Nursing Interventions: Coronary Artery Disease

1. Keep nitroglycerin available for immediate use.
2. During anginal episodes, monitor blood pressure and heart rate.
3. Record duration of pain, amount of medication required to relieve ir, and accompanying symptoms.
4. Ask the patient to grade the sverity of his pain on a scale 1 to 10.
5. Monitor the patient for chest pain, hypotension, coronary artery spasm, and bleeding from the catheter site.
6. Explain the cardiac catheterization to the patient.
7. If the patient is scheduled for surgery, explain the procedure and events.
8. Help the patient more effectively cope with stress and identify activities that precipitate pain.
9. Stress the need to follow the prescribed drug regimen.
10. Encourage the patient to maintain the prescribed diet.
11. Encourage regular, moderate exercise.