Nokea
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.
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When caring for a client with dysfunction in the conduction system, at which period would the nurse note that cells are resistant to stimulation?
- A. During polarization
- B. During depolarization
- C. During repolarization
- D. During the refractory period
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The refractory period is the time when cells are resistant to electrical stimulation. Repolarization is when the ions realign themselves to wait for an electrical signal. Depolarization occurs during muscle contraction when positive ions move inside the myocardial cell membrane and negative ions move outside. Before an impulse is generated, the cells are in a polarized state.
The nurse provides care for a dying client following a massive myocardial infarction (MI). The nurse notes the client is experiencing dyspnea and has a barely palpable pulse. Which documentation of pulse quality by the nurse is appropriate?
- A. The client's pulse is full.
- B. The client is exhibiting a thready pulse.
- C. The client is experiencing a pulse deficit.
- D. The client's pulse indicates a regular rhythm.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: When taking a client's pulse, the nurse notes its rate, rhythm, and quality. The pulse quality refers to its palpated volume. Pulse volume is described as feeling full, weak, or thready, meaning barely palpable. Documentation that the client's pulse is full is inaccurate. The nurse also determines any pulse deficit by counting the heart rate through auscultation at the apex while a second nurse simultaneously palpates and counts the radial pulse for a full minute. The difference, if any, is the pulse deficit. Documenting that the client's pulse indicates a regular rhythm is inaccurate because the documentation in this scenario focuses on the quality, not rhythm.
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.
In which client does the nurse consider the presence of an S3 heart sound to be normal?
- A. In a client who is in elementary school
- B. In a client who is an older adult
- C. In a client with an indwelling pacemaker
- D. In a client who is diagnosed with heart failure
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A heart sound that follows S1 and S2 is called an S3 heart sound, or a ventricular gallop. Although an abnormal finding for many clients, this finding is considered normal in many pediatric clients, including a school-age client. In adults, the presence of S3 may signify heart failure, so this is not considered normal. Additionally, S3 is not considered normal for older adult clients nor for a client who has an indwelling pacemaker.
The nurse is caring for a client with nursing diagnosis of ineffective tissue perfusion. Which area of the heart would the nurse anticipate being compromised?
- A. Right atrium
- B. Pulmonary artery
- C. Right ventricle
- D. Aorta
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: There are four chambers to the heart. The right and left ventricles are the heart's major pumping chamber. The right ventricle pumps to the lungs to oxygenate the blood. The left ventricle pumps blood to the tissues and cells. The pulmonary artery and aorta are not of the heart.