NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment: Pharmacotherapy for Cardiovascular Disorders
NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment…heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in America; nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smoke—some of the leading risk factors for heart disease… —Murphy et al., 2018
Despite the high mortality rates associated with cardiovascular disorders, improved treatment options do exist that can help address those risk factors that afflict the majority of the population today. NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment
As an advanced practice nurse, it is your responsibility to recommend appropriate treatment options for patients with cardiovascular disorders. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of drug therapy, advanced practice nurses must consider aspects that might influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes such as medical history, other drugs currently prescribed, and individual patient factors.
Reference: Murphy, S. L., Xu, J., Kochanek, K. D., & Arias, E. (2018). Mortality in the United States, 2017. Retrieved from
To Prepare
Review the Resources for this module and consider the impact of potential pharmacotherapeutics for cardiovascular disorders introduced in the media piece.
Review the case study assigned by your Instructor for this Assignment.
Select one the following factors: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior factors.
Reflect on how the factor you selected might influence the patient’s pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.
Consider how changes in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes might impact the patient’s recommended drug therapy.
Think about how you might improve the patient’s drug therapy plan based on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes. Reflect on whether you would modify the current drug treatment or provide an alternative treatment option for the patient.
NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment Answer
Pharmacotherapy Optimization for Cardiovascular Disorders in Geriatric Patients
This case study focuses on AO, a patient grappling with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Additionally, AO’s medical history reveals issues related to obesity, with a recent weight gain of 9 pounds. The patient is currently prescribed a combination of medications, including Atenolol, Doxazosin, Hydralazine, Sertraline, and Simvastatin 80 mg daily. NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment
Geriatric Considerations
The patient factor highlighted in this scenario is age, which plays a pivotal role in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of cardiovascular medications, particularly in the context of obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. As elucidated by Katzung (2018), aging significantly impacts the metabolism and effectiveness of cardiovascular drugs, primarily within the context of obesity, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. The age-related changes in the liver’s first-pass cytochrome P450 isoenzymes metabolism significantly influence drug metabolism. This is primarily attributed to the physiological degradation of liver function with increasing age. Consequently, oral medications that are metabolized within the liver to inactive metabolites experience delayed metabolism and subsequent accumulation in the body (Hammer & McPhee, 2018). Of note, one of AO’s prescribed medications, Hydralazine, is subject to liver metabolism. Moreover, aging can contribute to the decline in renal function, potentially leading to compromised drug excretion through the renal route. This may result in the hazardous accumulation of drugs and their metabolites within the body, a phenomenon that affects medications like Hydralazine and Atenolol, both of which are relevant to AO’s treatment (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018). NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment
Furthermore, age-related changes in body composition, with older patients tending to have a reduced lean body mass, can significantly affect drug distribution and elimination. As AO takes all medications orally, reduced gastrointestinal absorption can lead to suboptimal drug levels in the plasma, potentially failing to achieve therapeutic concentrations (Rosenthal & Burchum, 2018). These pharmacokinetic alterations underscore the importance of carefully assessing the dosage and therapeutic effectiveness of the cardiovascular medications prescribed to AO. NURS 6521 Week 2 Assignment
[References: Katzung, B. G. (2018). Basic & clinical pharmacology. McGraw-Hill Education.Hammer, G. D., & McPhee, S. J. (2018). Pathophysiology of Disease: An Introduction to Clinical Medicine. McGraw-Hill Education.
Rosenthal, L. D., & Burchum, J. R. (2018). Lehne’s pharmacotherapeutics for advanced practice providers. Elsevier Health Sciences.]
