CAD Nursing Diagnosis

Here we are, as today is the final blog.  This has been a long journey, but today, we will be putting everything together from the previous blog posts and using our critical thinking noggins in order to create 3 nursing diagnosis that are related to coronary artery disease! Keep in mind a nursing diagnosis is NOT a medical diagnosis!  Rather, it is used to compliment a medical diagnosis and to explain holistically, what causes the patient's condition.  In general, in order to spot a nursing diagnosis vs. a medical diagnosis, a nursing diagnosis has a lot more words while a medical diagnosis explains the condition in one or two words. 

The three nursing diagnosis' that I want to highlight for CAD are: 

- Risk for decreased cardiac tissue perfusion related to blockage of the coronary arteries. 

(The patient is at risk for decreased cardiac perfusion because of the lipid particles blocking the coronary arteries, reducing the flow of blood to that part of the heart muscle)

- Activity intolerance related to lack of cardiac tissue perfusion and cardiac output. 

(The lack of blood going to the heart can lead to less oxygenation of the heart, which can cause some cardiac cells to die, or not get enough oxygen to function properly.  One of the greatest symptoms/manifestations of this is the decrease in activity tolerance)

- Acute pain related to blockages in the coronary arteries, presenting itself as stable or unstable angina. 

(Angina usually presents itself in physical activity in people with CAD (stable angina).  When it randomly appears and doesn't go away with rest, it is unstable angina, which is a medical emergency!)

Can you see the connections to the previous blog posts already?  One of the greatest things about a nursing diagnosis is that we can trace everything back to CAD and treat many of the symptoms associated with it.  We know what to treat and it gives us a very powerful tool in treating CAD and many other diseases and/or conditions involving mental/physical/social well being!  Now, can a medical diagnosis do that?  (Note; This post is not intended for any doctors or medical students)