Family History (genogram)

A genogram is a chart-like display of an individual’s family association and their medical history. It is more detailed than the common family tree by permitting the user to recognize hereditary patterns and psychological influence that define relationships. Genograms are used to identify reoccurring patterns of behavior and to identify the inherited tendencies. Genograms are applied in disciplines such as medicine, molecular biology, psychiatry, and psychology among others. Most illnesses have inheritance patterns which are influenced by multiple factors. The factors may be both genetic and environmental. Illnesses of this kind are not determined genetically, but the genetic mutation makes an individual susceptible to an illness.

Patterns of Disease

The paternal grandfather heart disease trait is dominant, because of both children, namely uncle and father, are suffering from hypertension. The paternal grandmother who suffered a stroke could also be dominant because of the development of hypertension in sons. The paternal grandfather’s heart disease could be autosomal because it is transferred to the sons. The paternal grandmother’s stroke could be autosomal or X-linked.

The maternal grandmother’s osteoporosis is recessive since none of the offsprings acquired it. Both parents must have recessive genes in order to transmit it to their children. The maternal grandfather’s strange heart disease is prevailing because it is transferred to his children. The prevailing gene is portrayed as X- linked because it is only transferred to the daughters who have hypertension (Lam & Vasan, 2010). The maternal grandfather’s type II diabetes is overriding because the children (uncles) obtained it. The dominant gene for type II diabetes is autosomal because it is transferred to the sons.

Opportunities for Patient Education

There are opportunities for educating the patient because they could acquire the dominant gene for hypertension from both parents who are also affected. Since the probability in acquiring this disease is high, the patient could take steps to decrease the likelihood of suffering from the disease by the implementation of lifestyle changes and enhancing illness surveillance. Lifestyle changes could be avoiding smoking, enhancing exercise, and monitoring of weight.

Factors Complicating Interpretation

The paternal grandparents’offsprings (uncle and father) have hypertension, which cannot be ascertained if it was acquired from the grandmother or grandfather. They are both dominant. It is therefore difficult to further categorize the gene as autosomal or X-linked because of the unknown origin.

Risk Classification

The patient and siblings have a high risk of developing hypertension, which is assumed to be dominant in both parents. Hypertension could progress to different illnesses, such as heart attack, stroke/ brain attack or some other heart diseases.

Need for Information

More information should have been provided on the causes of heart attack and stroke on the paternal side. It is unclear if hypertension was the cause of development of the stroke and heart attack in the paternal grandparents. More information should also be provided on the maternal side whereby the grandfather dies of unknown heart disease, which makes it unclear if it was caused by hypertension (Lam & Vasan, 2010). The age of the siblings should have been provided so as to assess their likelihood of development of the genetic illnesses.

Genetic pedigree has significant information about a person’s past and future life. The pedigree can be used for diagnosis and aid in guiding decision-making about genetic testing for both patients and the other family members who may be at risk. The presence of a particular illness in a family demands an accurate analysis of the family history so as to establish the pattern of transmission. Moreover, family history can aid in the exclusion of genetic illnesses specifically for the common illnesses influenced by lifestyle and environment. Finally, it is essential in the early identification of possible health problems that an individual may be predisposed. The early identification is critical in reducing risks by incorporating lifestyle changes and enhancing illness surveillance.

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