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Inpatient Pain Medicine Considerations in Patients with Heart Failure, Cardiac Arrhythmias, and Other Cardiac Conditions

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Guide to the Inpatient Pain Consult

Abstract

Heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and other cardiovascular conditions are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. These patients represent a sizeable proportion of hospitalized individuals and can be challenging to treat from a pain management standpoint. Cardiac patients often have multiple comorbidities and are on many different medications prone to drug interactions that must be taken into consideration when developing a treatment plan. This chapter will provide a general overview of heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias, as well as the importance of pain control in this population. The pathophysiology of pain, patient specific risk factors, and diagnostic considerations will also be outlined. This chapter will cover treatment strategies for cardiac patients in the inpatient setting including pharmacological management, pain assessment tools, and potential medications to use with caution. Lastly, there will be a brief discussion on discharge planning and follow-up considerations.

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Oley, P., Thiele, E., Kohan, L.R. (2020). Inpatient Pain Medicine Considerations in Patients with Heart Failure, Cardiac Arrhythmias, and Other Cardiac Conditions. In: Abd-Elsayed, A. (eds) Guide to the Inpatient Pain Consult. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40449-9_6

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