Question

A client presents to the emergency department with chest pain. on a scale of 1:10 he rates the pain as a 6. his respiratory rate is 22. his blood pressure is 156/92. his heart rate is 110. he is afebrile. what other information should the nurse obtain before administering nitroglycerin?

Answer 1

Is he taking any drugs for sexual enhancement or erectile dysfunction!?!?

Nitroglycerin is a vasodilator, which means that it relaxes and dilates (widens) blood vessels; this is a positive effect for coronary arteries, whose narrowing and/or occlusion (blockage) may be the cause of [cardiac] chest pain.
But, other vessels throughout the body also dilate, which can be good in hypertension.
However, a specific class of drugs known as phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE-5-I), which includes sex-enhancing drugs for erectile dysfunction (ED), will irreversibly keep body vessels dilated when nitroglycerin is also present in the bloodstream. This can lead to a life-threatening pooling of blood of the arms and legs (extremities) and lower body, keeping adequate blood from reaching the heart, lungs, and brain. This emergency is known as vasogenic shock!
Examples of PDE-5 inhibitors are Viagra, Levitra, and Cialis. [generic names of this class are: vardenafil, sildenafil, tadalafil and avanafil]