heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in America; nearly half of all Americans have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smokesome of the leading risk factors for heart disease

Murphy et al., 2018

Despite the high mortality rates associated with cardiovascular disorders, improved treatment options do exist that can help address those risk factors that afflict the majority of the population today. 
As an advanced practice nurse, it is your responsibility to recommend appropriate treatment options for patients with cardiovascular disorders. To ensure the safety and effectiveness of drug therapy, advanced practice nurses must consider aspects that might influence pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes such as medical history, other drugs currently prescribed, and individual patient factors.
Reference: Murphy, S. L., Xu, J., Kochanek, K. D., & Arias, E. (2018). Mortality in the United States, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db328.htm

To Prepare
Review the Resources for this module and consider the impact of potential pharmacotherapeutics for cardiovascular disorders introduced in the media piece.
Review the case study assigned by your Instructor for this Assignment.
Select one the following factors: genetics, gender, ethnicity, age, or behavior factors.
Reflect on how the factor you selected might influence the patients pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes.
Consider how changes in the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes might impact the patients recommended drug therapy.
Think about how you might improve the patients drug therapy plan based on the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic changes. Reflect on whether you would modify the current drug treatment or provide an alternative treatment option for the patient.

Write a 2–page paper that addresses the following:

Explain how the factor you selected might influence the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes in the patient from the case study you were assigned.
Describe how changes in the processes might impact the patients recommended drug therapy. Be specific and provide examples.
Explain how you might improve the patients drug therapy plan and explain why you would make these recommended improvements.

SCENARIO:This week our focus will be on Cardiovascular Disorders, the treatments for them, and how patient factors may influence the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic processes of the drugs that are used to treat these disorders.

Utilize the following Case Study:

Patient AO has a history of obesity and has recently gained 9 pounds. The patient has been diagnosed with hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Drugs currently prescribed include the following:

Atenolol 12.5 mg daily
Doxazosin 8 mg daily
Hydralazine 10 mg qid
Sertraline 25 mg daily
Simvastatin 80 mg daily
All other factors were purposely omitted from the case study.  As you read through your course materials, please feel free to add those factors that you’d like to further discuss that may affect the decisions that you will make for this patient.  For example, if you’d like to discuss how the factor age will affect your choices, include in your paper that your patient is a 86 year old male.  Or if you’d like to provide details of how gender plays a role in what treatment the patient will receive, include that your patient is a female.