Nursing Assessment Report: Analysis of Cardiovascular Case Study

This report details a nursing assessment of a patient, Michelle Dunn, who presented with chest pain and a history of chest infection. The assessment, conducted by a registered nurse, involved a patient interview, physical examination, and review of medical history. Michelle reported chest pain, radiating to her jaw, and a history of smoking. The assessment revealed high blood pressure, a pulse of 62, respiratory rate of 22, and saturation of 92. The report analyzes the patient's symptoms, linking them to potential angina and atherosclerosis, considering her lifestyle factors, and family history. It recommends further investigation by a cardiologist, lifestyle changes (specifically quitting smoking), and potential medication such as statins. The report also emphasizes the importance of emotional support and patient education in managing the condition, concluding with the understanding that with proper care and lifestyle changes, the patient is set to get well. References are provided to support the analysis.

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Nursing
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Michelle Dunn came into the GP clinic and complained of cough and chest pains. As a registered
nurse, I was asked to asses her. Michele looks a bit pale. My interview with her revealed that she
was experiencing some chest while climbing hills. The pains were focused on the left side of her
chest. She said that the pain had started radiating to the jaw, but she currently not experiencing
chest pain. A week ago, Michelle narrated that she had a chest infection and that she was treated
with some antibiotics, but she was not taking them at the moment. With this information, I will
provide Michelle with a rationale for the assess.
Consequently, I conducted an objective structured clinical examination that is aimed at
assessing performance and measuring clinical competence. My assessment on Michelle revealed
that she had some chest pains at her left side, she was relieved with rest, coughing for chest
pains, and she suffered from SOBI pain. Taking some test on her revealed that Nausea and
yellow sputum were, pain radiating to jaw, she had high blood pressure, Michele was on
medication but did not take medicine, she smoked about 10 cigarettes per day though she does
not take alcohol, she didn't have any known allergies, Mitchelle suffers from cardiovascular
disease. Reports revealed that her sister has heart problems. Mitchelle eats and drinks well; she
didn't have any weight gain; vital signs revealed that her Temperature was at 37.2 degrees
Celcius, her pulse at 62, her Resp at 22, blood pressure at 150/86 and saturation at 92.
Subsequently, Mitchelle could be experiencing substernal pains that at times radiate to
the neck, arms, and jaws. These pains are associated with angina and myocardial. Angina is
usually related to coronary artery conditions and diseases. It involves low oxygen circulation and
that accumulates plaque. The substernal pains radiating to sides of the shoulders, parts of the
neck, the upper back, left arm, jaw and, may result in nausea. Considering stable angina is
majorly pain on the chest that occurs in a repeatable and typical pattern during an exertion. Also

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caused by running up or walking on an inclined plane. Stable angina is normally relieved by rest,
especially with sublingual nitroglycerine (Gimbrone Jr, 118).
Furthermore, stable angina often has something that blocks the arteries. It makes it
difficult for the freshly pumped blood to flow through the arteries. This explains why Mitchelle
has high blood pressure that stands at 150/86. This deficiency in blood flow to the heart is often
referred to as ischemia. This is what causes the pain. Mitchelle has episodes of pain that are
caused by exertion or even stress. These pains from angina are a warning sign and an indicator of
a possible heart attack (Yahagi, 13).
In addition, Mitchell's lifestyle of smoking ten cigarettes in a day highly contributed to
this condition. Smoking and its long exposure to tobacco smoke greatly contribute to the
damaging of the interior walls of the arteries. These damages include the heart by allowing the
deposits of cholesterol that collect and cause, blocking blood flow slowly. Smoking tightens and
damages blood vessels; it also raises high cholesterol levels and an increase in blood pressure.
Smoking also limits the amount of oxygen that reaches the body tissues (Holdt, 7).
Moreover, Mitchelles symptoms reveal that she has heart disease in her blood vessels,
referred to as atherosclerotic disease. This also explains why she had nausea and shortness in
breathing. It is clear Atherosclerosis is simply a disease through which a plaque builds up inside
a person's arteries. And since the plaque is made up of cholesterol, fat, and other substances
found in blood, then there is a possibility of hardening overtime (Bennett, 118).
Clearly, atherosclerosis starts when certain factors that damage inner layers of arteries
take place. Like Mitchell's case, these factors may include, heavy smoking, high intakes of

