Abstract
Cardiomyopathy is a dangerous condition that affects all age groups. However, aged patients are at a higher risk due to their weak cardiac muscles. The physiological changes in cardiomyopathy patients are influenced by the age group and gender. Older patients with weak cardiac muscles have advanced symptoms as compared to other cardiomyopathy patients. Diagnostic findings in cardiomyopathy are also affected by gender, culture, and age. This paper will evaluate the age and gender-related physiological changes in cardiomyopathy as witnessed in patients aged 65 years and above.
Introduction
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscles. It is common in people of all age groups and causes arrhythmia. This affects the normal rhythmic beating of the heart and the supply of oxygen to different body tissues. A decline in the heart’s pumping power as a result of cardiomyopathy increases the chances of developing arrhythmia or heart failure. Patients that suffer from heart failure experience fluid accumulation in extracellular tissues within the leg, feet, and lungs (Story, 2012).
Normal physiological changes in 65 and above age group with cardiomyopathy
Older adults are more prone to developing restrictive cardiomyopathy as compared to other age categories. Patients aged 65 years and above experience abnormal physiological changes when suffering from cardiomyopathy. Rigidity and stiffening of the ventricles are common physiological changes witnessed in patients aged 65 years and above. In this situation, abnormal tissues such as scars are formed instead of the normal heart tissues (Fairweather & Blauwet, 2013).
Lack of flexibility of the ventricles due to stiffening affects the ventricle’s role of pumping blood out of the heart to other parts of the body or lungs. Stiffened and scared ventricles cannot contract well and this limits the blood volume. The accumulation of blood causes the atria to enlarge and the valves to become further weaker. This increases their chances of developing arrhythmias (Story, 2012).
Age-related diagnostic findings in cardiomyopathy
In Kubo (2008), an examination of cardiomyopathy patients aged 65 to 83 years was conducted. Several lab tests, physical assessments, and radiology tests were undertaken on the patients. Left ventricular (LV) size assessment of the patients using echocardiography showed that patients aged 67 years and above have an enlarged LV. The LV ejection fraction was also measured using ventriculography. The level of β-blockers and type II angiotensin was also determined in Kubo (2008). Aged patients have high use of blockers and boosters like angiotensin II to improve heart performance.
Gender considerations in aged cardiomyopathy
According to studies conducted by Olivotto and Maron (2005), aged women suffering from cardiomyopathy are more symptomatic as compared to men. Advanced heart failure is, therefore, more common in aged women based on results from this study. Routine cardiomyopathy checkup in aged women is rare as highlighted in this study. Based on this study, 23% of women as compared to 41% of men confirmed undergoing routine medical checkups.
In Kubo (2009), a study was conducted on 261 Japanese cardiomyopathy patients. In this study, 80% of the participants were women. Kubo (2009) reports that the majority of patients diagnosed with cardiomyopathy aged 65 years and above are women. Women are also more symptomatic of cardiomyopathy at an advanced age as compared to men based on the results from the study. The left ventricular and right atrial of female patients aged 65 years and above was small in diameter. The fractional shortening in female patients aged 65 years and above was higher compared to males in the same age group (Kubo, 2009).
Cultural practices among the aged cardiomyopathy patients
Cultural considerations and practices influence the outcome of intervention measures and the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy in the elderly. Patients of cardiomyopathy have several experiences that form part of the information needed for a complete diagnosis of the condition. However, cultural considerations affect the management of the condition due to a lack of adequate access to information (Kubo, 2009).
For example, aged cardiomyopathy patients are at a higher risk of suffering from erectile dysfunction and low sex drive. Access to such information by health workers informs the intervention measures adopted. However, cultural issues influence the willingness of aged patients to discuss their sex life with younger health workers. Failure to provide sex history due to cultural reasons affects accurate diagnosis and management of the condition (Fairweather & Blauwet, 2013).
Culturally competent care
The provision of competent care is influenced by the nature of the information provided. Health workers must access accurate and complete information to provide competent care. However, healthcare workers face age-related communication barriers in the management of cardiomyopathy. This affects the ability of the healthcare workers to provide culturally competent care to aged cardiomyopathy patients. Age differences also affect the provision of competent care to cardiomyopathy patients. In most situations, youthful professionals are tasked with the provision of healthcare services to aged cardiomyopathy patients. This affects effective interaction between the patient and healthcare patients.
Conclusion
Cardiomyopathy is a common condition that affects all age groups, races, and genders. However, the condition has specific physiological characteristics in aged patients due to the weakening of the cardiac muscles. An examination of the distinct physiological characteristics of such a patient is essential in the diagnosis and therapeutic management of the condition.
References
Fairweather, D., & Blauwet, L. (2013). Sex and gender differences in myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. Current Problems in Cardiology, 38(1), 7-46. Web.
Kubo, T. (2008). Improvement of prognosis of dilated cardiomyopathy in the elderly over the past 20 years. journal of cardiology, 52(2),111-117.
Kubo, T. (2009). Gender-specific differences in clinical features of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a community-based Japanese population: Results from Kochi RYOMA study. Journal of cardiology, 56(3), 314-319.
Olivotto, I., & Maron, M. (2005). Gender-related differences in the clinical presentation and outcome of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American college of cardiology, 46(3), 480-487.
Story, L. (2012). Pathophysiology: A practical approach. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett learning.