- Develop the ability to assess and identify contributing factors to activity intolerance, including physiological, psychological, and environmental aspects. Recognize how underlying conditions impact a patient’s ability to engage in physical activity.
- Acquire proficiency in utilizing relevant assessment tools, such as activity logs, patient self-reports, and physiological monitoring, to quantify the level of activity intolerance and determine the appropriate interventions.
- Develop skills in individualizing care plans for activity intolerance based on the unique needs, preferences, and limitations of each patient. Consider factors such as age, comorbidities, and the specific nature of the underlying condition.
- Implement safe and effective nursing interventions to address activity intolerance, considering both immediate relief and long-term management. Incorporate strategies for energy conservation, graded exercise, and patient education.
- Learn to monitor and evaluate the patient’s progress in managing activity intolerance over time. Use objective measures and patient feedback to assess the effectiveness of interventions and make necessary adjustments to the care plan.
Pathophysiology of Activity Intolerance:
- Impaired Oxygenation:
- Activity intolerance can result from impaired oxygenation due to respiratory conditions, cardiovascular disorders, or anemia. Reduced oxygen delivery to tissues limits the body’s ability to meet the increased demands of physical activity.
- Conditions such as prolonged immobility, chronic illness, or neuromuscular disorders can lead to muscle weakness and deconditioning. Weakened muscles struggle to support prolonged or strenuous activity, contributing to intolerance.
- Cardiovascular disorders, including heart failure or coronary artery disease, may compromise the heart’s ability to pump blood efficiently. This can result in inadequate blood supply to working muscles during physical activity, leading to fatigue and intolerance.
- Neurological conditions, such as stroke, spinal cord injury, or peripheral neuropathy, can affect coordination, balance, and muscle control. These impairments contribute to difficulties in maintaining or initiating physical activity.
- Chronic pain conditions, whether musculoskeletal or systemic, can lead to reluctance or avoidance of physical activity. Pain perception and the fear of exacerbating discomfort contribute to a reduced tolerance for exercise.
Etiology of Activity Intolerance :
- Cardiovascular Disorders:
- Conditions such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or arrhythmias can lead to reduced cardiac output and compromised blood flow to muscles, contributing to activity intolerance.
- Chronic respiratory disorders, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, or pulmonary fibrosis, can limit oxygen exchange, resulting in fatigue and shortness of breath during physical activity.
- Musculoskeletal conditions like arthritis, fractures, or muscle disorders can cause pain, stiffness, or weakness, hindering the ability to engage in physical activity comfortably.
- Neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, or peripheral neuropathy can affect motor control, coordination, and balance, leading to difficulties in initiating or sustaining physical activity.
- Prolonged periods of immobility, bed rest, or a sedentary lifestyle can result in the deconditioning of muscles and cardiovascular systems, reducing overall fitness and tolerance for physical activity.
Desired Outcomes for Activity Intolerance Nursing Care:
- Improved Exercise Tolerance:
- Enhance the patient’s ability to engage in physical activity by improving exercise tolerance. The goal is to increase the duration and intensity of activities without excessive fatigue, shortness of breath, or discomfort.
- Aim to improve cardiovascular function, including heart efficiency and circulation, to support increased physical activity. Strengthening the cardiovascular system contributes to better overall endurance.
- Facilitate the development of muscle strength and endurance through targeted exercises and activities. Strengthening muscles helps improve the patient’s capacity for prolonged or strenuous physical tasks.
- Focus on optimizing respiratory capacity to alleviate symptoms of shortness of breath and support efficient oxygen exchange during physical exertion. Improving respiratory function contributes to increased activity tolerance.
- Strive to enhance the patient’s overall quality of life by promoting physical activity that aligns with their capabilities and preferences. Supporting increased activity levels positively impacts mental well-being and functional independence.
Subjective Data for Activity Intolerance:
- Fatigue
- Shortness of Breath at rest or with activity
- Muscle Weakness
- Pain or Discomfort
- Difficulty Initiating or Sustaining Activity
Objective Data for Activity Intolerance:
- Heart Rate: elevated during activity
- Blood Pressure: elevated during activity
- Respiratory Rate: increased during activity
- Oxygen Saturation: decreased during activity
- Labored respirations
- Pursed-lip breathing
- Unsteady gait
- Limited range of motion
Nursing Assessment for Activity Intolerance:
- Detailed Health History:
- Gather a comprehensive health history, including any chronic illnesses, cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, musculoskeletal issues, recent surgeries, or neurological disorders that may contribute to activity intolerance.
