Use the following Case Scenario

Heart failure may convey that the heart isn’t working anymore, but what it really means is that the heart isn’t pumping as well as it should be (REF). Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen (REF). At first, the heart tries to make up for this by enlarging, developing more muscle mass, and pumping faster. As this happens, the blood vessels narrow to keep blood pressure up and the body diverts blood away from less important tissues and organs to maintain flow to the heart and brain (REF). Eventually, the body and heart cannot keep up and the patient begins to feel fatigue, breathing problems, weight gain with swelling in the feet, legs, ankles or stomach, and other symptoms that eventually leads to a hospital visit. The body’s coping mechanisms give us better understanding on why many are unaware of their condition until years after the heart declines (REF).

The prevalence of congestive heart failure is on the increase both in the United States and all over the world, and it is the leading cause of hospitalization in the elderly population. Congestive heart failure is a progressive disease generally seen in the elderly, which if not properly managed, can lead to repeated hospital admissions or death. Heart failure means that the heart muscle is weakened. A weakened heart muscle may not be strong enough to pump an adequate amount of blood out of its chambers. To compensate for its diminished pumping capacity, the heart may enlarge. Commonly, the heart's pumping inefficiency causes a buildup of blood in the

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body 's needs for blood and oxygen. Basically, the heart can 't keep up with its workload. American Heart Association Statistics (2016) reveals that heart failure accounts for 36% of cardiovascular disease deaths. Projections report a 46% increase in the prevalence of Heart Failure (HF) by 2030 by affecting over 8 million people above 18 years with the disease. Healthy People 2020 goals are focused on attaining high quality longer lives free of preventable diseases, promotion of quality of life, healthy development and healthy behaviors across all stages of life (Healthy People 2020, 2015).

Heart Failure is a progressive heart disease when the muscle of the heart is weakened so that it cannot pump blood as it should; the blood backs up into the blood vessels around the lungs and the other parts of the body (NHS Choice, 2015). In heart failure, the heart is not able to maintain a normal range cardiac output to meet the metabolic needs of the body (Kemp and Conte, 2012). Heart failure is a major worldwide public health problem, it is the end stage of heart disease and it could lead to high mortality. At present, heart failure is usually associated with old age, given the dramatic increase in the population of older people (ACCF/AHA, 2013). In the USA, there are about 5.7 million adults who have heart failure, about half of the people die within 5 years of diagnosis, and it costs the nation an estimated $30.7 billion each year (ACCF/AHA, 2013).

This process paper will evaluate the complex relationship between disease pathophysiology and how it has progressed to the patient’s current state of health. It will include a comprehensive discussion of chronic and acute problems leading to the patient’s hospital admission, a complete description of interrelationships and pathophysiology for all medical diagnoses, a comprehensive discussion of the client’s signs and symptoms and results of all diagnostic studies to the underlying pathophysiology, and a comprehensive listing of all medications ordered at the time of admission with explanations of why each was ordered and identification of the most common side effects which may

There are many causes for heart failure. The most common cause is coronary heart disease (Moore and Roth, 2015). CHD is a disease in which the coronary arteries are blocked, preventing the heart muscles from getting the oxygenated blood they need. Heart failure can be caused by other present or past conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, abnormal heart valves, diseased heart muscle, irregular heartbeats, heart defects, serious lung disease, poisons or substance abuse, and sleep apnea (Heart Failure Overview).

As nurses we need to help our patient’s meet their new health goals upon being discharged from the hospital. One of the things we will need to provide them with is the necessary medication teaching for new medications as it relates to their diagnosis and to any changes if any, to their current medications. One of the first things necessary for us to do is to look at our patient completely. That means we need to look at the patient’s current situation, their background, develop a nursing diagnoses, set personalized goals that are measurable and has reachable outcomes, determine possible necessary interventions, foreseeable patient, family and culture concerns, other possible barriers and also be able to evaluate the plan of care.

Congestive Heart Failure is when the heart's pumping power is weaker than normal. It does not mean the heart has stopped working. The blood moves through the heart and body at a slower rate, and pressure in the heart increases. This means; the heart cannot pump enough oxygen and nutrients to meet the body's needs. The chambers of the heart respond by stretching to hold more blood to pump through the body or by becoming more stiff and thickened. This only keeps the blood moving for a short while. The heart muscle walls weaken and are unable to pump as strongly. This makes the kidneys respond by causing the body to retain fluid and sodium. When the body builds up with fluids, it becomes congested. Many conditions can cause heart

According to the American Heart Association (2015), heart failure is defined as “a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body 's needs for blood and oxygen. Basically, the heart can 't keep up with its workload”. Congestive heart failure is a progressive illness that effects millions of Americans every year. Many other illnesses can lead to the development of congestive heart failure. Examples of these diseases include: coronary artery disease, past heart attack, high blood pressure, abnormal heart valve, heart muscle disease such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy or inflammation such as myocarditis, congenital heart disease, severe lung disease, diabetes, obesity and asthma. (American Heart Association, 2015 (Centers for

She has an ostomy. She was fresh from surgery yesterday, so they gave her pain meds to manage the pain. When I first walked into the room, I learned that she was making snore-liking sounds when she was breathing. From what I have learned, it is called rhonchi. She had many secretions going on. What I was concerned of was how much oxygen she was getting in. I looked at her last vital signs and found that she was had a 92 percent o2 sat level. I was also concerned about her aspirating. Therefore, we had to make sure her HOB 30-45 degrees. I made sure the side rails were up x3 because of fall precaution. She was comfortable most of the time but I taught her but the risk for pressure sores. She understood the need turn frequently to prevent pressure sores. Later I looked in her labs and found that her hemoglobin at 7.1. She was a candidate for blood transfusion. The nurse was teaching me how blood transfusions are done. Before they give her blood, they have to get her last vital signs. We were consistently checking her vitals as we were giving her a blood transfusion. After giving her blood, we had to monitor her and her vital signs for any transfusion reaction. The symptoms of transfusion reaction is shortness of breath and depressed vital signs. Later we found that her oxygen level was at a 93 percent. Afterwards, I looked into her chart and found that he had an XRAY done, which revealed

I stayed close to the patient during this whole period, but I was not paying enough attention to her low oxygen level. The patient was a healthcare aid and she kept telling me that, “It’s ok, I am always a shallow breather”. However, I should have my own judgement ability and provide more competent care with timely evaluation of the effectiveness of the interventions.

Plan: The primary goal for the nurse is to ensure Caroline is discharged able to administer and monitor her medications as well as recognise the indication, desired effect and potential side effects and adverse reactions for each drug. The nurse must apply health literacy principles, consider verbal and non-verbal communication techniques as well as apply adult learning principles to achieve this goal.

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes too weak to maintain an adequate cardiac output to meet the body’s

The heart pumps blood into the arteries and the force of the blood pushing against blood vessel walls is called blood pressure. Arteries carry the blood throughout the body. High blood pressure is also know as hypertension and is very dangerous in many different ways. One way is that it makes the heart have to work harder in order to pump the blood to the body. Secondly it contributes to hardening of the arteries and lastly, it also contributes to heart failure. A healthy heart is essential to life and having high blood pressure it not healthy for the heart. It has been proven that there are many different causes that have been linked to high blood pressure.

Nursing interventions that are appropriate for Mrs. J. at the time of her admission includes comprehensive nursing assessment