Oxygen Therapy for Acute Coronary Syndrome

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OXYGEN THERAPY FOR PATIENT WITH ACUTE CORONARY SYMPTOM
An acute coronary symptom is used as a general term to explain other diseases associated
with a sudden decrease in blood flow to the heart. One of the conditions is myocardial infarction
where there is cell death due to destroyed heart tissues. Decreased blood flow in the coronary
artery inhibits the heart muscle to function well (Clagett P, 2015).
Abnormal accumulation of materials in the inner layer of the arterial wall causes formation
if a thrombus which blocks the coronary artery. The materials include the macrophages, debris
which has calcium, lipid, and fibrous connective tissue. These materials can either erupt or erode
hence blocking the wall of arteries (Gomar, 2016).
The most common symptom is chest pain which starts from the left shoulder, on taking and
recording ECG 30%percent of the symptom is ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and
25% is non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (non-STEMI).Many people with this present
with signs and symptoms apart from the chest pain mostly women, elderly and patients with
diabetes mellitus (R, 2015).
Oxygen supplementation is the standard interventions for those patients diagnosed with
acute coronary syndrome including myocardial infarction and post-cardiac arrest patients in spite
of their saturation levels of oxygen. Oxygen administration increases the amount of oxygen to
hypoxic cells thus reducing the effects of hypoxia in these patients (Lang, 2015).
There are many guidelines which address oxygen administration to these patients. These
guidelines have been changed and improved over the years. In 2004; the recommendation was
for oxygen to be administered to those patients with ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI)
with saturation levels of less than 90%, it stated that it was important to administer oxygen to

these patients during the first six hours but unfortunately there was no information on the amount
of oxygen to be administered (Salamanca, 2017).
In 2014 American Heart Association on Acute Cardiac syndrome the guideline for taking
care of patients with Non-ST elevated myocardial infarction (non-STEMI) gave
recommendations of administering supplemental oxygen only to the patient with saturation
levels of less than 90%. Those also with respiratory distress or increased risk of developing
symptoms of hypoxemia (Helin, 2018).
In 2015 American Heart Association guideline update for Cardiopulmonary and
Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular care at least gave more and specific directions on
oxygen therapy. Its review of the system noted observation studies which suggested that excess
oxygen in arteries concentrations hyperopia defined at a partial pressure of oxygen being more
than 300mmHg may adversely affect different organs or worsen its outcomes. These outcomes
oxygen toxicity is divided into central nervous system toxicity and the cardinal signs are the
presence of generalized tonic-clonic seizure, there is pulmonary and ocular toxicity whose signs
and symptoms include; disorientation, myopia, irritation of trachea leading to persistent
(Alessandra, 2018)
Cough, tightness of the chest causing dyspnea and difficulty in breathing. It was also noted
that other studies never managed to confirm these findings. These guidelines defined a hypoxic
state as oxygen saturation levels of less than 94% and it commented that it is very important to
prevent the episodes of hypoxia than to avoid any risk that can be caused by hypoxia (Hyun,
2017).