Know risk factors for youngest MI patients
Know risk factors for youngest MI patients
Young people with a history of Type I diabetes, juvenile obesity, hypertension, sickle cell anemia, smoking, or recreational drug use are at considerable risk for myocardial infarction (MI), even in their 20s, says James Hardecki, RN, ED nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.
ED nurses recently cared for a 27-year-old man with chest pain and vomiting, with Type 1 diabetes. "The triage nurse was initially thinking that his chest pain was a result of the persistent vomiting he had been talking about. However, upon closer observation, the nurse saw that this patient was diaphoretic and looked 'gray,'" Hardecki recalls.
A 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG) was done and revealed ST elevations in the anterior leads. The man immediately was brought to the resuscitation room and was taken to the cardiac catheterization lab within 25 minutes of his arrival at the ED. "Treatment was successful, and he was discharged home the same week," says Hardecki.
In another case, an obese 29-year-old man complained of epigastric heaviness, nausea with vomiting, dizziness, and diaphoresis. When the triage nurse prodded further, she got him to reveal that he had been using cocaine and smoking cigarettes for more than 10 years.
The ED nurse decided to do a 12-lead EKG and found an acute inferior wall MI with ST elevations. "The patient was in the cardiac cath lab within 30 minutes of arrival and was able to walk out of the hospital a few days later," says Hardecki.
Young people with a history of Type I diabetes, juvenile obesity, hypertension, sickle cell anemia, smoking, or recreational drug use are at considerable risk for myocardial infarction (MI), even in their 20s, says James Hardecki, RN, ED nurse at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.Subscribe Now for Access
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