Final answer:
The nurse should first address breathing difficulties, as it is the most life-threatening condition among the given options. While other symptoms also require attention, stabilization of the client's respiratory function is paramount and takes precedence over managing pain, hypertension, or distention.
Step-by-step explanation:
After reviewing the findings in a client's medical record, a nurse should first address the most life-threatening condition, which in this scenario is Option 3: Breathing difficulties. Based on the given patient profiles, such as John's symptoms including shortness of breath and chest pain due to asthma, breathing difficulties are acute and can lead to severe complications if not treated immediately. Breathing issues can compromise oxygenation to vital organs and pose an immediate risk to life, taking precedence over pain, hypertension, and less urgent conditions.
Options such as acute pain, abdominal distention, and elevated blood pressure are also concerns that must be addressed by the nurse. However, these do not typically present the same immediate threat to life as breathing difficulties. Prioritizing care is essential in clinical settings, especially when managing multiple symptoms. Therefore, while acute pain and abdominal distention warrant evaluation and management, they would follow the stabilization of the client's ability to breathe.
An elevated blood pressure, while serious, does not require the same level of urgency unless it is in the range of a hypertensive emergency, for which additional clinical context would be required. Thus, without further information suggesting a hypertensive crisis, breathing issues would be the priority.