Cardiac & telemetry unit Spanish

Spanish for cardiac nurses: chest pain assessment, telemetry explanations, and heart failure education — in the language your patients actually use.

Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects Hispanic adults in the US — higher rates of hypertension, diabetes-driven CAD, and heart failure present earlier in this population than in age-matched White counterparts. Yet the cardiac floor is where language barriers most directly delay time-sensitive care: a patient who can't describe their chest pain clearly, or who doesn't understand their telemetry alarm, costs minutes that ACS outcomes are measured in. These are the phrases that protect your patients on the telemetry floor, in the cath lab, and at discharge — not restaurant Spanish, not flashcard vocabulary.

Chest pain assessment — OPQRST in Spanish

ACS presentation in Spanish-speaking patients is complicated by linguistic anchoring: "dolor" (pain) is often denied by patients experiencing pressure or tightness, because "presión" doesn't register as a pain word. Use both terms and let the patient choose theirs.

Onset

• "¿Cuándo empezó el dolor — o la presión, o la molestia en el pecho?" — When did the pain — or pressure, or discomfort in the chest — start?
• "¿Estaba haciendo algo cuando empezó — caminando, cargando algo, o llegó de repente estando en reposo?" — Were you doing something when it started — walking, lifting something, or did it come on suddenly while you were resting?

Provocation and palliation

• "¿Algo lo empeora — caminar, subir escaleras, respirar profundo, el frío?" — Does anything make it worse — walking, climbing stairs, deep breathing, the cold?
• "¿Algo lo mejora — descansar, sentarse, una posición específica?" — Does anything make it better — resting, sitting, a specific position?

Quality

• "¿Cómo describiría la sensación — presión, apretón, ardor, punzada, o como un peso en el pecho?" — How would you describe the sensation — pressure, squeezing, burning, stabbing, or like a weight on your chest?
• Regional note: Patients from Mexico and Central America often describe ACS as "ahogamiento" (suffocation) or "opresión" (oppression/heaviness) rather than "dolor." Accept their word and repeat it back: "¿Esa opresión — ¿está ahí ahora mismo?"

Radiation

• "¿La molestia se corre a algún otro lado — al brazo izquierdo, al cuello, a la mandíbula, a la espalda, al estómago?" — Does the discomfort spread anywhere — to the left arm, neck, jaw, back, or stomach?
• "Muéstreme con la mano por dónde se corre." — Show me with your hand where it spreads.

Severity and time

• "Del 0 al 10, donde 0 es nada y 10 es el peor dolor imaginable, ¿qué número le daría a esto?" — On a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is nothing and 10 is the worst pain imaginable, what number would you give this?
• "¿Es constante — está ahí todo el tiempo — o va y viene?" — Is it constant — there all the time — or does it come and go?
• "¿Cuánto tiempo lleva así? ¿Minutos, horas, o desde ayer?" — How long has it been like this? Minutes, hours, or since yesterday?

For the full symptom assessment framework, see how to ask about symptoms in Spanish (OPQRST).

Explaining telemetry and cardiac monitoring

Patients who understand their monitor are less anxious and more likely to call the nurse when the alarm sounds instead of silencing it themselves. The three-sentence explanation:

• "Esta máquina lleva un registro continuo de los latidos de su corazón — como un diario eléctrico que lo monitoreamos las 24 horas." — This machine keeps a continuous record of your heartbeats — like an electrical diary that we monitor 24 hours.
• "Los parches en el pecho solo leen la actividad del corazón — no dan corriente, no duelen, y no hacen nada al corazón." — The patches on the chest only read the heart's activity — they don't deliver current, don't hurt, and don't do anything to the heart.
• "Si escucha una alarma, no se asuste — a veces suenan cuando se mueve o un parche se desprende. Siempre venimos a revisar." — If you hear an alarm, don't be alarmed — sometimes they sound when you move or a patch comes loose. We always come to check.

Explaining ECG (electrocardiogram)

• "Un electrocardiograma — ECG o EKG — es una foto de unos segundos de la actividad eléctrica del corazón. No da corriente. Los cables solo leen." — An electrocardiogram is a few-second snapshot of the heart's electrical activity. It doesn't deliver current. The cables only read.
• "Vamos a necesitar que se quede muy quieto por unos 15 segundos mientras hacemos el ECG — cualquier movimiento interfiere con la lectura." — We'll need you to stay very still for about 15 seconds while we do the ECG — any movement interferes with the reading.

Heart failure education — the conversation that prevents readmissions

Heart failure readmissions in Hispanic patients cluster around two modifiable factors: dietary sodium excess and failure to act on early weight gain. The phrases that interrupt both patterns:

The mechanism — in 30 seconds

"Su corazón no bombea la sangre con tanta fuerza como antes. Eso hace que el líquido se acumule — en los pulmones se siente como falta de aire; en las piernas se ve como hinchazón. Los medicamentos ayudan al corazón a trabajar mejor y al cuerpo a eliminar ese líquido sobrante." — Your heart doesn't pump blood as strongly as before. That makes fluid accumulate — in the lungs it feels like shortness of breath; in the legs it looks like swelling. The medications help the heart work better and help the body eliminate that extra fluid.