- Review the patient’s current medication regimen, noting any medications that may affect cardiovascular, respiratory, or musculoskeletal function and contribute to fatigue or weakness.
- Perform a thorough physical examination, assessing cardiovascular and respiratory function, musculoskeletal strength, joint mobility, and neurological status. Pay attention to signs of deconditioning or weakness.
- Monitor vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, before, during, and after physical activities to assess the patient’s physiological response.
- Evaluate the patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and engage in routine physical activities. Assess any limitations or challenges faced during mobility and self-care tasks. A six-minute walk test may be ordered to assess if a patient’s oxygen saturation drops during activity.
- Explore the presence and severity of symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, or pain during or after physical activity. Utilize a scale to quantify symptom intensity.
- Consider psychosocial factors, including the patient’s motivation, emotional well-being, and any anxiety or fear related to physical activity. Addressing psychological aspects is vital for a holistic approach.
- Encourage the patient to maintain an activity log or journal, documenting daily physical activities, associated symptoms, and perceived levels of exertion. This information aids in tailoring interventions.
Outcomes for Activity Intolerance Nursing Care:
- Improved Exercise Tolerance:
- Increase the patient’s ability to engage in physical activities by improving exercise tolerance and stamina.
- Improve cardiovascular function to support increased physical activity, contributing to better overall endurance.
- Facilitate the development of muscle strength and endurance through targeted exercises and activities.
- Alleviate symptoms of shortness of breath and support efficient oxygen exchange during physical exertion by optimizing respiratory capacity.
- Strive to enhance the patient’s overall quality of life by promoting physical activity aligned with their capabilities and preferences, positively impacting mental well-being and functional independence.
Implementation for Activity Intolerance Nursing Care:
- Individualized Exercise Plan:
- Collaborate with the patient and healthcare team to develop an individualized exercise plan tailored to the patient’s abilities, incorporating a gradual progression of activities.
- Teach and encourage the use of energy conservation techniques to help the patient optimize energy expenditure during daily activities, minimizing fatigue.
- Implement cardiorespiratory training exercises, such as walking, cycling, or aquatic exercises, to improve cardiovascular and respiratory function gradually.
- Pursed lip breathing may be helpful for patients with chronic respiratory problems
- Supplemental oxygen may be necessary for patients with activity tolerance due to cardiac or respiratory conditions.
- Ensure patient is using assistive devices to aid with activities of daily living appropriately and safely.
- Collaborate with occupational or physical therapy to assess for additional needs
- Incorporate strength training exercises to enhance muscle strength and endurance. Begin with low-resistance exercises and gradually increase intensity based on the patient’s tolerance.
- Educate the patient on the importance of regular physical activity, the benefits of exercise, and strategies for managing symptoms during and after activities. Provide guidance on lifestyle modifications and adherence to the exercise plan.
Nursing Interventions and Rationales for Activity Intolerance:
- Gradual Progression of Activities:
- Rationale: Introduce activities gradually to allow the patient to build tolerance and avoid overexertion. This approach helps prevent fatigue, shortness of breath, and muscle weakness.
- Rationale: Regularly monitor vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, to assess the patient’s physiological response to activities and identify any potential complications.
- Rationale: Educate the patient on energy conservation strategies to promote efficient use of energy during daily tasks. This reduces overall fatigue and allows the patient to engage in more activities without excessive exertion.
- Rationale: Provide supervision and support during exercise sessions to ensure the patient’s safety and adherence to proper techniques. This also offers motivation and encouragement, promoting a positive exercise experience.
- Rationale: Integrate breathing exercises to improve respiratory capacity and control. Techniques such as pursed-lip breathing and diaphragmatic breathing can help manage shortness of breath during activities.
Evaluation for Activity Intolerance Nursing Care:
- Assessment of Exercise Tolerance:
- Evaluate the patient’s ability to tolerate exercise by monitoring the duration, intensity, and type of activities. Assess whether the patient can engage in physical tasks without experiencing excessive fatigue or discomfort.
- Regularly review vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation, to determine any changes or improvements in the patient’s physiological response to activities.
- Encourage the patient to provide self-reports and feedback on their experience during and after physical activities. Assess their perception of fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, and any other symptoms.
- Evaluate improvements in the patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) and routine tasks. Assess changes in mobility, independence, and overall functional status.
- Modify the care plan based on the evaluation results. Adjust interventions, exercise plans, or energy conservation strategies as needed to continually address the patient’s evolving needs and goals.
