted for three weeks, and there is no hope of Elmer recovering. Wilma says that having spent 50 years married to him; she is much attached to Elmer and his pitiful condition is causing her a lot of misery. The internist attending to Elmer, Dr. James A. Duncan, does not agree with Wilma and will not remove Elmer from the respirator and let him die. Dr. Duncan has consulted two other specialists regarding the best decision to take, due to the sensitivity of the case. These two, neurologist Morris, D, Lampert and lung man Leopoldo Lapuerta, agree with Dr. Duncan that it would be professionally wrong to remove Elmer from the respirator. Thus, Dr. Duncan has stuck to his decision to keep Elmer alive with the life support system. Wilma Beard’s demand to Dr. Duncan is morally wrong. First of all, Dr. Duncan still has hope that Elmer Beard might recover. Removing Elmer from the respirator would be murder since according to the internist; Elmer has a fleeting chance of recovering from the coma. The fact that there is a possibility for recovery means that Elmer might be able to make the decision himself if he recovers from the comma. The three doctors, Duncan, Lampert, and Lapuerta, are not sure whether Elmer will be able to communicate to some degree if he recovers or not. Therefore, they believe that the most conducive measure is to wait and see. The six weeks during which Elmer has been in the comma is too short a period to conclude that the comma will last indefinitely. Wilma has to be more patient and give the condition more time to see if there will be a change. Objection (1): Elmer Beard’s situation is hopeless. Even if there is some chance of him recovering, he is still

The Disease Process of Cardiomyopathy Term Paper

The Disease Process of Cardiomyopathy - Term Paper Example It is included in the list of diseases that has the highest morbidity rate in the world’s aging population. The degree and the time course of the disease vary and do not coincide with the linear expression of symptoms. People suffering from such disease normally have asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction, left ventricular diastolic dysfunction or both. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the state of the disease that is expressed when the balance between malfunction and compensation is disordered such that cardiac output can no longer be maintained at normal left ventricular filling pressures. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 16) Types of Cardiomyopathy There are three types of cardiomyopathy; dilated, hypertrophic and unclassified cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common among the three types. In this type, the heart’s main pumping chamber – the left ventricle, coming from the term ‘dilated’, grows bigger than its normal size. Th e ability to pump blood throughout the body becomes less forceful, making the blood flow uneasily. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 24) Although as mentioned above, Cardiomyopathy 3 cardiomyopathy can occur to people of any ages; this is most commonly seen in middle-aged people and is more often to occur in men. Some people who have this type of cardiomyopathy acquire the disease hereditary. The second type of cardiomyopathy is hypertrophic. This type of the disease entails the abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, affecting the main pumping chamber of the heart – the left ventricle. As the thickening occurs, it affects the blood circulation in the body due to the stiffening and the shrinking of the heart’s pumping chamber, which affects the ability of the heart to deliver blood to the entire body. Just like any other types of this disease, this may develop in any ages but it becomes more visible during childhood. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 33) Normally, people who acquire th is disease have a family history and more often than not, linked to some genetic mutations. Affected patients of this type of cardiomyopathy may be asymptomatic or may have signs of hindlimb paralysis or acute dyspnea. Examinations demonstrate abnormal heart sounds; from soft to prominent systolic cardiac murmurs and gallop heart sounds. The last type of cardiomyopathy is unclassified or better known as restrictive cardiomyopathy. The heart muscles of people who develop this type of disease become rigid and less elastic, which tends the heart to not expand properly to be able to contain blood between heartbeats. This is common in older people although it can develop in any ages just like the other types. This type is the least common among the three and can occur without known reason – idiopathic. (Giles & Sander, 1988, p 41) This can also be caused by other diseases that affect the heart. This type includes patients with visible abnormalities in the myocardium on echocardiog raphy that do not fit into the other two types. This type of disease is also seen in cats. As mentioned above, Cardiomyopathy 4 restrictive cardiomyopathy have unknown causes. Nursing Intervention The disease is defined as ventricular dilation, systolic contractible dysfunction, low cardiac output and other congestive heart failure symptoms (crackles, edema, etc.) The decrease in the blood supply comes hand in hand with the decrease of amount of oxygen supply in the body. This can lead to kidney