Myocardial Infarction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Myocardial Infarction - Research Paper Example The infarction site depends on which vessels are involved. For example, if a blockage occurs in a circumflex coronary artery, this leads to lateral MI while blockage of a right coronary artery can lead to right-sided heart failures (Life nurses forum: Nursing care plans For Myocardial infarction). There are many predisposing factors to the higher number of MI cases. Some of these factors can be controlled while others cannot. These factors are; age, gender, positive family history of MI, high blood pressure, obesity, high levels of cholesterol, lack of physical activity, diabetes, stress, hypertension, increased serum triglycerides, excessive intake of saturated fats, salt and carbohydrates (Salim). Other risk factors include sedentary life, increased homocysteine and C -resistance proteins and use of drugs such as amphetamines and cocaine (Life nurses forum: Nursing care plans for myocardial infarction; (Haffner).About 20% of patients with MI have diabetes (Salim). The symptoms of M I includes; arm, epigastric and chest pain, breath shortness, diaphoresis, clammy skin dizziness, nausea, vomiting, angina frequency, fatigue, presence of pericardial friction rub, systolic murmurs, bradycardia, hypertension, absence of jugular vein distension, activity intolerance, decreased cardiac output, anxiety, among other symptoms (Life nurses forum: Nursing care plans for Myocardial infarction). Nursing process in Myocardial infarction. The nursing process is a very important thinking tool and involves a number of stages. Assessment This stage involves collecting and recording of data so as to obtain the necessary information which will help a nurse or a clinician to predict, detect, prevent, manage and eliminate health problems and associated risk factors. During the assessment, the nurse should be able to clarify the expected outcomes and the advantages of the care. These outcomes should be measurable. The nurse should also be able to choose intervention strategies to be u sed in achieving the desired results and promoting patients health (Afaro) Diagnosis Diagnosis is very important as it helps in analyzing and synthesis of data so as to facilitate drawing of conclusions. Diagnosis can be achieved through physical examination of symptoms. Other diagnostic tests which can be used include, detection of elevated levels of homocysteine and C- resistance proteins, electrocardiogram, use of cardiac troponin to differentiate between MI and injury of skeletal muscles. This can also be achieved by looking at the family history to identify if there is the positive relationship. During diagnosis, the nurse should identify patterns and produce a list of suspected problems and also rule out the presence of other health issues. Identification of symptoms is important as this may help the nurse to refer the case to more qualified personnel if need be (Afaro). The nurse should be able to clarify actual and potential health issues and the associated risk factors.