Background and Clinical Question
Since the threat of acquiring specific disorders or diseases becomes higher with age to a pronounced degree, it is essential to consider causes, key stages, and treatment options for various health issues and complications in senior citizens. Alzheimer’s disease is perhaps the most notorious and common disorder in older adults (Santos et al., 2017). Thus, it is crucial to study the factors that affect the development and progress of AD, CVD being one of them. At present, the clinical question is stated in the following way: in elderly patients with AD, how do CVD-related prevention measures affect the success of the treatment compared to no CVD-associated measures?
Experience
The overall experience of searching for the required sources can be described as positive. With a set of clear and concise search terms, I managed to locate the required resources quite fast. Since I was comfortable with the research topic and the search process, in general, I did not need the assistance of a librarian. In the course of the search, I used databases such as Google Scholar and ResearchGate.
Review
The connection between CVD and AD might seem as not quite evident, yet there are indications that CVD increases the risks of AD progress and aggravation. In their study, Santos et al. (2017) specify that there is a tangible link between the AD and CVD. While the design of the study involves a review of the existing papers and a compilation of their key results, the information provided by the authors is nonetheless crucial to the understanding of the issue. The research design, which allowed embracing the latest discoveries concerning AD and CVD, can be seen as the key strength, while the lack of precision in research results is the main weakness.
When considering the effects that the instances of CVD have on patients with AD, one should explore the problem of depression and the general aggravation of patients’ mental condition. Due to the increasingly complex issues affecting patients’ quality of life, problems associated with their mental health may be the outcome (Peuler, 2018). Therefore, an in-depth analysis of the issue is required.
Significance
Determining the effects that the current approach to managing the needs of patients with Alzheimer’s is critical to the improvement of the quality of their lives. Therefore, determining the probability of AD patients developing CVD is essential to the efficacy of treatment. Although suppressing the effects of Alzheimer’s completely is impossible at present, reducing the negative impact of the disease as it progresses and assisting patients in retaining their cognitive functions for a significant period of time is a possibility. For these reasons, identifying the tools that will assist this vulnerable group in alleviating their current situation and assisting them in managing their condition is a critical objective.
References
Peuler, J. D. (2018). Resveratrol’s potential in the adjunctive management of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer disease, and cancer. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 118(9), 596-605. doi:10.7556/jaoa.2018.133
Santos, C. Y., Snyder, P. J., Wu, W. C., Zhang, M., Echeverria, A., & Alber, J. (2017). Pathophysiologic relationship between Alzheimer’s disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiovascular risk: A review and synthesis. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 7, 69-87. doi:10.1016/j.dadm.2017.01.005