DX wk 7 - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... he patients history, lab tests and often their brain injury studies who that there may have been stroked, untreated high blood pressure or coronary artery disease (Beidel, Bulik, and Stanley, 2010). The damage can be to a single blood vessel or to many blood vessels that will then be called an infarction in the brain (Beidel, Bulik, and Stanley, 2010).
In contrast, 293.0 Delirium Due to a General Medical Condition is a "disturbance in consciousness that is accompanied by a change in cognition" (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 136). Delirium in this case, the cognitive disturbance has to be due to direct physiological consequence of the general medical condition (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 136). Generally, delirium is brought on by a serious medical illness such as a serious infection, toxic effects of medication or AIDS (Beidel, Bulik, and Stanley, 2010). Although both of these conditions are due to serious medical conditions, delirium affects the cognition because of a lengthy illness that affects the brain directly. Although Vascular Dementia also affects cognition, it is a heart problem that has to be present (American Psychiatric Association, 2000).
Hans is a 66 year old male who is a retired mail carrier. He did his job well until he began to have challenges with his memory. Hans retired from his job five years ago because he was not able to carry out his duties correctly anymore; in fact, he began to make mistakes as he delivered the mail. At the age of 62, Hans was hiking in an area that he knew well and suddenly he was lost and could not find his way home. Soon after, he also mislaid things and forgot appointments and could not find his way around anymore. His memory continued to fail as he was unable to recognize his friends and lost interest in watching television and newspapers.
According to Biedel, Bulik, and Stanley (2010), Alzheimers disease (AD) is a "common subtype of dementia" (p. 458), than other forms of Dementia. It ...Download file to see next pagesRead More