Reducing Stress as a Help for Heart Disease

Care Plan The client is at risk of heart failure and aside from his physical health issues he carries a great deal of external burdens that contribute to his overall mental and emotional stress.

He needs to find some activity that can relieve him of these pressures and volunteering at a local religious organization or charity may provide an outlet as well as a suitable means of making some connection to the community, which could alleviate the internalizing of his pressures as well as provide some spiritual benefit, which researchers have identified as having potential positive effects (Kyziridis, 2005).

An effective nursing intervention customized for the client would be to devise a goal for the client and with the client that would include exercise, stress relief, and community interaction. His triglycerides are high and his cholesterol is borderline high. A diet should be devised so as help with the heart condition and we should work also to eliminate the smoking habit, perhaps by weaning using a vaping product or a patch. The client's hemoglobin is 7.5 which indicates that he has good to excellent control of diabetes.

I would recommend a change of diet, aspirin to relieve pain and long-acting nitrates which serves as an antianginal, cessation of smoking, exercise after work (walks around the city). These are conservative measures and a follow-up plan would consist of monitoring weight, chest pain, and cholesterol as well as stress levels, which should be reduced through charity or religious participation outside the home. Giving can relieve pressure and focus on self.

The rationale for this treatment modality is found in the study by Ben-Dor and Battler (2007) which shows that long-acting nitrates can effectively reduce angina symptoms. The stress relief is based on the findings of Kyziridis (2005) who shows that stress relief is a good therapeutic and can come in various forms through participation in society, spiritual exercise, etc. The diagnosis of the client, that he has stable angina related to coronary disease, is based on the symptoms and signs that the client has demonstrated.

It is a reoccurring symptom that is relieved through rest. However, it is aggravated by the diet, the lack of exercise, the smoking and the stress. Essentially, the client does not have a healthy lifestyle for a man his age and his worry over bills does not help the situation. He needs to have an opportunity to escape these worries by caring for someone other than himself and placing trust in a spiritual solution, as Kyziridis (2005) discusses.

However, this is only one option and there are others that can be discussed such as a possible stint or increase in medication (Ben-Dor, Battler, 2007). The patient should be educated as to options and these should be discussed in terms of what appeals to the client and his own preferences for treatment. The risks of continuing in the present course should be clarified and the positive outcome and expectations from a transition to a more healthy course should also be made apparent. The client should feel as though he.