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One of the students asks what the consequences of uncorrected, left-sided heart failure would be. What would be the nursing instructor's best response?
- A. Distention of the jugular vein
- B. Effort to lie down to breathe
- C. Right-sided heart failure
- D. Blood congestion in neck veins
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: If uncorrected, left-sided heart failure is followed by right-sided heart failure because the circulatory system is a continuous loop. With left-sided congestive heart failure, auscultation reveals a crackling sound, wheezes, and gurgles. Wet lung sounds are accompanied by dyspnea and an effort to sit up to breathe. If the right side of the heart fails to pump efficiently, blood becomes congested in the neck veins, and the nurse may inspect the distention of external jugular vein.
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The nurse monitors a client with dark skin for signs of cyanosis. Which manifestation, documented by the nurse, indicates cyanosis for this client?
- A. Dark red lips and tongue
- B. Grayish cast to the skin
- C. Pale appearance to the skin
- D. Pale pink mucous membranes
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A good light is necessary when monitoring skin color. Many clients with cardiac disorders exhibit changes in skin color (e.g., cyanosis, pallor). Cyanosis can be detected by carefully noting color changes in the oral mucous membranes as well as in the lips, earlobes, skin, and nail beds. In dark-skinned clients, a grayish cast to the skin indicates pallor. In clients who are light skinned, extreme pallor is easy to detect because the skin appears almost bloodless. Dark red lips and tongue are not manifestations associated with cyanosis. A pale appearance can indicate cyanosis for a client with light skin. The presence of pale pink mucous membranes is a normal or expected finding and is not associated with cyanosis.
The nurse is discharging a client after a cardiac catheterization. What would the nurse include in the discharge teaching?
- A. Eat only soft foods for the next 12 hours.
- B. Report any numbness, tingling, or sharp pain in the extremity.
- C. Restrict your intake of water until the dye is out of the body.
- D. Move around whenever the client feels like getting up.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Instructions for the client and family include: Keep the extremity straight for several hours and avoid movement; Report any warm, wet feeling that may indicate oozing blood, numbness, tingling, or sharp pain in the extremity; Drink a large volume of fluid to relieve thirst and promote the excretion of the dye. There is no need to eat only soft foods after a cardiac catheterization.
The nurse is caring for a client with right-sided heart failure. When assessing the respiratory rate of this client, what is an indication that the client is having difficulty breathing?
- A. Not using the abdominal muscles during breathing
- B. Using accessory muscles during respiration
- C. Barely palpable, thready pulse volume
- D. Combination of noisy and quiet respiration
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: When assessing the respiratory rate of a client with a cardiovascular disorder, the nurse observes the character of the respirations, noting whether the client's breathing is easy, labored, or dyspneic; deep or shallow; and noisy or quiet. The use of accessory muscles such as neck or abdominal muscles during respiration is an indication that the client is having difficulty breathing. Pulse volume is described as feeling full, weak, or thready, meaning barely palpable.
The nurse caring for a client who is suspected of having cardiovascular disease has a stress test ordered. The client has a comorbidity of multiple sclerosis, so the nurse knows the stress test will be drug induced. What drug will be used to dilate the coronary arteries?
- A. Thallium
- B. Lorazepam
- C. Diazepam
- D. Dobutamine
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Drugs such as adenosine (Adenocard), dipyridamole (Persantine), or dobutamine (Dobutrex) may be administered singularly or in combination by the IV route. The drugs dilate the coronary arteries, similar to the vasodilation that occurs when a person exercises to increase the heart muscle's blood supply. The other drugs would not dilate the coronary arteries.
The nurse is assessing a client who has dyspnea and considering the process of gas exchange. Which structural characteristic of capillaries best enables gas exchange at the cellular level?
- A. Capillaries are one cell-layer thick.
- B. Capillaries form a complex network
- C. Capillaries transport blood back to the heart.
- D. Capillaries are elastic structures.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Capillaries are one cell-layer thick and in direct contact with the cells of all tissues. This allows ease of gas exchange. Capillaries do form a complex network; however, it is the one cell structure that facilitates gas exchange. Venules and veins transport blood back to the heart. Arteries are elastic.