Priority nursing diagnosis

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Specializes in DOU.

I wonder if someone can tell me why they think the priority nursing diagnosis for MI is listed in the following order?

Acute Pain r/t biologic injury

Ineffective Tissue Perfusion r/t interruption of blood flow

Activity intolerance r/t fatigue

Ineffective coping r/t effects of acute illness and lifestyle changes

I don't understand why "pain" comes before "tissue perfusion" in all my books. :confused: Does it have to do with increased oxygen requirements?

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I remember my nursing instructor saying something about this when we were doing cardiac. I think her reasoning why the number one thing with an MI is pain relief is because it relaxes the patient, decreases oxygen demands, decreases anxiety, causes vasodilation, and in turn increases perfusion to the coronary arteries.

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Specializes in DOU.

Thanks! That's along the lines of what I was thinking, too. :)

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