My mentorship was an amazing opportunity to learn more about cardiology and my desire to go into the medical field. I was able to learn about the heart and its importance in the human body, and the measures that doctors and patients can take in order to maintain a healthy heart. I was able to learn how to read EKGs and Echo-cardiograms. I was also able to understand how a medical office worked and the administration it would take to run a private practice. In order to gain the most knowledge and experience I had to ask questions, ask to view procedures and ask to perform small jobs. That was the only way I was able to learn as much as I could. Having an open mind and learning from even the most minute and seemingly unimportant is the best attitude in participating in the Honors Mentorship Program.
Having this experience of learning at a cardiologists office has allowed me to expand my horizons of the medical field. I am very passionate about healthcare, and this opportunity has allowed me to know more about healthcare and all the opportunities at has to offer. In the future I will be able to better understand what field of medicine to pursue. Before I thought Cardiology was an extremely complex field of medicine, and it still is very important, but i now know that as intimidating as it may seem, it is not impossible to comprehend. I also now know, that cardiology is not 100% open heart surgery and that there are many medications and other forms of treatment that go into it. For all students that wish to participate in the Honors Mentorship Program, I recommend that they pursue something they are truly intrigued and interested in. Having an interest in the field of study is important as it will motivate the student to learn and stay enthusiastic. It is also very important to ask questions and ask for more opportunities. Opportunities to learn will often not be given to an individual unless asked for. Having an open mind and treating each opportunity as a learning experience will ensure that each individual can get the most out of the Honors Mentorship Program.
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In my attempt to investigate the impact of stress on cardiovascular health, I used many online sources and observations to determine that excessive and unregulated stress over a period of time can cause adverse cardiovascular implications. When investigating stress and the heart, I narrowed my target group to high school students since these individuals often experience large amounts of stress. Since stress is a large part of many individuals lives, I decided to research the physical effects of mental stress on the heart. I studied this topic and discovered that through the release of stress hormones such as cortisol and epinephrine through the sympathetic nervous system, blood pressure and heart rate are elevated which can cause many complications over a period of time if not treated. Though these are only two seemingly small adverse effects, they can cause a plethora of problems. Elevated blood pressure can cause adverse diseases like Left Ventricular Hypertrophy, and the combination of both can lead to heart disease and heart failure. After observation and collection of data from students discussing their daily stress and active lives. I learned that individuals that claimed high levels of stress accompanied by low levels of exercise resulted in either high heart rate and/or high blood pressure. With these results I was able to compare the individuals with similar stress levels, and I was able to identify that with exercise, heart rate and blood pressure were within normal ranges. Exercise, meditation, and having positive thoughts will assist in lowering stress levels. It is important to identify stress and either remove it from one’s life or have stress managing techniques in order to curb adverse effects. Stress is inevitable in one’s life, but managing and reducing stress will allow one to live a happy and healthy life.
My presentation consisted of 3 main parts: the knowledge section, the class participation, and the meditation. With the knowledge of these sections I was prepared to give the presentation in these sections. I began by making a statement that every one of my audience members could relate to: the impact and the commonality of stress on individuals lives. With this broad statement, I was able to support it by stating the negative impacts of stress. With the members caught on detailing the harsh effects of a seemingly harmless factor in life, I then chose to inform the individuals about the various ways of monitoring stress, by teaching how to take blood pressure and heart rate. With the kinesthetic aspect of my presentation, I had more people paying attention since they were performing the tasks I had requested them to. Finally, I ended my presentation by leading the group in a guided meditation to relax them before they would continue on with their daily lives. I made sure I spoke confidently and clearly, and emphasized the important words in the presentation. I took a few steps around the class and used my body language to mimic the tone that I was presenting in. In the case of very serious conditions, I would keep my arms close to my side. But when speaking about the optimistic features of meditation, I had my arms out and open to indicate the positivity of such action. My style of presenting was effective to my audience and I informed them about the negative impacts of stress on heart health.
The following is a link to the google document which has my 3rd annotated bibliography:
docs.google.com/document/d/1AhhgFho2qHY5woS_J7g_Vv1eWY_zoK85s280feNq9DU/edit?usp=sharing Progress on my capstone project has been successful. I have conducted an observational study with a friend of mine, Kate Maleki, to investigate the effects of mental stress on heart health. We asked participants to fill out a stress survey and then asked them about their perceived stress and their physical activity. We then recorded the individuals heart rate and blood pressure. With the data I will begin to make correlations and look at individuals dealing with large amounts of stress and how their vital signs responded to their stress levels. We received approximately 20 participants, so we hope to gather more in the near future. I will begin to make a PowerPoint presentation detailing the data I gathered.
The following is the annotated bibliography for my second source.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SfEads3ApYvp8nCRgD2-98o1wMXebEvLXYMYeroVs4M/edit?usp=sharing The following is a document detailing the use and analysis of one of my sources.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XfJnshG8xpc5-54cLFtRz11labLvGPbHOzKQQseSXTI/edit?usp=sharing Jay Parimi
Rationale: In order to investigate the physical effects of stress, we are planning to conduct a non-invasive observational study of the vital signs (Heart Rate and Blood pressure) of high school students. High school students are often under stress multiple times in a given week or day. Because we have a large group of people under stress, we chose this cohort to perform a study to see if there is any significant evidence that proves that the levels of stress that high schoolers are under negatively impacts these students. Research Question(s): How does mental stress impact an individual physically? Does perceived stress play a similar impact? Hypothesis: Students will show signs of higher heart rate and higher blood pressure if they report with higher levels of stress. Methodology: Mental health is often an overlooked aspect in people’s lives. High schoolers often overlook their stress and claim that its “in their heads’” and do not play a significant role in their physical health. Occasional stress is not a large problem to worry about, but persistence stress or sudden extreme stress may be detrimental to health. Stress ultimately releases hormones such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol. These hormones are coinciding with the sympathetic nervous system. This system results in but is not limited to the contraction of vessels, the release of glucose, pupillary dilation, and perspiration. A large concern of chronic stress is the contraction of blood vessels which will result in hypertension (High blood pressure). The persistent high blood pressure is a serious cause of worry. Hypertrophy is a cause for concern due to its adverse effects on the heart. The heart, like any muscle, grows with use, and the increased pressure on the heart with hypertension causes the heart to grow. A condition called Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH) is the growth of the left ventricle of the heart; this condition results in shortness of breath, chest pains, and other negatively effects on the heart. Hypertension is not limited to LVH, many other heart conditions may result from LVH; it is important that individuals are aware of their stress and work to prevent these potential diseases. I will need to include an exhibit to detail all of my findings from my observational study. This way the audience will have a comprehensive visual to comprehend all of the information. Interview Questions for Heather Price the Cardiothoracic Technician.
What experience do you have with patients with stress
What are some symptoms that stressed patients have on an EKG/ECG?
How do patients with stress act prior to examination?
What about stress makes it so dangerous?
Is occasional stress alright?
What are some conditions that can arise from the unhealthy stress?
In your experience, how has stress impacted students?
Why is this such a problem in our society?
Can this extensive stress potentially be lethal?
What is a solution to combat the stress
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AuthorJay Parimi Archives
April 2018
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