Balanced Nutrition Interventions

Balanced Nutrition Interventions

• Interventions promoting balanced nutrition are suitable for individuals who are obese, have a high waist-to-hip ratio (above 0.8 for women and 0.9 for men), or have dietary patterns or cholesterol levels indicating a need to reduce fat and cholesterol.
• Nurses should assess patients' food intake and eating patterns to identify areas for improvement.
• Reviewing a typical day's meals helps evaluate fat and cholesterol intake.
• Assessing restaurant menus for meals eaten outside the home provides insights into dietary habits.
• Referrals to dietitians provide additional education about balanced nutrition.
• Recommending low-fat cookbooks and recipes from reputable sources like the American Heart Association offers practical tools for dietary changes.
• Gradual dietary changes are recommended to avoid frustration and discouragement.
• Evidence-based weight loss diets are preferred over fad diets.
• Realistic weight loss goals of 1 to 1.5 pounds per week, or 10% weight loss over six months, are recommended for sustainable weight management.
• Programs like WW (formerly Weight Watchers) emphasize healthy eating, support, and motivation for long-term dietary changes.

Promoting Effective Health Maintenance for CAD Risk Factors

• Patients with CAD risk factors may struggle to identify or manage them independently.
• Modifiable risk factors, like smoking, should be addressed to reduce overall CAD risk.
• Structured smoking cessation programs increase the likelihood of quitting and improve health outcomes.
• Resources from reputable organizations like the AHA, American Cancer Society, and American Lung Association can provide support.
• Psychosocial support is crucial for long-term lifestyle changes. Helping patients identify their support systems is vital.
• Encourage patients to identify enjoyable forms of physical activity to promote adherence.
• Start with short exercise sessions (5 minutes) and gradually increase to 30 minutes, aiming for 30 minutes of continuous aerobic activity four to five times per week.
• Finding an exercise buddy can help maintain motivation.
• Provide clear instructions on medications, including name, dose, and administration details to enhance medication adherence.

Managing Acute Pain

• Chest pain results from an imbalance between oxygen supply and demand in the heart muscle.
• Both myocardial ischemia and infarction, as well as reperfusion, can cause pain.
• Pain relief is critical to interrupt the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) stimulation, regardless of the underlying cause.
• Thoroughly assess for verbal and nonverbal signs of pain, documenting subjective reports, including characteristics and intensity.
• Use a pain scale to objectively measure pain and assess pain relief.
• Administer oxygen if the patient is hypoxic (2-5 L/min via nasal cannula) to increase oxygen supply to the myocardium and reduce ischemia.
• Promote physical and emotional rest in a calm and informative environment to decrease cardiac workload, SNS stimulation, and anxiety.
• Titrate IV nitroglycerin as prescribed to relieve chest pain, maintaining a systolic blood pressure greater than 100 mmHg.
• Administer morphine (2-4 mg IV push) as needed for chest pain to reduce pain, anxiety, act as a vasodilator, and decrease the patient's respiratory rate.