Josie was a 43-year-old former college athlete who enjoyed staying at home with her three young children. Even though she had always tried to...

Question Josie was a 43-year-old former college athlete who enjoyed stayingat home with her three young children. Even though she had always tried to maintain an active healthy lifestyle, over the past several months Josie had felt increas-ingly tired to the point that she sometimes was unable to do normal household activities like cooking dinner or folding laundry. Initially Josie chalked up her exhaustion to “just being 40-something,” but following an episode where she awoke in the middle of the night feeling very short of breath, she decided to see her primary care physician. Upon listening to her heart with a stethoscope, her doctor referred her to a cardiologist. Tree weeks later, Josie was sitting nervously in the cardiologist’s exam room waiting for him to enter. Tis was her second appointment with Dr. Adams, and the plan was to discuss the results from her physical examination, labs, and echocardiogram. She heard footsteps coming down the hall, a rustling of papers at the door, and then a quick knock before Dr. Adams poked his head in. Josie and her doctor exchanged pleasantries before Dr. Adams became more serious and took a seat in his exam chair across from her. “Josie,” he began, “based on the results of the tests we ran last week and your physical exam, I am diagnosing you with congestive heart failure.” Josie’s head was spinning. Tat sounded seriouspotentially life-threateningly serious! Her mind raced. I’m too young for this… I’ve always lived a healthy lifestyle and expected a diferent result… Tis isn’t fair! What will my kids do if I die?” Dr. Adams continued. “I recognize this is a shock. I want you to know that as your doctor, I’m here to help you develop the best possible plan to ensure the greatest quality of life despite this diagnosis. What questions do you have right now that I can help with?” “Uh…what is congestive heart failure?” Josie stammered. “Am I going to die?” “Let me explain to you a little about the anatomy of the heart and its function to help you better understand this disease,” was Dr. Adams gentle reply. Health Science Science Nursing HRA 701 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)