Assessing cardiovascular status in the older adult with cognitive impairments

When caring for older adults with cognitive impairments, nurses may find that their usual approaches to cardiovascular assessment are not effective. This article summarizes the geropsychiatric nursing literature about interventions that assist people with chronic cognitive impairments to maintain functional skills and decrease disruptive behavior patterns. A case study illustrates application of theory from behavioral gerontology and research from studies of persons with dementia to develop an approach to cardiovascular assessment that can assist clinicians in obtaining accurate data about cardiovascular status.