Final answer:
A nurse assessing a 78-year-old male with left-sided heart failure should expect symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, and possibly crackles on auscultation due to pulmonary congestion and reduced cardiac output.
Step-by-step explanation:
With a 78-year-old male client exhibiting left-sided heart failure, a nurse can expect to find symptoms related to the compromised capacity of the heart to pump oxygenated blood effectively through the body. Since the left side of the heart is responsible for pumping blood into the systemic circulation, when it fails, there is a backlog of blood in the lungs leading to pulmonary congestion. Common symptoms would include shortness of breath, especially during exertion or when lying down (orthopnea), and potentially at rest in severe cases. Additionally, a nurse may observe fatigue and reduced exercise tolerance due to the reduced efficiency of oxygen delivery to the tissues. Patients might also experience a cough, wheezing, or chest pain as a result of the increased pressure in the pulmonary vessels and reduced cardiac output. Other signs include pulmonary edema, manifesting as crackles heard upon lung auscultation, and potentially a rapid heart rate as the body attempts to compensate for the heart's reduced pumping ability.
It's important to differentiate these symptoms from those associated with other conditions. For example, in contrast, right-sided heart failure, which affects the right ventricle's ability to pump deoxygenated blood into the lungs, would lead to systemic symptoms, such as swelling in the legs and abdomen due to fluid retention. In comparison, left-sided heart failure symptoms are primarily related to respiratory distress and overall decreased perfusion.