A patient turns down hypertension treatment. What happens next is tragic.
I have previously written about a patient on this site: “How elderly patients can be stubborn to their own detriment.” In that post, I discussed how the patient repeatedly turned down appropriate therapy for her hypertension, saying she didn’t need the help. Now I’m writing an update.
Due to the patient’s refusal to accept treatment for her hypertension, despite counseling on the part of her cardiologist and primary care physician that she needed to be on a daily medication for it, she has now found herself in an unenviable place. Fifteen years later, she is now dealing with the following medical conditions that are all a direct result of her untreated hypertension:
congestive heart failure
sick sinus syndrome with a need to eventually have a pacemaker put in
open heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, which ruptured on the OR table
aortic valve insufficiency
atrial fibrillation
vascular dementia
worsening of her variant angina
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Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Sharon Bahrych, PA-C, MPH Tags: Physician Geriatrics Heart Primary care Source Type: blogs