Question

Note that the pathophysiology of heart failure may lead to reduced blood pressure which stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. Paradoxically, this increases the workload of the heart. Explore core measures for heart failure at the Hospital Compare website introduced last week. Patients with left ventricular dysfunction are often placed on medications that reduce blood pressure and thus reduce cardiac workload. Given that baseline BP may be low in patients with chronic congestive heart failure, please explore associated implications for patient assessment. Other than BP, please identify and discuss two indicators/assessment points for determining adequacy of perfusion.