prep u cardiac test 3 con..

A client with heart failure is having a decrease in cardiac output. What indication does the nurse have that this is occurring?

Blood pressure 80/46 mm Hg The body can compensate for changes in heart function that occur over time. When cardiac output falls, the body uses certain compensatory mechanisms designed to increase stroke volume and maintain blood pressure. These compensatory mechanisms can temporarily improve the client's cardiac output but ultimately fail when contractility is further compromised. A heart rate of 72 beats/minuteis within normal range as well as the blood pressure and oxygen saturation.

Pulmonary edema is often caused by

congestive heart failure. When the heart is not able to pump efficiently, blood can back up into the veins that take blood through the lungs. As the pressure in these blood vessels increases, fluid is pushed into the air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs

The nurse is admitting a client with frothy pink sputum. What does the nurse suspect is the primary underlying disorder of pulmonary edema?

decreased left ventricular pumping

The nurse is caring for a client with heart failure who is receiving torsemide. What implementation will help the nurse evaluate the client's response of the medication?

measuring intake and output

A total artificial heart (TAH) is an electrically powered pump that circulates blood into the pulmonary artery and the aorta, thus replacing the functions of both the right and left ventricles. What makes it different from an LVAD?

An LVAD only supports a failing left ventricle. A TAH is considered an extension of LVADs, which only support a failing left ventricle. TAHs are targeted for clients who are unlikely to live more than a month without further interventions.

Which is a key diagnostic indicator of heart failure?

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)

A client has been prescribed furosemide 80 mg twice daily. The asymptomatic client begins to have rare premature ventricular contractions followed by runs of bigeminy with stable signs. What action will the nurse perform next?

Check the client's potassium level.

A client with left-sided heart failure reports increasing shortness of breath and is agitated and coughing up pink-tinged, foamy sputum. The nurse should recognize these findings as signs and symptoms of what condition?

acute pulmonary edema.

The nurse is assessing a patient who is known to have right-sided HF. What assessment finding is most consistent with this patient's diagnosis?

heart failure

A patient has been admitted to the hospital with exacerbation of heart failure (HF) that has resulted in pulmonary and peripheral edema. The nurse has been carefully monitoring the trajectory of the patient's signs and symptoms of HF. How can the nurse best monitor the patient's fluid balance?

By performing daily weights at the same time each day

The nurse is obtaining data on an older adult client. What finding may indicate to the nurse the early symptom of heart failure?

Dyspnea on exertion

Which describes difficulty breathing when a client is lying flat?

Orthopnea

The nurse is administering digoxin to a client with heart failure. What laboratory value may predispose the client to digoxin toxicity?

Potassium level of 2.8 mEq/L