ATI PN Learning System Medical-Surgical: Cardiovascular and Hematology Practice Quiz

A nurse is reinforcing discharge teaching with a client who has a new permanent pacemaker. Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

"Avoid lifting both arms above your head when dressing." The nurse should reinforce that the client should avoid lifting her arm or shoulder on the side of the pacemaker because dislodgement of the pacer leads can occur.

A nurse is reinforcing teaching about lifestyle changes with a client who had a myocardial infarction and has a new prescription for a beta blocker. Which of the following client statements indicates an understanding of the teaching?

"Before taking my medication, I will check my blood pressure and radial pulse rate." A beta blocker will induce bradycardia. The client should take her pulse rate for 1 min before self-administration.

A nurse is assisting in the care of a client who is in hypovolemic shock. While waiting for a unit of blood, the nurse should plan to administer which of the following IV solutions?

0.9% sodium chloride Solutions of 0.9% sodium chloride, as well as Lactated Ringer's solution, are used for fluid volume replacement. Sodium chloride, a crystalloid, is a physiologic isotonic solution that replaces lost volume in the blood stream and is the only solution to use when infusing blood products.

A nurse is preparing to transfuse 250 mL of packed red blood cells (RBCs) to a client over 4 hr. Available is a blood administration set that delivers 10 gtt/mL. The nurse should set the manual blood tranfusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

10 gtt/min

A nurse is assisting in the care of a client who has an abdominal aortic aneurysm and is scheduled for surgery. The client's vital signs are blood pressure 160/98 mmHg, heart rate 102/min, respirations 22/min, and SpO2 95%. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Administer antihypertensive medication for blood pressure. The nurse should administer antihypertensive medication for the elevated blood pressure because hypertension can cause a sudden rupture of the aneurysm due to pressure on the arterial wall.

A nurse is checking for cardiac tamponade on a client who has pericarditis. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

Auscultate blood pressure for pulsus paradoxus. The client who has cardiac tamponade will have pulsus paradoxus when the systolic blood pressure is at least 10 mmHg higher on expiration than on inspiration. This occurs because of the sudden decrease in cardiac output from the fluid compressing the atria and ventricles.

A nurse is caring for a client who had a myocardial infarction 5 days ago. The client has a sudden onset of shortness of breath and begins coughing frothy, pink sputum. The nurse auscultates loud, bubbly sounds on inspiration. WHich of the following adventitious breath sounds should the nurse document?

Coarse crackles A client who had a recent myocardial infarction is at risk for left-sided heart failure. Crackles are breath sounds caused by movement of air through airways partially or intermittently occluded with fluid and are associated with heart failure and frothy sputum. Crackling sounds are heard at the end of inspiration and are not cleared by coughing.

A nurse in a clinic is collecting data from a client who has a history of peripheral arterial disease. Which of the following findings on the client's lower extremities should the nurse expect?

Cool, pale skin with minimal body hair A client who has peripheral arterial disease can display dry, scaly, pale, or mottled skin with minimal body hair because of narrowing of the arteries in the legs and feet. This causes a decrease in blood flow to the distal extremities, which can lead to tissue damage. Common manifestations are intermittent claudication (leg pain with exercise), cold or numb feet at rest, loss of hair on the lower legs, and weakened pulses.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who has right-sided heart failure. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Dependent edema Blood return from the venous system to the right atrium is impaired by a weakened right heart. The subsequent systemic venous backup leads to devopment of dependent edema.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who has pericarditis. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse expect?

Dyspnea The client who has pericarditis will experience dyspnea, hiccups, and a nonproductive cough. These manifestations can indicate heart failure from pericardial compression due to constrictive pericarditis or cardiac tamponade.

A nurse is checking laboratory values for an adult client who has sickle cell anemia and is in crisis. For which of the following complications should the nurse monitor?

Elevated bilirubin The client who has sickle cell anemia and is in crisis will have an elevated bilirubin because hemolysis of the abnormal red blood cells occurs.

A nurse is caring for a client who has advanced heart failure. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Enforce fluid restrictions. The nurse should enforce fluid restrictions to help reduce fluid retention in the lungs and lower extremities.

A nurse is caring for a client who has hemophilia. The client reports pain and swelling in a joint following an injury. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Hemophilia is a hereditary bleeding disorder in which blood clots slowly and abnormal bleeding occurs. It is caused by a deficiency in the most common clotting factor, factor VIII (hemophilia A). Aggressive factor replacement is initiated to prevent hemarthrosis that can result in the long-term loss of range-of-motion in repeatedly affected joints.

A nurse is reinforcing teaching with a client who has anemia and a new prescription for epoetin alfa. Which of the following information should the nurse include in the teaching?

Hypertension is a common adverse effect of this medication. The nurse should reinforce in the teaching that a common adverse effect of epoetin alfa is hypertension because of the rise in the production of erythrocytes and other blood cell types. Epoetin alfa is a synthetic version of human erythropoietin. Epoetin alfa is used to treat anemia associated with kidney disease or medication therapy. It increases and maintains the red blood cell level.

A nurse is contributing to the plan of care for a client who has pernicious anemia. Which of the following interventions should the nurse recommend?

Initiate weekly injections of vitamin B12. The nurse should recommend that weekly injections of vitamin B12 be initiated for a client who has pernicious anemia, and then decrease to monthly. Pernicious anemia is caused by a lack of intrinsic factor needed to absorb vitamin B12 from the gastrointestinal tract.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who has fluid volume overload resulting from a cardiovascular disorder. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse expect? (Select all that apply.)