Daily weight monitoring

• "El líquido extra pesa. Si se pesa todos los días a la misma hora — de mañana, antes de comer, después de ir al baño — el número le dice cuánto líquido está cargando." — Extra fluid weighs something. If you weigh yourself every day at the same time — morning, before eating, after the bathroom — the number tells you how much fluid you're carrying.
• "Si sube más de 2 libras en un día, o más de 5 libras en una semana, llame al médico antes de que tenga síntomas — no espere a sentirse mal." — If you go up more than 2 pounds in a day, or more than 5 pounds in a week, call the doctor before you have symptoms — don't wait until you feel bad.
• "¿Tiene báscula en casa? Si no, vamos a ver cómo conseguirle una — esto es tan importante como tomar el medicamento." — Do you have a scale at home? If not, we'll see how to get you one — this is as important as taking your medication.

Sodium restriction

• "La sal hace que el cuerpo retenga líquido — eso le da más trabajo al corazón. La meta es menos de 2,000 miligramos de sodio al día — eso es como una cucharadita de sal en todo el día." — Salt makes the body retain fluid — that gives the heart more work. The goal is less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium per day — that's about one teaspoon of salt spread across the whole day.
• "Los alimentos con más sal escondida: sopas enlatadas, embutidos como chorizo y salchicha, queso fresco, tortillas de harina, y salsas embotelladas." — Foods with the most hidden salt: canned soups, processed meats like chorizo and sausage, fresh cheese, flour tortillas, and bottled sauces.

When to call 911 — warning signs

"Llame al 911 de inmediato si tiene: dificultad para respirar que no mejora al sentarse, dolor de pecho, se desmaya o casi se desmaya, o los labios o dedos se ponen azules." — Call 911 immediately if you have: shortness of breath that doesn't improve with sitting, chest pain, you faint or nearly faint, or your lips or fingers turn blue.

Cardiac catheterization — prep and recovery

Pre-procedure explanation

• "Vamos a pasar un tubo muy delgado — un catéter — por una arteria de la muñeca o de la ingle hasta el corazón para ver las arterias con una cámara de rayos X." — We're going to pass a very thin tube — a catheter — through an artery in your wrist or groin all the way to the heart to look at the arteries with an X-ray camera.
• "Si encontramos un bloqueo, podemos abrirlo en el mismo procedimiento con un globo y un stent — una malla pequeña que mantiene la arteria abierta." — If we find a blockage, we can open it in the same procedure with a balloon and a stent — a small mesh that keeps the artery open.
• "Estará despierto pero relajado — le damos medicamento para que no sienta dolor, pero sí puede sentir presión y calor cuando inyectamos el medio de contraste." — You'll be awake but relaxed — we give medication so you don't feel pain, but you may feel pressure and warmth when we inject the contrast dye.

Post-cath — radial access (wrist)

• "Entramos por la muñeca. El brazalete que tiene puesto hace presión para controlar el sangrado — no lo quite y no moje la mano." — We went in through the wrist. The band on your wrist applies pressure to control bleeding — don't remove it and don't get the hand wet.
• "Si la mano se pone muy fría, entumecida, azul, o si siente hormigueo fuerte, llámeme de inmediato." — If the hand becomes very cold, numb, blue, or you feel strong tingling, call me immediately.

Post-cath — femoral access (groin)

• "Entramos por la ingle. Mantenga la pierna recta por dos horas — no la doble, no se levante sin avisarme." — We went in through the groin. Keep your leg straight for two hours — don't bend it, don't get up without telling me.
• "Si nota que el área de la ingle sangra, se hincha, o siente un latido fuerte ahí, presione y llame de inmediato." — If you notice the groin area is bleeding, swelling, or you feel a strong throbbing there, press and call immediately.

Nitroglycerin teaching

The single most common cardiac medication teaching moment that requires patient Spanish — and the one where misunderstanding most directly causes harm:

• Use: "Si tiene dolor o presión en el pecho, ponga una tableta debajo de la lengua — no la trague, déjela disolverse sola. Espere 5 minutos." — If you have chest pain or pressure, place a tablet under the tongue — don't swallow it, let it dissolve on its own. Wait 5 minutes.
• Repeat: "Si el dolor no se va, tome una segunda tableta. Puede tomar hasta 3 tabletas, con 5 minutos entre cada una." — If the pain doesn't go away, take a second tablet. You can take up to 3 tablets, with 5 minutes between each.
• Call 911: "Si después de 3 tabletas el dolor sigue — o si es el primer episodio — llame al 911. No maneje." — If after 3 tablets the pain continues — or if it's the first episode — call 911. Don't drive.
• Side effects: "Puede causar dolor de cabeza y mareos al levantarse — eso es normal y pasa en unos minutos. Levántese despacio." — It can cause headache and dizziness when standing — that's normal and passes in a few minutes. Stand up slowly.

For a full medication teaching framework, see Spanish phrases for medication teaching.

FAQs cardiac nurses ask us