15years Case Studies

My patient was a 70year old retired home help who presented with a history of fast heart beat (Fibrillation in her own words) of 15years. It is imperative to use open ended questions during such discussions in order to encourage patients to speak freely (Patton, 1987). At all times, verbal and non-verbal cues are vital when attending to patients; I listened carefully and maintained close eye contact with my patient. The key to effective information gathering is good listening skills (Duffy, 1999). She described the beat as fast, irregular, sudden in onset, paroxysmal and sometimes relieved by Sotalol tablet. Prompting patient to explain terms used to describe symptoms is known to be helpful (Crumbie, 2006).
The fast heart beat was associated