mousesn

I have been a subscriber to allnurses for the past couple of months and have really appreciated reading the threads and comments! I am currently in nursing school and studying the cardiovascular system and would love some feedback on CVD prevention in women. According to current research, the the guidelines from the AHA "should" arm healthcare providers with adequate knowledge to identify women at high risk for developing CDH and to enhance the use of preventive CHD measures even before symptoms become apparent. However, CVD is still the leading cause of death in women (over half a million die a year). My question is how can nurses better implement AHA guidelines into assessment for women to work with women and assist them in becoming aware of their risks and hopefully preventing the development of CHD? the Framingham Point Score Estimate is indicated by the AHA as initial intervention for risk assessment, but I am curious as to how many nurses out there have actually used the Framingham Point Score Estimate? Also, although smoking cessation is key in eliminating risk for developing CVD, many people choose that addiction over prevention. What can nurses really do, the AHA has great standards and all, but smoking cessation is not exactly easy! Any help would be extremely appreciated! Thank you for your time and consideration!

Thank you for your advice! I also do not think I would be comfortable using chocolate or coka-cola as definitive treatment, but I like hearing under what circumstances other nurses might feel comfortable using them (like how you said, "en route to a clinic". I also appreciate hearing about your circumstance and the actions you took! Thank you!

Hi, I have been viewing the allnurses threads for a couple of months now and I have been highly encouraged by all of you! I am a second semester nursing student, and am currently on a pediatric rotation! I love peds.! A nursing professor brought up that chocolate (which has Theobromine-smooth muscle relaxant) can be given to asthmatics during an acute exacerbation if no treatment is available. I have also heard that coca-cola can also relieve acute bronchospasm. I am wondering if anyone else had heard about this, and what you thought? I am also curious about any other tricks like these that any of you have used in practice with asthmatic peds. patients? Thank you for your time and replies! Again, you all have really encouraged me that peds. is the place to be!! Thanks, mousesn:mad:

I am a nursing student who just did a PICU rotation. We also flushed lines with heparin after drawing blood for labs. Is that what you mean by mixing? We first took out 5cc's of blood, then flushed the line with 2cc's of heparin to keep blood from coagulating in/around the IV.

A trick I like to use for listening to breath sounds is holding up a pen light (with stethoscope on back) and asking the child to blow out the light! It works like a charm!! mousesn

Hi, I have been following through many allnurses threads for awhile and I wanted to say that everyone participating in these nursing discussions have truly encouraged me in nursing (I am currently a level II nursing student). In a lecture on Wednesday a professor brought up that chocolate is an old wilderness nursing trick for bronchospasm. I knew about giving coca-cola to kids experiencing minor asthma attacks helps to bronchodilate them, but was unaware of the effect of chocolate. Apparantly chocolate has Theobromine in it, which is a smooth muscle relaxant. I personally thought that was pretty neat. I was wondering if anyone else had heard about that? Also, I was wondering if anyone else knows of any other "wilderness" tricks like that! Thank you for your time and thoughtful responses! Again, I really appreciate all that you nurses do! I am proud to say I am going into nursing because of nurses like all of you!! Thanks, mousesn