Which question would be most helpful for the nurse to ask when obtaining the client's health history if a client is admitted to the health care facility with acute chest pain?

What were you doing when the pain started is the most helpful question the nurse should ask when obtaining the health history from a client with acute chest pain.

Asking do you need anything or if anyone in the family has been sick lately would not help the nurse to determine the problem because these questions do not reveal anything about the acute heart attack.

Asking "why do you think you had a heart attack" is not a good question to ask when taking the client's history as the question has already concluded on diagnosis.

\"what were you doing when the pain started?\"-rationale: subjective data (data from the client) about the chest pain help the nurse determine the specific health problem. for example, asking about the setting in which the pain developed can provide helpful information about its cause. asking if the client needs anything or if family members have been sick wouldnt elicit information related to a cardiac problem. asking why the client thinks he had a heart attack presumes a particular diagnosis and asks a why question, which is a nontherapeutic communication technique. client needs category: physiological integrity client needs subcategory: physiological adaptation cognitive level: application reference: craven, r.f., and hirnle, c.j. fundamentals of nursing: human health and function, 5th ed. philadelphia: lippincott williams & wilkins, 2007, p. 440.