A 40-year-old man presents with complaints of chest pain, rating the pain as a 9 on a 10-point scale. He states that the pain began suddenly about 30 minutes before arriving to the emergency department. He states that he cannot do anything to relieve the pain and describes it as “crushing.” The patient states he visited his doctor 4 days earlier with a complaint of pain in his left leg. He was given a prescription for Motrin, 800 mg orally every 3 to 4 hours as needed, and returned home to rest. He has been taking Motrin as prescribed.

Vital signs: T 37 °C P 100 with an occasional premature beat RR 24 BP 130/70 O2 saturation on room air 96%

Neck: Supple without thyromegaly, no bruits, < 2 cm jugular vein distention

Tachypneic, with mild use of accessory muscles of respiration No tenderness upon palpation of the chest wall Slight inspiratory crackles (rales) heard at both bases

Tachycardia with occasional premature beat Apical pulse at 5th intercostal space lateral to midclavicular line Soft S3, no S4, no murmurs

Develop three nursing diagnoses related to the pathophysiology of this patient, as informed by the findings of your assessment and the preceding lab values. In other words, link the pathophysiology to what you anticipate will happen with the patient??

Apply your knowledge of pathophysiology to the clinical decisions you will make as you plan for client care. Using critical thinking to guide the process, link the pathophysiology to the clinical plan of care. Consider, “What do I anticipate will happen with this patient?”