Post Angioplasty

Post-angioplasty with or without stent placement involves continuous careful patient assessment and monitoring for recurring chest pain, which may indicate reclosing of the artery or thrombosis. Heart attack, stroke, and arrhythmias are possible post-procedure complications; thus, should a recovering telemetry patient complain of chest pain certain additional steps should be taken immediately, including performing a focused assessment, checking client’s level of consciousness, getting vital signs, especially blood pressure and pulse to monitor for hemodynamic instability, and interpreting the EKG strip to ascertain if an ST elevation, depression or T wave changes are present. Depending upon what the EKG shows, actions are taken accordingly.