The nurse should then concentrate her physical examination on the heart itself. Ausculation of the heart should be performed carefully with a stethoscope. In performing the assessment, the nurse should listen to normal heart sounds first before trying to identify murmurs on the patient (Anon., 2010). The aortic, pulmonic, tricuspid and mitral valves should be ausculated to identify the rate and rhythm of any murmurs or other irregularities.
While these primary assessments help to provide a general view of the patient's symptoms, the real severity of CHF is measured according to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). This measures the fraction of blood that is pumped out of the left ventricle of the heart and determines the degree of congestion (Karapolat et al., 2008). This measurement can be determined by performing a transthoracic echocardiography. A normal ejection fraction lies between 50 -- 70%. One below 40% is defiend as systolic heart failure (Dickstein et al., 2008). While this is not part of the nurse's responsibility, she may propose the procedure to the attending physician.
Holistic Nursing Considerations
In a holistic nursing assessment, the nurse should function as an integrater. She must balance the patient's self-evaluation of his ailments and guide him to finding the source of his pain. At the same time, she must make physical assessments to make a diagnosis of the patient's symptoms. While the nurse applies tools of Western Medicine, he or she should also consider alternative modalities as part of her evaluation. Given his different cultural background, it is necessary to consistently explain the medical evaluation and be open to traditional remedial practices offered by the patient himself. In the holistic domain, the nurse should gather the information with a sense of interrelatedness and an understanding of the cumulative effect of disparate factors on the patient's health.
Bibliography
1. Blinderman CD, Homel P, Billings JA, Portenoy RK, Tennstedt SL, 2008. Symptom Distress and Quality of Life in Patients...
Congestive Heart Failure It is a fact that Congestive Heart Failure is an extremely frightening word and an equally frightening concept to comprehend, and when a loved one, or oneself has been diagnosed with this condition, it is quite natural to relapse into a state of depression or panic. However, it is not an untreatable disease, and with the correct and appropriate treatment methods, and with the right physician attending, the
Discharge Education to Promote Self-Efficacy in Heart Failure An Education Intervention For Patients With Heart Failure Management of congestive heart failure (CHF) continues to be a financial burden on the economy of the United States of America (USA); responsible for multiple hospital admissions and readmissions of patients with HF within thirty days post discharge. The disease has been associated with personal, physical, and economic challenges. As the population increases, the number of
Fault: An Alternative to the Current Tort-Based System in England and Wales The United Kingdom statistics regarding claims THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM OBSTACLES TO DUE PROCESS THE CASE FOR REFORM THE REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT THE RISING COST OF LITIGATION LORD WOOLF'S REFORMS MORE COST CONTROLS THE UNITED STATES PAUL'S PULLOUT THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY TORT REFORM IN AMERICA FLEEING PHYSICIANS STATISTICS FOR ERROR, INJURY AND DEATH THE CALL FOR REFORM IN 2003: A FAMILIAR REFRAIN THE UNITED STATES SITUATION, IN SUMMARY NEW ZEALAND CASE STUDIES THE SWEDISH SCHEME COMPARISON: WHICH SYSTEM IS
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now