- CC: “I have been having terrible chest and arm pain for the past 2 hours and I think I am having a heart attack.”
HPI: Mr. Hammond is a 57-year-old African American male who presents to the Emergency Department with a chief complaint of chest pain that radiates down his left arm. He states that he started having pain several hours ago and says the pain “it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest”. He rates the pain as 8/10. Nothing has made the pain better or worse. He denies any previous episode of chest pain. Denies nausea, dyspnea, or lightheadedness. He was given 0.4 mg nitroglycerine tablet sublingual x 1 which decreased, but not stopped the pain.
Lipid panel reveals Total Cholesterol 324 mg/dl, high density lipoprotein (HDL) 31 mg/dl, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) 122 mg/dl, Triglycerides 402 mg/dl, Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) 54 mg/dl
His diagnosis is an acute inferior wall myocardial infarction.
1 of 2 Questions:
Why is HDL considered the “good” cholesterol?
2 of 2 Questions:
Explain the role inflammation has in the development of atherosclerosis.
QUESTION 3
- A 45-year-old woman with a history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) presents to the Emergency Room (ER) with complaints of sharp retrosternal chest pain that worsens with deep breathing or lying down. She reports a 3-day history of low-grade fever, listlessness and says she feels like she had the flu. Physical exam reveals tachycardia and a pleural friction rub. She was diagnosed with acute pericarditis.
Question:
What does the Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) recognize as the result of the pleural friction rub?
