How do you evaluate a patient with chest pain?

How do you evaluate a patient with chest pain?

Some of the first tests a health care provider may order when evaluating chest pain include:

  1. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick test measures the electrical activity of the heart.
  2. Blood tests.
  3. Chest X-ray.
  4. Computerized tomography (CT) scan.

How do you assess for chest pain in nursing?

Questions aimed at identifying the patient with possible ACS:

  1. Where is your pain? (location)
  2. Does it go anywhere else? (radiation)
  3. When did it start? (onset)
  4. How long has it lasted? (duration)
  5. How bad is it? (severity on pain scale)
  6. Does anything make it better or worse?
  7. Have you taken any medication to relieve it?

What is the first thing to do if a patient has chest pain?

If you or someone else may be having a heart attack, follow these first-aid steps:

  1. Call 911 or emergency medical assistance.
  2. Chew aspirin.
  3. Take nitroglycerin, if prescribed.
  4. Begin CPR on the person having a heart attack.

How do you assess angina?

Advertisement

  1. Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). This quick and painless test measures the electrical activity of the heart.
  2. Chest X-ray.
  3. Blood tests.
  4. Stress test.
  5. Echocardiogram.
  6. Nuclear stress test.
  7. Cardiac computerized tomography (CT).
  8. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

How would you describe chest pain?

This can feel like a squeezing, tightness, pressure, constriction, strangling, burning, heartburn, fullness in the chest, band-like sensation, knot in the center of the chest, ache, heavy weight on the chest, or a bra that is too tight. People with pain that is not angina often describe their pain as sharp or stabbing.

Where is chest pain located?

Chest pain is discomfort or pain that you feel anywhere along the front of your body between your neck and upper abdomen. Symptoms of a possible heart attack include chest pain and pain that radiates down the shoulder and arm.