Jugular vein distension The increase in venous pressure due to excessive circulating blood volume results in neck vein distension. Moist crackles This is an indicator of pulmonary edema that can quickly lead to death. Increased heart rate Fluid volume excess, or hypervolemia, is an expansion of fluid volume in the extracellular fluid compartment. THis results in increased heart rate and bounding pulses.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who has an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Which of the following manifestations should the nurse expect?

Lower back discomfort Abdominal aortic aneurysm involves a widening, stretching, or ballooning of the aorta. Back and abdominal pain indicate that the aneyrysm is extending downward and pressing on lumbar spinal nerve roots, causing pain.

A nurse is administering a loop diuretic to a client who has 3+ pitting edema in the lower extremities. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Monitor the client for ototoxicity. The nurse should monitor the client for ototoxicity and reinforce that the client should report any manifestations of hearing impairment while on the loop diuretic. The nurse should use caution when a loop diuretic is used in conjunction with other ototoxic medications, such as aminoglycoside antibiotics.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who reports using fish oil as a dietary supplement. Which of the following substances in fish oil should the nurse recognize as a health benefit to the client?

Omega-3 fatty acids Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke by decreasing triglyceride levels.

A nurse is collecting data from a client who has manifestations of aplastic anemia. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Petechiae and ecchymosis The client who has aplastic anemia will have manifestations of petechiae and ecchymosis. Dyspnea on exertion also can be present. In aplastic anemia, all three major blood components (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) are reduced or absent, which is known as pancytopenia. Manifestations usually develop gradually.

A nurse is caring for a client who is postoperative following vein ligation and stripping for varicose veins. Which of the following actions should the nurse take?

Position the client supine with his legs elevated when in bed. The nurse should elevate the client's legs above his heart to promote venous return by gravity. During discharge teaching, the nurse should reinforce the importance of periodic positioning of the legs above the heart.

A nurse is caring for a client who has heart failure and is lethargic with muscle weakness. The client's telemetry reading displays dysrhythmias. Which of the following laboratory results should the nurse anticipate?

Potassium 2.8 mEq/L Manifestations of hypokalemia include muscle weakness and cramps, confusion, and drowsiness. Hypokalemia can also result in life-threatening dysrhythmias.

A nurse is evaluating a client's repeat laboratory results 4 hr after administering fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Which of the following laboratory values should the nurse review?

Prothrombin time The nurse should review the client's prothrombin time after the administration of FFP, which is plasma rich in clotting factors. FFP is administered to treat acute clotting disorders. The desired effect is a decrease in the prothrombin time.

A nurse is monitoring a client who is receiving a unit of packed red blood cells (RBCs) following surgery. The client reports itching and has hives 30 min after the infusion begins. Which of the folowing actions should the nurse take first?

Stop the infusion of blood. The nurse should apply the urgent vs. nonurgent priority-setting framework when caring for this client. Using this framework, the nurse should consider urgent needs the priority because they pose more of a threat to the client. The nurse might also need to use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the ABC priority-setting framework, or nursing knowledge to identify which finding is the most urgent. The nurse should stop the infusion of blood because the client has manifestations of an allergic reaction.

A nurse is assisting in collecting data from a client who has a history of unstable angina. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

The client reports chest pain when at rest. The client who has unstable angina will have chest pain even while resting because of insufficient blood flow to the coronary arteries and decreased oxygen supply. Chest pain at rest is a condition called variant (Prinzmetal's) angina, caused by an artery spasm.

A nurse is assisting in the plan of care for a client who is having percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with stent placement. Which of the following actions should the nurse anticipate in the postoperative plan of care?

The nurse should plan to initiate an aspirin regimen or another antiplatelet agent. The antiplatelet medication maintains the patency of the stent by reducing platelet aggregation.

A nurse is assisting in monitoring a client who had a myocardial infarction. For which of the following complications should the nurse monitor in the first 24 hr?

Ventricular dysrhythmias After a myocardial infarction, the electrical conduction system of the heart can be irritable and prone to dysrhythmias. Ischemic tissue caused by the infarction can also interfere with the normal conduction patterns of the heart's electrical system.

A nurse in assisting in developing the plan of care for an older adult client who is to receive a unit of packed red blood cells (RBCs). Which of the following actions should the nurse recommend?

Verify the information on the packed RBCs with another nurse. The nurse should verify the information on the label of the packed RBCs with another nurse. She should also verify the information on the label with the provider's order, the blood administration form from the blood bank, and with the client armband and blood bracelet.

A nurse is caring for a client who has late-stage heart failure and is experiencing fluid volume overload. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Weight gain of 1 kg (2.2 lb) in 1 day A weight gain of 1 kg in 1 day alerts the nurse that the client might be retaining fluid and is at risk of fluid volume overload. This in andivation that the client's heart failure is worsening.

A nurse is assiting in the preparation of a unit of packed red blood cells (RBCs) for a client who has anemia. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first?

Witness the informed consent. The nurse should apply the least invasive priority-setting framework. This framework assigns priority to nursing interventions that are least invasive to the client, as long as those interventions do not jeopardize client safety. The nurse should take interventions that are not invasive to the client before interventions that are invasive; therefore, as witnessing the informed consent is the least invasive it is the action that should be performed first. Unless it is an emergency, informed consent should be obtained prior to initiating a blood transfusion on a client.