Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 13th Edition by Kerry Cheever, Janice Hinkle

Exercise 1

You are caring for a 68-year-old man with end-stage heart failure in a hospital-based palliative care unit.You observe that he has peripheral edema and cachexia.He reports dyspnea at rest, profound fatigue, and activity intolerance.He tells youthat he would like to return home, but his wife becomes very anxious when he haspain or shortness of breath, causing him to become anxious as well.What priorityassessments would you conduct? What specific information should you include first ina discussion with this man and his wife? What type of information and in whatformat would be appropriate for this man and his wife?