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cholesterol found in blood, and high amounts of sugar in the blood system, high blood pressure
caused by diabetes and insulin resistance (Arnson, 69).
It is considering an appropriate education plan for Michele that provides an
individualized patient education plan that will take into consideration Mitchelee's overall goals
and needs. She needs to see a cardiologist who specializes in treating and diagnosing heart
diseases. (Tabas, 209).
Consequently, the treatment for the patient would be aimed at lowering the risks associated with
blood clots. It will serve in preventing other atherosclerosis-related diseases and also reducing
the risk factors which will help in lowering or stopping the building up of plaque. It also aims at
reducing relieving symptoms and widening the plaque-clogged arteries. It is healthy for
Mitchelle to improve on her lifestyle, which may majorly advise her to quit smoking. This
appears to be the most prevalent cause of the condition; this is because she already has proper
eating and drinking habits and manageable body weight (Zimmer, 8).
Considerably, lifestyle changes alone may not be enough to help in controlling the levels
of such a condition. Statins medication is a prescription that best fits Mitchelle. It will help in
lowering and controlling cholesterol, which will decrease the chances of having a heart attack or
worse stroke. If the condition seems very severe, then surgery may be recommended for the
patient (Chinetti-Gbaguidi G. C., 74).
Subsequently, working in partnership with the client would include providing emotional
support to the patient. Boundaries form an integral part of a nurse-clint relationship. The patient
suffering from the disease may be a victim of fear, depression, anxiety, and stress. It would be

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helpful to talk to the patient concerning what they feel — also offering them with community
resources that help in learning about the disease (Childs, 354).
In conclusion, atherosclerosis has cured. Based on the education provided above and the critical
analysis of the condition, Mitchelle is set to get well. The causes of atherosclerosis are not
known. However, there are certain traits and conditions that may lead to a rise in risk for this
particular disease. The risks are possibly controllable. The main treatment for this condition is a
lifestyle, along with some medical procedures. This will help in living a healthier life (Kattoor,
89).
References

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Arnson, Y. R. (2017). Hormone replacement therapy is associated with less coronary
atherosclerosis and lower mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology,
69(11 Supplement),.
Bennett, M. R. (2016). Vascular smooth muscle cells in atherosclerosis. Circulation research,
118(4),.
Childs, B. G. (2016). Senescent intimal foam cells are deleterious at all stages of
atherosclerosis. Science, 354(6311),.
Chinetti-Gbaguidi, G. C. (n.d.). Macrophage subsets in atherosclerosis. Nature Reviews
Cardiology, . 74
Chinetti-Gbaguidi, G. C. (2015). Macrophage subsets in atherosclerosis. Nature Reviews
Cardiology,. 74
Gimbrone Jr, M. A.-C. (2016). Endothelial cell dysfunction and the pathobiology of
atherosclerosis. Circulation research, 118(4),.
Holdt, L. M. (2016). Circular non-coding RNA ANRIL modulates ribosomal RNA maturation
and atherosclerosis in humans. Nature communications, 7,.
Kattoor, A. J. (2017). Oxidative stress in atherosclerosis. Current atherosclerosis reports,. 89
Tabas, I. G.-C. (2015). Recent insights into the cellular biology of atherosclerosis. J cell Biol,
209(1),.
Yahagi, K. K. (2016). Pathophysiology of native coronary, vein graft, and in-stent
atherosclerosis. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 13(2),.

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Zimmer, S. G. (2016). Cyclodextrin promotes atherosclerosis regression via macrophage
reprogramming. Science translational medicine, 8.