nursing intervention for acute heart failure...

meluhn · Apr 23, 2009

How about O2, hob up, assess resp status/lung sounds, vs, po2? Many intrventions are things that you assess for, not necessarily tasks that you do. We are paid to use our knowledge too, dont forget. Immediate priorities would be oxygenation (give 02), and make pt comfortable and ease resp distress by raising hob. Then you would call md and get order for lasix. In some settings they also give morphine to lower periph. vascular resistance.

angel008 · Apr 23, 2009

the pt is already on 6l of O2 with a sat of 90%......wut do i do hia??//

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 23, 2009

What have you got up to now? we don't mind helping with work but helps to know what you have got already.

Billy Shears · Apr 23, 2009

Look up the mechanics of LVF

angel008 · Apr 23, 2009

i h ave stated the use of pharmacological intervention...explained how it works etc...and also have stated that it would also be important to encourage alternate rest and activity periods to reduce cardiac workload. Providing emotional and physical rest to reduce oxygen consumption and to relieve dyspnoea and fatigue....

Fiona59 · Apr 23, 2009

Why don't you try posting in the student nursing section? This isn't the homework hotline.

5cats · Apr 23, 2009

Use ABC approach.

Give more oxygen,via facemask 6 lts is nothing, positioning (cardiac chair or I think you call it Fowler)

consider nitro, furosemide,morphine, CPAP, let patient rest

be reassuring, no panicking

5cats

Silverdragon102, BSN · Apr 23, 2009

Moved to the general student forum.

When someone asks a question like you did we like to know that you have made some effort to answer and looking for further advice. Members like to see that you have made some effort and not expect others to do your homework for you.

I m not saying this is what you are doing but we do like to see that members have made some effort towards their work

meluhn · Apr 23, 2009

i h ave stated the use of pharmacological intervention...explained how it works etc...and also have stated that it would also be important to encourage alternate rest and activity periods to reduce cardiac workload. Providing emotional and physical rest to reduce oxygen consumption and to relieve dyspnoea and fatigue....

I thought you meant for an acute episode of chf. These are interventions for a person with chronic chf. Of course you wouldn't want someone in acute distress exerting extra energy either but it is important that you understand the difference between the 2. Many older people walk around and have chronic chf. It just means their heart is a weak pump but is managed with meds and diet. When someone is having an acute episode of chf it means that there heart is currently overloaded and can't handle the volume for whatever reason and the blood is backing up into the left vent (in this case). The left vent gets the fresh o2 blood coming from the lungs. If it is failing, the blood will back up into the lungs causing pulmonary edema and that is why the pt will have moist lung sounds. This interferes with the gas exchange and must be dealth with asap.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2009

in developing nursing interventions for a patient, we treat the patient's nursing problem not their medical problem. acute heart failure is a medical diagnosis. the doctor will treat that. as nurses, we first assess the patient's symptoms. so, what symptoms is this patient going to have? list them. then, develop nursing interventions for those symptoms. nursing interventions are of 4 types:

assess/monitor/evaluate/observe (to evaluate the patient's condition)
care/perform/provide/assist (performing actual patient care)
teach/educate/instruct/supervise (educating patient or caregiver)
manage/refer/contact/notify (managing the care on behalf of the patient or caregiver)

your first intervention, pharmacological, really isn't an independent nursing action, but a collaborative one that depends on a doctor ordering a medication that you, the nurse, would carry out. think about what kinds of nursing actions you could take independently without a doctor's order.

for more information on how to determine care and care planning, see this thread: https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/help-care-plans-286986.html - help with care plans

meluhn · Apr 24, 2009

your first intervention, pharmacological, really isn't an independent nursing action, but a collaborative one that depends on a doctor ordering a medication that you, the nurse, would carry out. think about what kinds of nursing actions you could take independently without a doctor's order.

is it necessarily wrong though? i used to include the meds in my care plans as well as monitoring for s.e. of those meds. i was never told it was wrong. meds are a major part of nursing and help complete the clinical picture. don't you think?