rn nurse journal registered nurse bsn rn

Bookmark the RN Journal in your Favorites File for easy reference!
 Home  Journal of Nursing  Publish  Search

 Home > Journal of Nursing > The Signs and Symptoms’ of Cardiomyopathy: The Awareness and Actions of the Registered Nurse
 
<< Previous    1  2  [3]  4  5  ...6    Next >>

Angina -   

  • Symptoms of angina (i.e., Latin for “choking pain of the chest,” also, tightness or heaviness), have been seen in child and young adults with HCM and occur in the absence of detectable coronary atherosclerosis.  
  • Signs of impaired diastolic relaxation and markedly increased myocardial oxygen consumption due to ventricular hypertrophy result in subendocardial ischemia, particularly during exertion. 12  

Palpitations –

  • Palpitations (i.e., sensation of a fast or irregular heartbeat; also common with hypertension patients, mitral valve prolapse, hyperthyroidism, anemia, and coronary artery disease), are usually due to arrhythmia, which can be seen on an ECG monitoring device or a 48 hours of electrogram recording known as an Event Recorder (AECG). 13 
  • Some of the more common electro-arrhythmias include: premature atrial and ventricular beats (PAC’s and/or PVC’s), sinus pauses (S-P), intermittent atrioventricular block (AVB), atrial fibrillation (AFib), atrial flutter (AF), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and ventricular tachycardia (VT).  

Note:  All nursing-clinicians should keep in mind, that non-sustained ventricular tachycardia is another bio-marker, and is included for higher risk factors of sudden death.14  

Orthopnea and Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea -  

  • Orthopnea (i.e., difficulty breathing while lying down) also, a sign of heart failure, lung problems, or by anxiety, may be an early sign of congestive heart failure (CHF) and are observed in patients with severe cases of HCM.  
  • Also, symptoms of paroxysmal or chronic dyspnea occur when the impaired diastolic function and elevated LV filling P₀₂ result in pulmonary venous congestion.    

Dizziness -  

  • Dizziness (i.e., inability to maintain normal balance), which includes high B/P, intoxication, and medications, which may accompany a complete loss of consciousness, when other symptoms are present such as light-headedness persists for three weeks or longer. Plus, a medical examination may reveal possible neurological issues. Have the treating physician and/or clinician order a consultation with both the cardiology and neurology team.  

Note:  The nurse’s sense (awareness) of importance due to acute findings through observation and documentations may allow her and/or him to ask the treating physician (based on specific evidence through critical findings) to order an electroencephalogram (EEG) study, or a computed tomography (CT) to R/O secondary neurological problems caused by primary HCM.   

  • Dizziness also may be caused by arrhythmia-related hypotension (i.e., low B/P), and decreased cerebral perfusion. 
  • Non-sustained arrhythmias often cause symptoms of dizziness and pre-syncope, whereas sustained arrhythmias are more likely to manifest in syncope, collapse, and/or in sudden cardiac death. 15  

Congestive Heart Failure –

  • The ‘target organ’ disorder of congestive heart failure (i.e., pumping failure, pulmonary edema), begins to fail, it works harder to compensate a response that worsens the disease over time. 
  • Congestive heart failure (CHF) can occur at any age, plus in the Ac₃ stage, can result from a coronary event such as a heart attack or cardiac arrhythmia.  
  • More than 75% of patients with CHF in the U.S. are older than 65 years of age.  Also, CHF is the leading cause of hospitalization in older adults. 16  

Note:  The pathophysiology of CHF is similar in younger children, about 10% at initial presentation, most commonly in infants younger than 1 year of age.17 The systolic function in children with HCM is almost always well preserved, at least until the last stage of the disease.  Patients with CHF have a high likelihood of recurrent heart failure due to both mitral regurgitation and profound diastolic dysfunction.18   
<< Previous    1  2  [3]  4  5  ...6    Next >>

 
 
 
   
   

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
   

 

Home Journal of Nursing News Publish State Boards About Us Search Contact Us Privacy Terms of Service Opportunities Advertise
   RN Journal of Nursing


Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service Information, articles, Press Releases, videos, and links are published as a convenience to our visitors. Articles are to be used only as a reference aid. They are not intended to be used as a substitute for the exercise of professional judgment. Any questions or comments about the article should be directed to the author.  We take no responsibility and give no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy.
2000 2011 RNJournal.com Times Publishing, LLC  All Rights Reserved