Cardiovascular Evaluation & Monitoring Flashcards
7 cards from real ECC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Cardiovascular Evaluation & Monitoring flashcards as text
A patient presents with sudden-onset chest pain radiating to the back, BP 190/110 in the right arm and 145/88 in the left arm. What diagnosis should be considered first?
Answer: Aortic dissection
Inter-arm blood pressure discrepancy combined with severe chest pain radiating to the back is a classic presentation of aortic dissection.
Which waveform on a pulmonary artery catheter tracing represents right ventricular pressure?
Answer: A waveform with systolic pressure 15-25 mmHg and diastolic pressure 0-8 mmHg
Normal right ventricular pressure is 15-25 mmHg systolic and 0-8 mmHg diastolic, distinguishing it from pulmonary artery pressures which have higher diastolic values.
On a 12-lead ECG, ST-segment elevation in leads V1-V4 with reciprocal changes in the inferior leads is most consistent with:
Answer: Anterior STEMI
ST elevation in V1-V4 corresponds to the anterior wall of the left ventricle, typically caused by LAD occlusion.
A patient's continuous SpO2 monitoring shows sudden drop from 98% to 78% with a normal waveform on the plethysmograph. What is the most appropriate next action?
Answer: Recheck the probe placement and consider arterial blood gas
A sudden dramatic drop with preserved waveform quality suggests probe artifact or displacement; repositioning and confirming with ABG is appropriate before escalating.
Which finding on physical exam is the most specific indicator of elevated left ventricular filling pressure?
Answer: Crackles at the lung bases
Bilateral basilar crackles indicate pulmonary edema from elevated left-sided filling pressures causing fluid transudation into the alveoli.
In a patient with suspected right heart failure, which hemodynamic finding would you expect?
Answer: Elevated CVP with low or normal pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
Right heart failure causes blood to back up into the systemic venous system, elevating CVP while left-sided filling pressures may remain normal or low.
A 12-lead ECG shows delta waves, short PR interval, and wide QRS complexes. This pattern is most consistent with:
Answer: Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome
The triad of delta waves, short PR interval, and wide QRS is the classic ECG presentation of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome due to ventricular pre-excitation via an accessory pathway.