Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Achy Breaky Heart

Unfortunately, the world doesn't pause for shift change.  Today my patient, who had been doing great all night, started complaining of chest pain at 725 AM.  Ugh!

"Can I get a stat EKG, please?  Oh, and page her doc!"  

After bumping up her Nitro drip, giving her some nitro sprays sublingually, and getting orders for morphine, we finally got her pain under control.  Luckily for her, she was already pre-scheduled for a cardiac catheterization and had already had her premeds.  The timing for her almost-tragedy could have happened at no more opportune time than when interventions were immediately available.   She did infarct, but at least it wasn't at midnight when circumstances weren't so favorable.  

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