Final answer:
Nursing actions for a patient with elevated blood pressure include confirming the measurement, assessing for symptoms, reviewing medical history, promoting lifestyle changes, administering medications, educating on the condition, and arranging follow-up care to manage blood pressure and prevent complications such as heart disease and stroke.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a healthcare professional, such as a nurse or doctor, measures a patient’s blood pressure (BP), they are assessing the pressure exerted by blood against the walls of the arteries. Normal BP readings are generally below 120/80 mm Hg. Elevated BP, known as hypertension, is defined as a chronic and persistent measurement of 140/90 mm Hg or above, with the range between 120/80 and 139/89 mm Hg considered as prehypertension. New guidelines classify blood pressure above 130/80 mm Hg as hypertension.
When a patient presents with elevated BP, nurses should take immediate and appropriate actions. These actions may include:
- Confirming the high reading by taking multiple measurements
- Assessing the patient for any symptoms of target organ damage
- Reviewing the patient’s medical history for risk factors and current medications
- Encouraging lifestyle modifications such as diet changes, regular exercise, and weight loss
- Administering prescribed antihypertensive medications
- Providing patient education on the importance of medication adherence and home BP monitoring
- Planning follow-up care and regular BP check-ups
Hypertension is often a silent disorder, overlooked by patients. Failure to manage elevated BP can lead to serious consequences such as heart attacks, strokes, aneurysms, peripheral arterial disease, chronic kidney disease, or heart failure. Therefore, diligent monitoring and management of elevated BP are crucial to preventing these outcomes.