Exam 20: Heart and Neck Vessels

What is the sac that surrounds and protects the heart is called?

What should the nurse do when assessing the carotid arteries of an older patient with cardiovascular disease?

Which sequence does the electrical stimulus of the cardiac cycle follow?

The nurse is assessing a patient with possible cardiomyopathy and assesses the hepatojugular reflux. If heart failure is present, then the nurse should recognize which finding while pushing on the right upper quadrant of the patient's abdomen, just below the rib cage?

Which of these statements describes the closure of the valves in a normal cardiac cycle?

The nurse is preparing for a class on risk factors for hypertension and reviews recent statistics. Which racial group has the highest prevalence of hypertension in the world?

The mother of a 10-month-old infant tells the nurse that she has noticed that her son becomes blue when he is crying and that the frequency of this is increasing. He is also not crawling yet. During the examination the nurse palpates a thrill at the left lower sternal border and auscultates a loud systolic murmur in the same area. What would be the most likely cause of these findings?

When performing a cardiovascular assessment, what should the nurse understand about an S₄ heart sound?

During cardiac auscultation, the nurse hears a sound immediately occurring after the S₂ at the second left intercostal space. What should the nurse do to further assess this sound?

During an assessment of a healthy adult, where would the nurse expect to palpate the apical impulse?

During a cardiac assessment on a 38-year-old patient in the hospital for "chest pain," the nurse finds the following: jugular vein pulsations 4 cm above the sternal angle when the patient is elevated at 45 degrees, blood pressure 98/60 mm Hg, heart rate 130 beats per minute, ankle edema, difficulty breathing when supine, and an S₃ on auscultation. Which of these conditions best explains the cause of these findings?

A 70-year-old patient with a history of hypertension has a blood pressure of 180/100 mm Hg and a heart rate of 90 beats per minute. The nurse hears an extra heart sound at the apex immediately before the S₁. The sound is heard only with the bell of the stethoscope while the patient is in the left lateral position. Based on these findings and the patient's history, the nurse should recognize this extra heart sound is most likely what?

A 30-year-old woman with a history of mitral valve problems states that she has been "very tired." She has started waking up at night and feels like her "heart is pounding." During the assessment, the nurse palpates a thrill and lift at the fifth left intercostal space midclavicular line. In the same area, the nurse also auscultates a blowing, swishing sound right after the S₁. What do these findings most likely indicate?

During an inspection of the precordium of an adult patient, the nurse notices the chest moving in a forceful manner along the sternal border. What does this finding most likely indicate?

What component of the conduction system is referred to as the pacemaker of the heart?

The nurse is examining a patient who has possible cardiac enlargement. Which statement about percussion of the heart is true?

The direction of blood flow through the heart is best described by which of these?

What is the best description of the S₁ heart sound?

In assessing for an S₄ heart sound, what part of the stethoscope should the nurse use and in what location?

What is the normal splitting of the S₂ is associated with?