This episode is part of a three-part series on titled “The Pressure is on: Enhancing Anesthesia Care for Parturients with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy.” In this first installment, Joe Navarrete, a third-year student registered nurse anesthetist (SRNA) at the Yale New Haven Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia, delivers a high-yield, system-by-system breakdown of the expected physiologic changes of pregnancy.

Part 2 will be #123 – Pathophysiology of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy with David Barksdale

Part 3 will be #124 – How to Manage Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy with Isabella Sosa

            In this episode, Joe Navarrete guides listeners through changes in the respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, endocrine, musculoskeletal, nervous, hematologic, and cardiovascular systems, with an emphasis on how these changes impact anesthetic management. Joe covers pertinent topics including airway considerations, anesthetic requirements, dilutional anemia, hypercoagulability, neuraxial anesthesia, cardiac output, and fluid shifts throughout pregnancy. The episode concludes with a brief recap of clinical pearls for anesthesia providers to remember when caring for obstetric patients.

            This is an in-depth review for SRNAs, CRNAs, and all anesthesia providers alike looking to refresh their understanding of maternal physiology. Whether providers are preparing for clinical rotations, board exams, or managing complex obstetric cases in practice, this review attempts to cover the bases.

            At the time of this recording, Joe Navarrete was a 3rd-year SRNA at the Yale New Haven Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia in Connecticut, pursing his Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice (DNAP) degree. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Rhode Island College in 2019. Joe began the first year of his nursing career on the surgical stepdown unit at Rhode Island Hospital (shoutout to 5 stepdown!). 

            Within his first year of nursing practice, the COVID-19 pandemic transformed the stepdown unit into a COVID ICU. There, Joe gained experience in managing critically ill patients and often worked alongside anesthesia providers during emergent intubations. These experiences sparked his interest in nurse anesthesia, and he never looked back. He went on to work in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit for 2.5 years before matriculating into anesthesia school and moving to Connecticut with his significant other Rebekah and their beloved cat, Bubba. 

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