Today started with Pathophysiology, which is slowly becoming one of my favorite classes. I'm probably just saying that, though, because today we went over vascular diseases and (drumroll please) cardiac diseases. I love the heart, and I have since I first studied it in A&P. It's so interesting. How could someone not appreciate the engine of the body?
Anyways, my strange fascination with the heart was fed today with a great lecture. It still amazes me just how many disease processes tie in together and exacerbate each other. One interesting tidbit from today was learning about Takotsubo cardiomyopathy. If it doesn't sound familiar, that's okay. It's better known as a broken heart. I came across this term while working in transcription once, and how it got named is pretty cool. When it was discovered in Japan, the way the heart dilated looked like an octopus trap, so that's what it was called: tako tsubo. It is caused by emotional stress, which causes a release of catecholamines (adrenaline, essentially). This weakens the heart walls, and while it is a reversible process, it isn't always discovered in time. Because of the association with emotional stress, it earned the name "broken heart syndrome".
So yes, there is such a thing as dying of a broken heart.
Afternoon was lab. We did abdominal assessments (woohoo!). It was pretty... gross... to listen to abdominal sounds, although they are unmistakable for anything else! We also administered enemas. Don't worry, not on each other!! We worked on the mannequin butts they had specifically for enema administration. Our lab day concluded with assisting with feeding. Yes, we had to blindfold our partner and feed them a spoonful of either pudding or applesauce, and then help them drink a small cup of juice. Yes, it was messy. Yes, my partner ended up having pudding on her face. Yes, it was hilarious! Although, I will say that if I were actually in a patient-nurse situation, it would not have been funny.
I'm including a picture of the Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, so you can see how the heart would look (and I suppose also how an octopus trap looks). And, for credit purposes, I borrowed this from Wikipedia.
"A" is Takotsubo cardiomyopathy; "B" is a normal heart.
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