Cardiovascular & Respiratory Care Flashcards
7 cards from real LVN 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 & Respiratory Care flashcards as text
A patient with DVT is receiving heparin. The LVN's primary monitoring priority is:
Answer: Bleeding
Heparin is an anticoagulant; the primary risk of therapy is bleeding due to excessive anticoagulation.
Which assessment findings are most consistent with right-sided heart failure?
Answer: Dependent edema and jugular vein distension
Right-sided heart failure causes systemic venous congestion leading to peripheral dependent edema and jugular vein distension.
A patient has a blood pressure of 220/120 mmHg and is symptomatic. The LVN's priority actions are to:
Answer: Administer prescribed antihypertensive medication and notify the physician
Hypertensive crisis requires immediate antihypertensive administration and physician notification to prevent end-organ damage.
When auscultating a patient's chest, the LVN hears a friction rub. This finding is most consistent with:
Answer: Pericarditis
A pericardial friction rub results from inflamed pericardial layers rubbing against each other, characteristic of pericarditis.
A patient with chronic heart failure is prescribed furosemide (Lasix). The LVN should monitor which serum electrolyte most closely?
Answer: Potassium
Furosemide is a loop diuretic that promotes renal potassium excretion, placing patients at risk for hypokalemia.
Which respiratory pattern alternates between cycles of increasing depth, decreasing depth, and apnea, commonly seen in heart failure and CNS disorders?
Answer: Cheyne-Stokes respiration
Cheyne-Stokes respiration is characterized by crescendo-decrescendo breathing cycles alternating with apnea, seen in heart failure and brain injury.
A patient reports sudden chest pain that worsens with inspiration and is relieved by leaning forward. This presentation is most consistent with:
Answer: Pericarditis
Pericarditis classically presents with pleuritic chest pain that worsens with inspiration and improves when leaning forward, reducing pressure on the inflamed pericardium.