Assignment Task
Case Study
Sheila is a 76-year-old woman resident in an aged care facility. She was transferred six months previously from a public hospital with a new diagnosis of vascular dementia. Prior to that admission, Sheila had been smoking cigarettes daily for sixty years. She has hypertension managed with a combination of ACE inhibitor and thiazide diuretic. Today she collapsed. When Sheila eventually came around her speech was limited and slurred. On examination her face was drooping on the right-hand side, she was unable to move her right arm or right leg. She was admitted to hospital and radiological assessment identified occlusions within the left anterior and middle cerebral arteries.
Discuss this case describing the mechanisms for chronic and acute cellular and pathophysiological changes responsible leading to and causing the signs and symptoms displayed by Sheila. Include in your answer the mechanisms of tobacco addiction, the mechanisms responsible for cerebrovascular disease, and the mechanisms and effects of ischaemic stroke on brain function.
