Just because she lives at Lenoir Manor, a continuing-care retirement facility, Laura, a petite (4 ft 8 in., 97 lb) widow of the local college dean, does not consider herself as old. She is 87. She has had no major nutritional or health problems and her appetite is good. She had been a good cook and entertained graciously, but in the residential care facility, meals are prepared for her. Because she has had slight fluid retention over the past year, she no longer adds salt to her meals. She tells Bridget Doyle, her nutritionist, that yes, occasionally she does not like her meals and misses cooking for herself.

One Monday morning, Laura is found in bed with her left side paralyzed. The diagnosis is a right-sided stroke, resulting in three weeks of hospitalization. Back at the skilled-care wing of Lenoir, Laura needs a nasogastric tube for feeding. She is alert and knows people but is limited in speech. Overnight, Laura’s care has changed from an individual needing routine nutritional monitoring to someone with many interrelated problems:

• Inability to communicate her overall medical and nutritional concerns clearly
• Weight loss of 9 lb during the three-week hospital stay
• Intense dislike of the nasal tube, as demonstrated by repeated attempts to pull it out, leading to restraint of her hands

Diagnosis

What are strategies young adults can adopt to reduce their risk of stroke?

To state: The strategies young adults can adopt to reduce their risk of stroke.

Introduction: The good health and well being of young adults have huge significance when they turn older. Older adults are at a high risk of developing disease conditions that are immunological and chronic in nature. Stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain stops, which might occur due to many reasons. However, the risk can be reduced if the person as a young adult builds a physiology that becomes immune to these disorders.

Person L who stands at 4ft 8 in and weighs 97 lb is currently a 87-year old widow residing at a residential continuing-care retirement facility where she is served food, though she desires to cook on her own citing her dislike toward the food. Her appetite is good and she does not face any major nutritional or health issues. However, in the past one year, she has reduced her salt intake because of the condition of fluid retention. Recently, Person L was hospitalised for three weeks at the skilled-care center where she was fitted with a nasogastric tube for feeding and was observed to be alert and aware inspite of the artificial fixation. On Monday morning, she suffered a right-sided stroke that paralyzed her left-side. It was discovered that she lost 9 lb of weight and suddenly started displaying intense dislike of the nasal tube. Also, she was not clearly able to communicate her overall medical and nutritional concerns.

According to the case summary, Person L is currently compromised with several health problems with the life-changing condition of brain stroke. Since Person L is 87 years old, she did not have many options to avert her stroke. On the contrary, young adults can undertake changes in nutritional and lifestyle habits to reduce the risk of stroke. Some strategies to be achieved are given below:

• Weight loss is an easy process and it reduces the risk of stroke by progressively lowering calorie intake and removing abdominal fat...