Coronary artery disease, or coronary heart disease, is one of the most common and preventable diseases in the United States. Despite this, it remains as the cause of many deaths in recent years. The disease itself causes thickening and narrowing of the coronary arteries which then interferes with the movement of oxygen and nutrients to the heart. This causes serious health complications and possibly even death. Certain symptoms are noticeable, such as angina and arrhythmia, but despite this, the development of the disease can continue until it becomes very dangerous for the patient. Its development occurs over an extended period of time which usually includes decades and makes the disease easily preventable. However, due to a number of factors, many patients do not make adequate changes to their lifestyles and habits in order to prevent the disease.
Nursing intervention has often been cited as a valuable component in preventing coronary artery disease through patient interaction and education. Patients that are admitted due to coronary artery disease or even other heart-related complications are often provided resources and advice by nursing professionals regarding prevention, intervention, or treatment. While some patients may not be able to apply the resources in order to manage their disease, some are able to improve their conditions using the nurse-led interventions. As such, nurse-led resources offer substantial benefits to patients with coronary artery disease.
- P=Population of patients: Since coronary artery disease and related illnesses can take decades to develop, the population of patients can range in age. However, coronary artery disease can be found among individuals aged twenty or older. The disease becomes more dangerous and with more frequent symptoms as an individual becomes older, with a majority of deaths due to coronary artery disease occurring in patients aged 65 or older. Nurses often interact with admitted patients which tend to be 65 or older and display the more dangerous symptoms of the disease.
- I=Intervention: Current intervention is provided by a number of healthcare professionals. However, nurse-led resources are most effective within groups that show early signs of coronary artery disease. Nurse-led intervention consists of education and provision of informative materials regarding necessary changes to lifestyle, habit, and diet in order to prevent the growth of the disease (Chiang et al., 2018). The changes may be more general such as urging patients to stop smoking or more patient-specific, such as the formulation of a care plan.
- C=Comparison: Currently, nurses and patients both face issues regarding available resources as well as continuous check-ups and preventative measures. Over time, patients may either be unable to find reliable resources regarding prevention or may not adhere to the guidelines provided by nurses.
- O=Outcome: Continuous engagement with patients can improve the effectiveness of the prevention strategies implemented by nurse-led interventions. Additionally, easily available and recent resources can retain the number of patients that adhere to the necessary lifestyle changes.
- T=Timeframe: Due to the differing ages of the affected population, the timeframe may be inexact. However, within patients aged 65 or above, who usually display more severe symptoms of the disease, a timeframe of 1 year after an intervention can be used to observe its effectiveness.
Among patients with coronary artery disease aged 65 and older, does frequent nurse-led intervention decrease the severity of the disease’s symptoms compared to currently available resources within one year of the intervention?
I find this particular clinical issue to be incredibly important as it is concerned with a disease that is easily preventable with efforts from nursing professionals. It is incredibly common and dangerous but easily manageable with a collective effort and increased engagement from nurses and patients. Nurse-led intervention has shown to be effective, which means that it only requires improved implementation in order to see better health outcomes.
Reference
Chaing, Y., Choi, K., Ho, K., & Yu, S. (2018). Effectiveness of nurse-led patient-centered care behavioral risk modification on secondary prevention of coronary heart disease: A systematic review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 84(1), 28-39. Web.