Question

A client comes to the emergency department complaining of a shooting pain in his chest. When assessing the client's pain, which behavioral response would the nurse expect to find?

a) Decreased heart rate
b) High blood pressure
c) Guarding of the chest area
d) Increased respiratory rate

Answer 1

The most likely behavioral response to shooting chest pain in a client would be guarding of the chest area, as it is a common protective action to minimize movement and further pain.

Step-by-step explanation:

When assessing a client's pain, particularly shooting pain in the chest, a nurse may expect several behavioral and physiological responses due to the body's reaction to pain and stress. Among the options provided, c) Guarding of the chest area is a common behavioral response to chest pain. Patients often exhibit protective behavior over the painful area to minimize movement and further pain. Other possible physiological responses to severe pain can include b) High blood pressure and d) Increased respiratory rate. However, a decreased heart rate is not typically associated with acute pain and stress, which is often accompanied by increased sympathetic activity leading to tachycardia, rather than bradycardia.

Clinical manifestations such as a decreased heart rate may result from increased vagal tone or occur in unique circumstances, but they are not a common response to acute chest pain. Signs such as high blood pressure and increased respiratory rate are related to the body's fight-or-flight response, including increased epinephrine and norepinephrine release by the adrenal glands and increased cardiac output.