A patient has been diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). For what other health condition should the healthcare professional assess this patient for as the priority?

A. Obstructive: Obstructive pulmonary disease is characterized by increased resistance in the airways, making it more difficult to expire air. Conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lead to airflow limitation, requiring greater force to expel air from the lungs.

B. Communicable: Communicable pulmonary diseases refer to infections that can be transmitted from person to person, such as tuberculosis or influenza. This classification does not directly relate to the mechanics of airflow and does not specifically require more force to expire air.

C. Acute: Acute pulmonary disease describes a sudden onset of symptoms, which can be caused by various conditions (e.g., pneumonia or pulmonary embolism). The term "acute" does not inherently indicate a need for increased expiratory force and can encompass both obstructive and restrictive patterns.

D. Restrictive: Restrictive pulmonary disease involves reduced lung volume and compliance, making it difficult to expand the lungs fully during inspiration. While patients may struggle to inhale adequately, they typically do not require increased force to expire air, as expiratory airflow is usually not obstructed in the same manner as in obstructive diseases.

A. Left heart failure: COPD primarily affects the lungs and increases pulmonary vascular resistance, leading to right-sided heart strain rather than left heart failure. Left heart failure is more commonly associated with conditions such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, and valvular diseases, which impair the heart’s ability to pump blood systemically.

B. Restrictive cardiomyopathy: Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a condition where the heart muscle becomes stiff and loses its ability to relax and fill properly, often due to infiltrative diseases such as amyloidosis or sarcoidosis. COPD does not directly lead to restrictive cardiomyopathy, as its primary cardiovascular complication is increased pulmonary resistance causing right heart strain.

C. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is characterized by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, usually due to genetic mutations. It primarily affects the left ventricle and impairs diastolic filling. COPD does not cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as its cardiovascular effects are due to pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular overload rather than structural abnormalities of the myocardium.

D. Right heart failure: Chronic COPD leads to persistent pulmonary hypertension due to hypoxic vasoconstriction and remodeling of pulmonary vessels. This increased pulmonary vascular resistance forces the right ventricle to work harder to pump blood into the lungs, leading to right ventricular hypertrophy and eventual right heart failure, also known as cor pulmonale. Symptoms include peripheral edema, jugular vein distention, and hepatomegaly due to systemic venous congestion.