GERONTOLOGICAL NURSING 10TH EDITION
ELIOPOULOS REVISION HANDBOOK 2026 AGE
RELATED CHANGES AND NURSING
INTERVENTIONS
◉ CVA. Answer: cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
◉ TIA. Answer: transient ischemic attack (mini stroke)
◉ ataxia. Answer: lack of muscle coordination
◉ nocturia. Answer: excessive urination at night
◉ orthostatic hypotension. Answer: low blood pressure that occurs
upon standing up
◉ lentigo. Answer: a flat, brownish spot on the skin sometimes
caused by exposure to the sun and weather; freckle
◉ sundowning syndrome. Answer: Older adult habitually becomes
confused, restless, and agitated after dark
, ◉ purse lip breathing. Answer: Technique helps keep airways open
doing exhalation promotes carbon dioxide at excretion. use any time
patient feel short of breath. Seen in COPD
◉ presbyopia. Answer: farsightedness caused by loss of elasticity of
the lens of the eye, occurring typically in middle and old age.
◉ presbycusis. Answer: a gradual loss of sensorineural hearing that
occurs as the body ages
◉ biologic clock theory. Answer: cells programmed to live a certain
amount of time, then break down and die
◉ free-radical theory. Answer: oxygen molecules with an unstable
electron move around the cell, damaging cell structures as they go
◉ wear and tear theory. Answer: suggests that the body, much like
any machine, gradually deteriorates and finally wears out
◉ immune system failure theory. Answer: the system loses its ability
to protect the body from disease
◉ autoimmune theory. Answer: body no longer recognizes itself and
begins to attack itself and break down
ELIOPOULOS REVISION HANDBOOK 2026 AGE
RELATED CHANGES AND NURSING
INTERVENTIONS
◉ CVA. Answer: cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
◉ TIA. Answer: transient ischemic attack (mini stroke)
◉ ataxia. Answer: lack of muscle coordination
◉ nocturia. Answer: excessive urination at night
◉ orthostatic hypotension. Answer: low blood pressure that occurs
upon standing up
◉ lentigo. Answer: a flat, brownish spot on the skin sometimes
caused by exposure to the sun and weather; freckle
◉ sundowning syndrome. Answer: Older adult habitually becomes
confused, restless, and agitated after dark
, ◉ purse lip breathing. Answer: Technique helps keep airways open
doing exhalation promotes carbon dioxide at excretion. use any time
patient feel short of breath. Seen in COPD
◉ presbyopia. Answer: farsightedness caused by loss of elasticity of
the lens of the eye, occurring typically in middle and old age.
◉ presbycusis. Answer: a gradual loss of sensorineural hearing that
occurs as the body ages
◉ biologic clock theory. Answer: cells programmed to live a certain
amount of time, then break down and die
◉ free-radical theory. Answer: oxygen molecules with an unstable
electron move around the cell, damaging cell structures as they go
◉ wear and tear theory. Answer: suggests that the body, much like
any machine, gradually deteriorates and finally wears out
◉ immune system failure theory. Answer: the system loses its ability
to protect the body from disease
◉ autoimmune theory. Answer: body no longer recognizes itself and
begins to attack itself and break down
