Lesson 1Social and behavioural history: smoking, alcohol, occupation, living conditions, exercise, salt intakeThis lesson covers how to get a targeted social and behavioural history, including smoking, alcohol use, job risks, home surroundings, diet, exercise, and salt eating, and how these affect heart and lung health risks in local settings.
Smoking history, pack-years, and quitting stageAlcohol use, checks, and adviceJob, dust, and chemical risksHome setup, heating, and dampnessPhysical activity, exercise, and limitsEating patterns, salt intake, and weightLesson 2Red flag and alarm symptoms: syncope, chest pain, hemoptysis, sudden worsening, severe hypotensionThis part explains spotting and probing warning symptoms like fainting, sharp chest pain, coughing blood, sudden breath shortage, and low blood pressure, stressing timing, linked signs, and when to rush for emergency help in Zimbabwe clinics.
Describing sharp chest pain and startChecking fainting, near-fainting, and fallsAssessing coughing blood amount and causesSudden breath shortage and possible lung clotSpotting shock, low pressure, and poor flowLevels for rushing and emergency send-offLesson 3Communication skills and documentation: open questions, focused clarifying questions, safety netting and recording key timestamps and responsesThis focuses on building trust, using open and targeted questions, digging into patient worries, summing up, safety advice, and properly noting symptoms, times, and answers in a clear, legal health record for Zimbabwe practice.
Structuring the heart-lung talkUsing open questions for the storyTargeted questions for main symptomsChecking grasp and setting shared plansSafety advice, warning tips, and check-insAccurate, time-noted health recordsLesson 4Past medical history probes: hypertension, ischemic heart disease, valvular disease, rheumatic fever, COPD, sleep apnea, anemia, renal diseaseThis covers aimed questions on heart and lung related illnesses, like high blood pressure, blocked heart vessels, valve problems, rheumatic fever, long-term lung blockage, sleep breathing pauses, low blood, and kidney issues, and how they shape risks and possible diagnoses.
Clarifying past heart diagnoses and fixesNoting high blood pressure length and controlHistory of rheumatic fever and valve effectsLong lung illness, COPD, and asthma detailsSleep pauses, fat-related breathing, and machine useKidney illness, low blood, and heart-kidney linksLesson 5System-specific symptom screens: cough, wheeze, chest pain, palpitations, edema distribution, urinary symptomsThis guides body-system checks for lung, heart, and kidney signs, including cough, whistling breath, chest pain, heart flutters, swelling patterns, urine changes, and overall signs that sharpen possible diagnoses in everyday care.
Lung check: cough, phlegm, and whistlingHeart check: chest pain and fluttersSwelling pattern and spreadNight urine, low output, and kidney backup signsBody signs: fever, weight drop, tirednessLinking body findings to possible illnessesLesson 6Targeted symptom history: dyspnea onset, progression, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, exertional toleranceThis teaches planned probing of breath shortage, lying-flat breath trouble, night waking breath issues, effort limits, cough, and linked signs, focusing on start, worsening, triggers, and daily life effects in Zimbabwe patients.
Start and worsening of breath shortage timelineLying-flat and night sudden breath troubleEffort limits and activity blocksCough, phlegm, and whistling detailsChest tightness, pain, and heart fluttersEffects on sleep, work, and daily lifeLesson 7Family history and risk factors: premature cardiovascular disease, cardiomyopathies, thrombophiliaThis covers drawing out family history of early heart vessel illness, heart muscle weaknesses, rhythm issues, blood clotting risks, and sudden death, and blending family genes and shared life risks into risk grouping for local contexts.
Early blocked heart vessels in familyInherited heart muscle and rhythm issuesFamily history of vein blood clotsSudden unexplained death and rhythm problemsShared life and surroundings factorsWhen to suggest gene advice referralLesson 8Medication review and adherence: prescription, OTC, herbal, adherence barriers, recent changesThis explores steady medicine history gathering, including doctor scripts, over-counter and plant remedies, recent shifts, sticking barriers, side harms, and clashes key to heart-lung illness and worsening in Zimbabwe.
Listing all doctor and over-counter medicinesSpotting heart-active and lung medicinesRecent medicine shifts and worseningChecking sticking, beliefs, and habitsFinding bad effects and medicine clashesInhaler skills and device problems
