Stress response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stress response - Essay Example His personal history was also significant. He was a chronic smoker and had smoked 20 cigarettes per day for many years. On admission, general examination of the patient revealed that he was anxious and agitated, but orientated to time and place. His skin was pale and cool to touch. Heart rate was 116 beats per minute and irregular, blood pressure was 140/95mmHg, temperature was 37.8 C (cool peripheries), respiratory rate was 28 per minute, abdominal pain score was 6/10 and approximate weight was 68kg and height 163cm. Disruption of homeostasis through physical or physiological stimuli is known as stress. The normal homeostasis is defined by the range of certain blood parameters. These include pH of 7.36 to 7.45, bicarbonate of 21- 27.5 m mol per liter, oxygen saturation of >97% and glucose concentration of 3.6 to 6.8 m mol per liter. During a stressful condition, the body takes some measures to restore normal homeostasis and these are called the physiological effects of stress (Tortora & Derrickson, 2006). There are many stimuli which can cause physiological stress in a person. These can be either physical (trauma, pain, extremes of temperature, disease, dehydration, infection and excessive physical activity), psychological (deep emotions, anxiety, apprehension and fear) or physiological (pregnancy, delivery, post-partum, lactation, sexual activity, menstruation and pre-menstrual tension) or chemical (excessive intake of alcohol, drug abuse and drug over-dose). These stimuli can either cause immediate effects, or delayed effects or even chronic effects on the body. When the body is exposed to a stressful condition, the hypothalamus situated in the brain secretes adrenocorticotrophic releasing hormone (CRH). Hypothalamus is concerned with the secretion and control of the different hormones of the body. The CRH which is released is a peptide and is produced by the neurons in the paraventricular nuclei in the