A 76 year-old man with a long history of peptic ulcer disease has become increasingly fatigued and short of breath over the past three weeks. He complains of a dull pain below his sternum that is worse following meals. On physical examination he looks pale and has a slightly elevated heart rate.
1. What might be this man’s diagnosis?
2. Suggest some possible explanations for his shortness of breath and elevated heart rate
3. From a physiologic standpoint, why might he be more difficult for this man to compensate for his current problem than it would be for a 30 year-old man? In your answer, explore possibilities from at least three different organ system.
Solution Preview
What diagnosis of the man might be?
The possible diagnosis of the man is peptic ulcers. Søreide et al. (2015) adduce that peptic ulcer causes sores in the lining of the stomach and the duodenum and one may end up getting discomfort after taking a meal. In addition, a patient with this condition will experience pain after eating. The health condition of the man as well suggests that he has the peptic ulcers as a result of the various signs that are seen including the pain in the stomach. The fact that the pain is as well experienced in the sternum is an indication of the diagnosis that the patient has peptic ulcers. This is attributed to the fact that a patient who has peptic ulcers will experience pain between the sternum and the bottom of the belly. The history of the patient as well calls for the decision on what the patient is suffering from and since the patient has had past experience of having peptic ulcers, it is ideally possible that the condition has advanced to a worse state….
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