Behaviors related to the disease
The client reports that she hardly engages in physical activities and consumes portions of large size, this is detectable from shortness of her breath. In addition, she wallows herself in alcohol when subjected to stress and pressure. She complains about feeling tired all the time.
Physiological/biological characteristics
The individual has high levels of c-reactive proteins, which is the indicator of heart problems. These proteins are triggering factors of inflammation and they are the evidence that the vascular system is not functioning well. High levels of c-reactive proteins could be the reason why the patient feels fatigued. The patient complains that she is always on the move, trying to fix almost everything. She is not aware that she is under stress, which further increases the levels of c-reactive proteins. Also, the patient has a high blood pressure that is further aggravated by stress levels.
Psychosocial characteristics
The individual has a negative attitude to other people characterized by anger and hostility, which are both signs of vascular disease. She talks impolitely to the health workers and she is not even appreciative of the fact that the health professionals want to help her. Continued negative emotions during illness are associated with poor survival (Taylor, 2012). High levels of c-reactive proteins and related proinflammatory cytokines are attributed to hostility. Hostility tends to isolate individuals from the rest of the world, and when faced with problems, they will not seek help from available social support structures.
The isolation manifested by the individual is a sign of depression, where one typically shuts the rest of the world. Depression alters the proper functioning of the heart by “increasing the heart rate and inflammation processes, lowering heart rate variability, cardiovascular reactivity in times of stress and slowing recovery of heart rate such as after an exercise” (Tayloy, 2012, p. 320).
Environmental characteristics
The individual is non-white, and her work is to take care of her family. Seemingly, there is no energy balance and the energy taken in is greater than the energy expended. When asked about her emotional state, she said that she was taught never to trust anyone, and that people will always become friends with someone with malicious intentions. Her hostile behavior had stemmed from the behavior she had learned from her parents, especially her mother with whom she spent most of her childhood and teenage days.
Elements of a treatment plan
A healthy diet consisting of all the nutrients in their right proportions is deemed helpful in alleviating cardiovascular diseases, and related illnesses through cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a behavior changing approach that also entails changes in smoking behavior and alcohol consumption (Taylor, 2012, p. 64-65). Treating depressive symptoms is helpful in slowing down the progression of cardiovascular disease by reducing proinflammatory factors in the body. Depression drugs prevent the attachment of serotonin to receptors; hence, blockage of the receptors results in reduced formation of clots and this prevents the aggregation of platelets in the arteries.
Adopting health management mechanism is helpful in alleviating occurrence and/or progression of cardiovascular diseases.
Special factors associated with the minority status of the person
Negative emotions that deem the individual feel inferior to others, such as being non white and being from a lower socioeconomic status, increase one’s risk of cardiovascular disease. Psychologists refer to this emotional instability as an inferiority complex that thwarts a person’s capabilities.
The role of stress
Unlike a zebra that will never get ulcers, individuals are exposed to cardiovascular diseases due to the prolonged action of stress response. Prolonged stress leads to prolonged mobilization of energy; hence, increasing the heart rate at prolonged periods and depleting hormonal stores (Sapolsky, 2004, p. 12-13).
References
Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Don’t Zebra’s Get Ulcers? In Why Don’t Zebra’s Get Ulcers. New York. Henry Holt and Company.
Taylor, S. E. (2012). Health Psychology. 8th ed. New York: Mc Graw-Hill.