Rehabilitation of Patients with STEMI / Myocardial Infarction

Rehabilitation of Patients with STEMI / Myocardial Infarction

Monday, September 23, 2013

Myocardial infarction refers to the process of cardiac tissue damage caused by inadequate blood supply to the coronary blood flow is reduced, this could be caused by the presence of critical narrowing of coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis or total blockage of an artery by embolus / thrombus or a decrease in blood flow (Smeltzer & Bare, 1996). Patients with myocardial infarction, chest pain usually sudden and long-lasting, located at the bottom of the sternum and upper abdomen. Sharp and severe pain may spread to the shoulders and arms are usually to the left. Unlike angina, the pain arose spontaneously (not after heavy work or emotional disturbances and persist for several hours to several days and will not go away with rest or nitroglycerin. In some cases the pain may spread to the chest and neck. Pain is often accompanied by breathing short, pale, cold sweat, dizziness and light-headedness and nausea and vomiting. Patients with diabetes may not feel severe pain when tenderita myocardial infarction, because that accompanies diabetic neuropathy affects neuroreseptor seingga dulling pain experienced.


Rehabilitation of Patients with STEMI / Myocardial Infarction

Rehabilitation is a component of personnel management, and professional, essential, which in this case is the rehabilitation of patients with myocardial infarction. Rehabilitation goals for patients with Myocardial Infarction is to develop and improve their quality of life. The immediate goal is to return as soon as possible to a normal lifestyle or near normal. These objectives can only be achieved by encouraging physical activity and physical adjustments, provide education to patients and their families and initiate psychosocial counseling and guidance when needed.

There are some recommendations for planning rehabilitation in patients with myocardial infarction (Black & Hawks, 2005):

1. Cardioprotective diet
2. Prompts for intensive diet, approval inspection (compliance checks), and long-term follow-up should be given.
3. Recommend nutritional supplements such as antioxidant vitamins, and minerals to prevent cardiovascular disease.
4. Fish and fish oil supplements may reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death.
5. For patients with excess weight and obesity with CHD, a combination of low-energy diet and increased physical activity are recommended.
6. The initial goal of weight loss therapy should be to make the patient's weight decreased by 10%.
7. All patients with cardiovascular disease should stop smoking and should be supported to continue to quit smoking as the main assessment.
8. All patients with CHD have a standard pharmacotherapy with aspirin, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and statins if there are no contraindications.
9. Comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation should be in case management.