Cardiac Vascular Nursing Exam Technology & Digital Applications 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When reviewing a patient's telemetry strip, you note the QRS complexes are wide and bizarre with a rate of 180 bpm and no discernible P waves. Which digital monitoring alert should have fired first?
- Bradycardia alert
- Ventricular tachycardia alert (Correct answer)
- Atrial fibrillation alert
- ST-elevation alert
Correct answer: Ventricular tachycardia alert
Wide, bizarre QRS complexes at 180 bpm with absent P waves are characteristic of ventricular tachycardia, which modern telemetry systems are programmed to detect and alarm.
Question 2: A cardiovascular nurse is using an electronic health record (EHR) to reconcile medications post-cardiac catheterization. Which EHR feature most reduces the risk of duplicate antiplatelet therapy?
- Allergy alert banner
- Drug-drug interaction checker
- Medication reconciliation module (Correct answer)
- e-Prescribing signature pad
Correct answer: Medication reconciliation module
The medication reconciliation module compares home medications with new orders, preventing duplication of antiplatelet agents such as aspirin and clopidogrel.
Question 3: A remote cardiac monitoring center receives a transmission showing asystole for 8 seconds. What is the first digital action the monitoring technician should take?
- Email the cardiologist the strip
- Log the event in the system and wait 5 minutes
- Immediately notify the bedside nurse via secure messaging (Correct answer)
- Print the strip for morning rounds
Correct answer: Immediately notify the bedside nurse via secure messaging
Asystole requires immediate clinical response; the technician must notify the bedside nurse instantly through the facility's secure communication system.
Question 4: Which setting on a continuous blood pressure monitoring system most commonly causes false high-alarm fatigue in a cardiac ICU?
- Alarm delay set to 0 seconds
- Narrow alarm threshold limits (Correct answer)
- Wide alarm threshold limits
- Alarm volume set to maximum
Correct answer: Narrow alarm threshold limits
Narrow alarm threshold limits trigger frequent alerts for minor fluctuations, leading to alarm fatigue and desensitization among nursing staff.
Question 5: A nurse is setting up a wearable cardiac event monitor for outpatient use. What patient education is most critical for accurate data transmission?
- Avoid all physical activity while wearing the device
- Keep the device dry and charged, and activate it during symptoms (Correct answer)
- Replace electrodes weekly regardless of adhesion
- Transmit data only at scheduled clinic appointments
Correct answer: Keep the device dry and charged, and activate it during symptoms
Accurate event monitoring requires the device to remain operational and for the patient to activate it during symptomatic episodes to capture relevant rhythm data.
Question 6: Which cybersecurity practice is most important when a cardiovascular nurse accesses a patient's pacemaker interrogation report on a shared workstation?
- Saving the report to the desktop for quick access
- Logging out of the EHR after reviewing the report (Correct answer)
- Printing the report and leaving it at the nurses' station
- Sharing login credentials with the on-call technician
Correct answer: Logging out of the EHR after reviewing the report
Logging out after each session on a shared workstation prevents unauthorized access to protected health information and maintains HIPAA compliance.
Question 7: During a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), the digital hemodynamic monitoring system shows a sudden drop in arterial line pressure. What is the nurse's priority action?
- Reboot the monitoring system
- Assess the patient and check the arterial line for patency or kinking (Correct answer)
- Document the event and continue the procedure
- Increase the IV fluid rate based on the digital reading alone
Correct answer: Assess the patient and check the arterial line for patency or kinking
Technology data must always be correlated with clinical assessment; a sudden pressure drop could indicate line malfunction or true hemodynamic compromise requiring immediate evaluation.
Cardiac Vascular Nursing Exam Technology & Digital Applications 2
When reviewing a patient's telemetry strip, you note the QRS complexes are wide and bizarre with a rate of 180 bpm and no discernible P waves.
Which digital monitoring alert should have fired first?