A 66-year-old client arrives in the emergency department complaining of crushing chest pain following a large meal 4 hours before the onset. The pain has been recurring over the last several hours
The nurse assesses the client for presence of cardiac risk factors and finds none. The client asks the nurse if this means that there is no chance the client is having a cardiac event. How should the nurse respond? 1. "Even though you have no cardiac risk factors, it is still possible to have cardiac problems. We will want to completely evaluate you before we discharge you to home.".
2. "Since you have no cardiac risk factors, you probably have a respiratory illness, such as a cold, that is causing your chest pain. We will draw some blood, but will let you go home soon.".
3. "You have no cardiac risk factors, so the only reason you would be having chest pain now is related to how much you have eaten recently.".
4. "Since you have no cardiac risk factors, your chest pain is likely related to gallbladder disease, so there is no need to draw lab work.".
"Even though you have no cardiac risk factors, it is still possible to have cardiac problems. We will want to completely evaluate you before we discharge you to home.".
Rationale: A client may still have cardiac problems even though there are no apparent risk factors. Even though there is no family history, age increases the potential for cardiac problems. Giving the client a false sense of security by stating it could be due to a respiratory illness, overeating, or gallbladder disease could be misleading. It is important, however, for the nurse to ask probing questions about the chest pain, such as when it started, what it feels like, and so on, to evaluate the various causes of chest pain.
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