The case under analysis involved diagnosing a patient with the following symptoms: fluttering in the chest, shortness of breath, no traces of dizziness, and the signs of hypertension and high cholesterol, which had been addressed previously. The identified scenario implied several possible diagnoses, which was why communicating with the patient and determining the essential details is crucial (Cash & Glass, 2014). By establishing a connection with Joseph (the patient), the author of the post managed to limit the possible diagnoses to three and choose the most appropriate one, though a panic attack may have also been the cause of the problem.
The line of questioning suggested by the author of the post seems quite legitimate as it helps detail the crucial information about the patient. Particularly, the factors that may have contributed to the development of heart disease have been defined in the course of the conversation with Michael were considered closely. The focus on other symptoms that may be viewed as the sign of a particular disease should be noted among other advantages of the strategy chosen by the author of the post. Particularly, the shortness of breath was discovered during the conversation as well (Hendrickson, Popescu, Dixit, Ghearing, & Bagic, 2014).
It could be argued that the author could have considered the possibility of a panic attack as the cause of the chest fluttering and the associated symptoms. Indeed, studies show that the identified phenomena may also be triggered by emotions such as panicking (Keefer, 2016). However, given the comparatively calm attitude that the patient showed during the interview, the said diagnosis may be dismissed.
Overall, the choice of questions seems appropriate and legitimate. The author of the post managed to limit the array of possible diagnoses to three, then proceeding to define the most likely one. Thus, the case was handled appropriately.
References
Cash, J. C., & Glass, C. A. (2014). Family practice guidelines (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing. Web.
Hendrickson, R., Popescu, A., Dixit, R., Ghearing, G., & Bagic, A. (2014). Panic attack symptoms differentiate patients with epilepsy from those with psychogenic nonepileptic spells (PNES). Epilepsy & Behavior, 4(1), 210-214. Web.
Keefer, L. (2016). Extinguishing fear of gastrointestinal symptoms to treat functional gastrointestinal disorders. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 14(11), 1559-1561. Web.