Case study: Heart
Janet was the tallest person in her family. Her brother used to joke with her and tell her she could play Abraham Lincoln in any play because she was tall and lanky just like good old Abe.
Janet was the star center on her high school basketball team. She had always been tall with big hands and long fingers, perfect for snagging the ball on rebounds. Recently, Janet had begun wearing contact lenses because she was having trouble seeing the hoop clearly. The optometrist had diagnosed her with nearsightedness, something that her parents also experienced.
Recently, while practicing basketball with her high school team, Janet experienced some pain in her chest. She mentioned this to her coach, but since it was the beginning of the season and they had recently started practicing, the coach assumed that she had pulled or overworked a muscle. The coach suggested that she take some Tylenol and apply ice to her chest to relieve the pain.
Five minutes in to their first game of the season, Janet experienced dizziness and motioned for the coach to take her out. As she walked to the bench, she lost consciousness and passed out. The referees couldn’t feel a pulse and started CPR while waiting for the paramedics and ambulance to arrive.
When Janet came to, she was in a hospital bed in CCU of the local hospital. The doctors advised her that she likely had a disease called Marfan’s syndrome. As a result of that disease she had experienced cardiac arrest and that she had a mitral valve prolapse.
Deliverables
Answer the following questions and save your responses in a Microsoft Word document. Provide a scholarly resource to support your answers.
What are the four valves found in the heart and where are they located? Give all names for each valve.
What is a mitral valve prolapse and what causes this in Marfan’s syndrome specifically?
What happens to blood flow (specifically) with a mitral valve prolapse (where would the blood back up to and why)?
If a person were to have a prolapse of the tricuspid valve, what specifically would happen to the flow of blood in that case?
Do you think Janet will ever play basketball again? Why or why not?
