Postoperative Cardiac Emergency

Case Description

The patient is a 55yo man, 24 hours post cardiac surgery admitted in the CVICU. The surgery was performed without complication and the patient was successfully extubated and has been recovering in the CVICU. Patient is alert, oriented and able to converse with the medical team. Patient reports on initial evaluation to have suddenly developed feelings of impending doom and shortness of breath that is rapidly progressing. Patient decompensates, developing ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest due to cardiac tamponade. 
The learner will be the patient’s RN, and will need to work with the multidisciplinary team (nursing, providers, respiratory) to perform required resuscitative interventions, including an emergent resternotomy procedure to evacuate the blood in the chest, internally defibrillate, and give intracardiac epi.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize signs and symptoms related to patient’s decompensating condition.
2. Obtain supplies for emergency management of the decompensating condition.
3. Perform nursing interventions related to stabilizing decompensating patient.