Mark, a single father of a 2-year old son, Jacob, stops every morning at a local
fast food restaurant to pick up breakfast for himself and his son on their way to daycare.
Mark says, “I don’t have time to cook in the mornings, and I can’t feed Jacob anything I
make at home any cheaper than this. Besides, he really loves these sausage and egg
sandwiches, and at least I can get him to eat them” Mark has a family history of diabetes,
as well as hyperlipidemia, and has the following risk factors for cardiovascular disease:
primarily hypertension (treated with medication), cigarette smoking, inactive lifestyle, and
occasionally eating foods high in sodium. Both of his parents died at young ages due to
what Mark calls “heart troubles,” and his brother has high cholesterol. During his
physical, Mark learns that his lipid panel is as follows: total cholesterol 245 mg/dl, LDL
180 mg/dl, and HDL 35 mg/dl. As his nurse, you know that risk factors for cardiovascular
disease are fixed or modifiable. Give at least TWO EXAMPLES of each. 1. For
modifiable risk factors, what can be done? 2. What is the significance of Mark’s blood
work? What does a normal lipid profile look like? 3. Based on the information provided in
the scenario, how would you educate him? Be sure to include physical fitness and
nutrition based on the USDA 2015 Dietary Guidelines and choosemyplate.gov (Links to
an external site)
Sample Solution
