Prevention is the best cure. Nurses play an important role in the treatment of CAD by offering and supplying comfort for anxiety and pain, minimizing symptoms and side effects, educating patients on the disease process, and helping to reduce risks and promote healthier lifestyles. Pathophysiology The heart is supplied blood, oxygen, and nutrients by the coronary arteries. When functioning normally, the coronary arteries ensure adequate oxygenation of the myocardium at all levels of cardiac activity (Klabunde, 2010).
CAD is a heart disease that is caused by impaired blood flow to or through the coronary arteries. Several disorders can arise from the disease ranging from myocardial ischemia to myocardial infarction. Blood flow through the coronary arteries is usually dictated by the heart’s need for oxygen. It is controlled by physical, metabolic and neural factors and uses 60 to 80% of the oxygen in the blood that flows through the coronary arteries (Porth, 2011).
When this blood flow is interrupted, damage ensues.
