A nurse is caring for an older hospitalized patient who recently suffered a myocardial infarction (MI). The patient asks the nurse, "I didn't even know that I had a heart attack. I did not have crushing chest pain like you see on television
Why didn't I?" The best response by the nurse is:
a. "Older patients do not feel pain in the same way that younger patients do."
b. "Oh, that is just television. Hardly anyone has crushing chest pain when he has a heart attack."
c. "Older people often do not have the typi-cal signs and symptoms when they have a heart attack."
d. "Older people never have chest pain when they have a heart attack."
ANS: C
Symptoms of an MI can be completely atypical in an older person, such as an unexplained fall, acute change in mental status, or extreme fatigue or dyspnea. Some older patients, however, do have the typical signs and symptoms. It is not true that older people do not feel pain.
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