An older adult patient in a long-term care facility recently had a stroke after experiencing a myocardial infarction. The patient is not speaking or eating. The nurse notices an adverse change in vital signs

When a patient is unable to resist the effects of a stressor, the nurse can identify this stage of the general adaptation system as: a. an alarm reaction.
b. the resistance stage.
c. the exhaustion stage.
d. a fight-or-flight response.


C
The exhaustion stage occurs when the body is no longer able to resist the effects of the stressor and the struggle to maintain adaptation drains all available energy. The physiological response intensifies, but the person has so little energy left that adaptation to the stressor diminishes. The body can no longer defend itself against the impact of the event, and if the stress continues, it damages the heart along with other bodily organs and lowers resistance to illness. In the alarm stage, rising hormones result in an increased blood pressure, blood glucose levels, epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, oxygen intake, and mental alertness. This change in body systems prepares an individual for fight or flight and lasts from 1 minute to many hours. During the resistance stage, the body stabilizes and responds in an opposite manner to the alarm stage.

Nursing

You might also like to view...

An Apgar score of 10 at 1 minute after birth would indicate:

a. An infant having no difficulty adjusting to extrauterine life and needing no fur-ther testing. b. An infant in severe distress that needs resuscitation. c. A prediction of a future free of neurologic problems. d. An infant having no difficulty adjusting to extrauterine life but who should be assessed again at 5 minutes after birth.

Nursing

When is the cryosurgical ablation technique used to treat clients who have prostate cancer?

a. when clients cannot tolerate more extensive surgery b. as a complementary therapy for clients who undergo radiation treatment c. as an initial therapy for clients whose symptoms are mild d. for clients whose tumors have metastasized

Nursing

Which of the following would a nurse identify as being categorized as Axis I in the DSM-IV-TR? Select all that apply

A) Paranoid personality disorder B) Posttraumatic stress disorder C) Anorexia nervosa D) Mental retardation E) Unemployment F) Coronary artery disease

Nursing

To better address emerging public health issues, a public health nurse enrolls in a course addressing which content area?

a. Leadership b. Ethics c. Communication d. Finance

Nursing