Nursing Care Plan For Hypertension

Hypertension or High blood pressure (HBP) is a medical condition in which the blood pressure is chronically elevated in the arteries or blood vessels. Hypertension is also categorized according to etiology: as primary/essential (approximately 95% of all cases), when it has no identifiable cause; or secondary, which occurs as a result of an identifiable, sometimes correctable, pathologic condition.

1. Hypertension (Blood pressure) of 160/100 mmHg or above

This is definitely high, In this level the patient should be treat with medication to lower it. Otherwise, Persistent hypertension can make serious problem such as strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic renal failure.

2. Hypertension (Blood pressure) of 140/90 mmHg to 160/100 mmHg

This level called as 'mild' high blood pressure. For many people the risk from mild high blood pressure is small, and drug treatment is not indicated. Anyway, in this range they will get advised medication to lower it. Hypertension increases with age and is one of the major risk factors in the development of cardiovascular disease.

3. Hypertension (Blood pressure) between 130/80 and 140/90 mmHg

For most people this level is fine, But in some group of people this level is too high for them. Treatment to lower the blood pressure if it is 130/80 mmHg or higher may be considered if some one :

• Have developed a complication of diabetes, especially kidney problems.


• Have had a serious cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke.


• Have certain chronic (ongoing) kidney diseases.

General causes of Hypertension ; Coartaction of the aorta, Cushing's disease, Neurologic disorder, No Known cause (essential hypertension, Oral contraceptive use, Pheochromocytoma, Pregnancy, Primary hyperaldosteronism, Renovascular disease, Thyroid (Pituitary or Parathyroid disease), also use of drug (cocaine, epoetin alfa, cyclosporin).


Risk factors to get hypertension are ; Aging, Atherosclerosis, Diet (sodium and caffein), Family history, Obesity, Race (insidence is higher in blacks), Sex (incidence is higher in males older than age 40), Smoking and Strees.

Nursing Care Plan For Hypertension :

The Nurses must collect some data during assessment ; Asymptomatic, Elevated blood pressure, Dizziness, Headache, Left ventricular hypertrophy, Heart failure, Cerebral ischemia, Renal Failure, Papilledema, Vsual disturbance (including blindness).

See the diagnostic evaluation ;

• ECG: Ventricular or atrial hypertrophy, axis deviation, ischemia, and damage patterns may be present. Dysrhythmias; e.g., tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, conduction delays, especially left bundle branch block, frequent premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), may be present. Persistent ST-T segment abnormalities and decreased QRS amplitude may be present.


• Chest x-ray: May show enlarged cardiac shadow, reflecting chamber dilatation/hypertrophy, or changes in blood vessels, reflecting increased pulmonary pressure. Abnormal contour; e.g., bulging of left cardiac border, may suggest ventricular aneurysm.


• Sonograms (echocardiogram, Doppler and transesophageal echocardiogram): May reveal enlarged chamber dimensions, alterations in valvular function/structure, the degrees of ventricular dilation and dysfunction.


• Heart scans: Technetium-99m (99mTc) pyrophosphate scaning (also known as hot spot myocardial imaging and infarct avid imaging): Used to detect recent myocardial infaction and its extent.


• Multigated acquisition (MUGA): Measures cardiac volume during both systole and diastole, measures ejection fraction, and estimates wall motion.


• Exercise or pharmacologic stress myocardial perfusion (e.g., dipyridamole [Persantine] or thallium scan): Evaluates blood flow, determines presence of myocardial ischemia and wall motion abnormalities.


• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan: Sensitive test for evaluation of myocardial ischemia/detecting viable myocardium.


• Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): Helps detect congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, and vascular disorders such as thoracic aneurysm. It also helps detect cardiac tumors and structural anomalies.


• Cardiac catheterization: Abnormal pressures are indicative of and help differentiate right-sided versus left-sided heart failure, as well as valve stenosis or insufficiency. Also assesses patency of coronary arteries. Contrast injected


• into the ventricles reveals abnormal size and ejection fraction/altered contractility. Transvenous endomyocardial biopsy may be useful in some clients to determine the underlying disorder, such as myocarditis or amylodosis.


• BNP (Beta-type natruiretic peptide): Affects cardiac function and vascular tone and renal function. Low levels indicate worsening heart failure.


• Liver enzymes: Elevated in liver congestion/failure.


• Digoxin and other cardiac drug levels: Monitored to determine therapeutic range and correlate expected response with client response.


• Bleeding and clotting times: Determine therapeutic range for anticoagulant therapy and/or identify those at risk for excessive clot formation.


• Electrolytes: May be altered because of fluid shifts/decreased renal function and medications (e.g., diuretics, ACE inhibitors).


• Arterial blood gases (ABGs): Left ventricular failure is characterized by mild respiratory alkalosis (early) or hypoxemia with an increased PCO2 (late).


• BUN/creatinine: Elevated BUN suggests decreased renal perfusion as may occur with HF and/or as a side effect of prescribed medications (e.g., diuretics and ACE inhibitors). Elevation of both BUN and creatinine is indicative of renal failure.


• Serum albumin/transferrin: May be decreased as a result of reduced protein intake or reduced protein synthesis in congested liver.


• Complete blood count (CBC): May reveal anemia (major contributor/exacerbating factor in HF), polycythemia, or dilutional changes indicating water retention. Levels of white blood cells (WBCs) may be elevated, reflecting recent/acute MI, pericarditis, or other inflammatory or infectious states.


• ESR: May be elevated, indicating acute inflammatory reaction (especially if viral infection is cause of HF).


• Thyroid studies: Increased thyroid activity suggests thyroid hyperactivity as precipitator of HF. Hypothroydism can also cause or exacerbate HF.


• Pulse oximetry: Oxygen saturation may be low, especially when acute HF is imposed on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or chronic HF.

Nursing Priorities For Care Plan :

1. Improve myocardial contractility/systemic perfusion.


2. Reduce fluid volume overload.


3. Prevent complications.


4. Provide information about disease/prognosis, therapy needs, and prevention of recurrences.

Nursing Action or Nursing Intervention :

1. Assess Cardiovascular status including vital signs to detect cardiac compromise.


2. Take an average of two or more blood pressure readings to establish hypertension.


3. Check the client's blood pressure in lying, sitting, and standing position to determine if orthostatic hypotension is present. Also check for pallor, diaphoresis, and vertigo.


4. Assess neurologic static and observe the client for changes that may indicated an alteration in cerebral perfussion (CVA or hemorrhage).


5. Monitor and record intake and output and daily weight to detect fluid volume overload.


6. Administer medications as prescribed to lower blood pressure.


7. Make sure the client maintains a low-sodium, low-cholesterol diet to help minimize hypertention.


8. Encourage the client to express feelings about daily stress to reduce anxity.


9. Maintain a quiet environment to reduce stress.

Planing and Goals of Nursing Care :

1. The client will exhibit a reduction in blood pressure


2. The client will express understanding and acceptance of necessary lifestyle changes.


3. Complications prevented/resolved.


4. Optimum level of activity/functioning attained.


5. Disease process/prognosis and therapeutic regimen understood.


6. Plan in place to meet needs after discharge.

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