The Case

The client is a 33-year-old advanced breast cancer patient admitted to the emergency room (ER) with cardiac arrest. She is unmarried and accompanied to the ER by her boyfriend.

Relevant Health Assessment Information

Cancer therapies are associated with a wide range of long and short-term cardio toxicity effects that affect a patients heart structure and function (Clark et al., 2017). However, sources advise that clinicians consider the circumstances of their patients on an individualized case-by-case basis to obtain an accurate prognosis (Curigliano et al., 2020). This calls for an assessment of a patients overall cardio toxicity risk score as measured by their medication-related and patient-related risk factors (Curigliano et al., 2020). Cancer patients with a history of concurrent or prior chest radiation, such as lung and breast cancer patients, are at a particularly high risk of cardio toxicity, particularly if they have preexisting heart disease (Curigliano et al., 2020).

To determine the likelihood that the clients cardiac arrest is a result of cardio toxicity, the APN nurse would need to obtain health information on current or preexisting heart disease, Diabetes Mellitus, and hypertension...

Cancer patients with a history of Diabetes Mellitus, hypertension, and heart disease are at a higher risk of experiencing cardio toxicity as a result of cancer therapies. Further, the APN would need to obtain health information on the presence of lifestyle risk factors such as obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and inadequate diets (Curigliano et al., 2020). Clinical trials have shown a higher risk of cardio toxicity among cancer...…risk of cardiac malfunction in the event of exposure to any of the above risk factors. However, she is unmarried and has her boyfriend as the primary caregiver given that he accompanies her to the emergency room. In this regard, it may be appropriate to advise the client that her current relationship arrangement increases the risk of negative health outcomes as it opens avenues for poor lifestyle choices. The APN nurse may thus recommend that the patient hires a full-time caregiver, who would help her plan her meals better and develop a fitness plan to minimize the risk of poor lifestyle choices that increase the risk of cardio toxicity related to cancer therapy. The client could interpret the APNs advice as an infringement on privacy. However, the nurse…