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Transcript
This is the nursing care plan for activity intolerance. Activity tolerance is the insufficient, physiological or psychological energy to continue or complete necessary or desired tasks. Activity Intolerance is a common side effect of heart failure and can be related to generalized weakness and difficulty resting and sleeping. A contributing factor is often tissue hypoxia caused by decreased cardiac output. Some nursing considerations that we want to keep in mind are that we want to monitor vital signs. We want to assess the respiratory and cardiac status. We want to obtain an EKG for cardiac involvement, and we may need to refer the patient to a cardiologist. The desired outcome is that the patient is going to, uh, demonstrate the ability to participate in normal life activities with decreased occurrence of dyspnea, chest pain, diaphoresis, dizziness, and changes in vital signs. The patient will also report an increase in activity tolerance.
So, the patient with activity intolerance is someone who is going to come in very similar to someone looking like a heart failure patient. So, some of the things that they are going to, uh, let us know the subjective data is, they are going to complain of some fatigue. They're going to be tired. They're always tired. Um, very minimal or small activities, kind of take all of their energy. They also have some dyspnea or shortness of breath on exertion. Again, it doesn't take much exertion, but when they exert themselves, they are typically very short of breath. Again, they may complain of some chest pain and weakness.
Now, when we observe these patients, there's going to be a few things that we see once again, it's going to mimic heart failure. So, the first thing we're going to notice with our objective data is we are going to notice that they have signs of heart failure. These patients are going to have signs of heart failure. Some of those things that mimic heart failure are, they are going to have an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and that's going to be in response to activity. So walking down the hall, if they walk too far too fast, they're going to have that tachycardia. That's not going to resolve itself. They may also have some edema and they're going to have, uh, some dysrhythmias.
Okay. So what are we going to do? What are interventions that we're going to do with this patient? Well, the first thing is we're going to get us a good cardiac and a good respiratory assessment. We want to assess the status. Remember, low cardiac output. Decreased cardiac output. Um, they can also have a low ejection fraction. They can also have CHF. These are the reasons why a person would have activity intolerance, respiratory conditions, such as COPD, or Asthma can also contribute to this activity tolerance. Remember we always want to assess to gather our data. The next thing is we want to monitor their vital signs. Remember this person looks like a patient in heart failure. So we want to monitor vital signs. Some of the vital signs we may see on the monitor again, is increased heart rate. That's going to be in relation to any activity that they have. They may also have increased blood pressure. Um, some patients will also see a decrease in their o2 saturations. And if that is the case, we want to make sure that we stop the activity and we administer any supplemental o2 that they need. It's very important for us as nurses to coordinate with the patient, we want to coordinate rest periods. We want to give the patient enough time to take those grueling activities. Remember rest periods allow a patient to conserve energy. It allows for the heart rate and breathing to normalize. So we want to conserve energy. That's number one. The next thing we want to do is we want to gradually increase activity. So we want these patients to be conditioned. We want to condition them to tolerate activity, but we can't go from zero to 100. In one week, we have to gradually increase their activity. So, we are going to gradually increase activity as tolerated. Remember, we want to make sure that we're going to do some range of motion exercises, and then we'll increase those from sitting then standing. Gradual progression of the activities, prevent overexertion. And that's our goal. We want to preserve the little energy that they're able to give us. We want to make sure that we assess the cause of the activity tolerance. So, we want to, uh, find the root cause. We may also need to refer to cardiologists. Remember many patients with activity intolerance may have some underlying cardiac issues. We want to refer to a cardiologist for further diagnosis. This is the complete care plan. Now let's take a look at the key points. Remember the pathophysiology, activity intolerance is just what it is, it is insufficient, physiological or psychological energy to continue or complete necessary or desired tasks. These people just don't have the steam in the engine to go. The subjective data that we want to do. Remember, this patient is going to complain about being fatigued. They're going to have some dyspnea or shortness of breath with mild exertion. It's not going to take much to knock them out. It's also going to have some chest pain and some weakness. When we assess this patient, when this patient comes in to see us, we are going to see a few things. We're going to see an increased heart rate, tachycardia, you're going to see an increased blood pressure. That's going to be all in response to just normal activity. These patients may also have some edema and they may also show signs and symptoms of heart failure. The first thing we want to do with these patients remember, is we want to find the root cause. It's very important to find the root cause. Remember a cardiologist may be consulted. And the next thing we want to do is we want to improve the baseline. We want to make sure that they can eventually tolerate activity in order to do that, we want to do gradual progression of the activity. So that way we can prevent overexertion.
We love you guys. Go out and be your best self today. And that's always happy nursing.
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