Question

Your 54 year old co-instructor wakes up with chest pain and a sensation of tightness in his chest, shortness of breath, anxiety, nausea and pale cool, clammy skin. Your treatment plan includes?

1) walking to the nearest evacuation point
2) withholding further medications
3) suggesting he take one adult aspirin
4) treating with your personal nitroglycerin

Answer 1

The appropriate treatment for someone presenting symptoms of an acute myocardial infarction is to call EMS, offer supplemental oxygen if available, and administer an adult aspirin and prescribed nitroglycerin sublingually, while avoiding physical exertion and making any uninformed decisions about medications.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a 54-year-old individual experiences symptoms such as chest pain, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, anxiety, nausea, and pale cool, clammy skin, it's essential to consider these symptoms as potentially indicative of an acute myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack. Immediate treatments for MI include offering supplemental oxygen, having the individual take an adult aspirin if not contraindicated, and administering nitroglycerin sublingually if prescribed and available, not one's personal medication. Walking to an evacuation point may exacerbate the condition and should be avoided, and withholding medications without appropriate medical knowledge could be harmful. Instead, the best course of action is to call emergency medical services (EMS) immediately and monitor the individual until help arrives.