What is the primary reason for administering morphine to a client with an MI?
A. To sedate the client.
B. To decrease the client’s pain.
C. To decrease the client’s anxiety.
D. To decrease oxygen demand on the client’s heart.
Correct Answer: D. To decrease oxygen demand on the client’s heart
Morphine is administered because it decreases myocardial oxygen demand. Morphine can decrease the heart rate, blood pressure, and venous return. Morphine can also stimulate local histamine-mediated processes. In theory, the combination of these can reduce myocardial oxygen demand.
Option A: Morphine is a potent opioid; it decreases pain, which in turn leads to a decrease in the activation of the autonomic nervous system. These are desirable effects when a patient is having an MI. Additionally, morphine has hemodynamic side effects that can be beneficial during an MI.
Option B: Patients that are actively having acute coronary syndrome are often given morphine in the emergency setting before going to the cath lab. Morphine to relieve pain during a myocardial infarction (MI) has been in use since the early 1900s.
Option C: Morphine will also decrease anxiety while causing sedation, but it isn’t primarily given for those reasons. Morphine is rarely used for procedural sedation. However, for small procedures, physicians will sometimes combine a low dose of morphine with a low dose of benzodiazepine-like lorazepam.
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