CV-BC Exam Prep: Cardiac-Vascular Nursing (ANCC) Study Guide + 2,100+ Practice Questions

A patient with an inferior wall myocardial infarction is hypotensive with clear lung sounds and a central venous pressure of 18 mmHg. The pulmonary capillary wedge pressure is 8 mmHg. Based on these specific hemodynamic parameters, which clinical intervention is the most appropriate for the nurse to anticipate?

A 50-year-old patient with a fasting glucose of 115 mg/dL and a family history of premature coronary artery disease seeks advice on preventing progression to diabetes. Which lifestyle intervention provides the greatest benefit for this patient?

A 60-year-old patient with obstructive sleep apnea and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation has a neck circumference of 18 inches. The patient asks why weight loss is necessary if they use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. What is the most accurate educational response?

A 45-year-old executive recovering from an acute myocardial infarction reports high job stress and limited social support. He states he has no time for relaxation techniques during his sixty-hour work week. Which strategy is most effective for promoting long-term risk reduction?

A 52-year-old patient with peripheral artery disease and a 30-pack-year smoking history expresses a desire to quit smoking within the next month but fears weight gain. Which educational approach best addresses the patient’s specific barriers and clinical condition?

A 64-year-old female with stage 2 hypertension and a history of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is reviewing her food diary with the nurse. She currently consumes 3,000 mg of sodium and two servings of low-fat dairy daily. Which modification should the nurse emphasize to align with the DASH eating plan?

A 58-year-old male with a body mass index of 32 and stable angina walks for ten minutes twice a week. He expresses interest in improving his cardiovascular health but is concerned about triggering chest pain. Which education regarding exercise progression is most appropriate for this patient?

A 68-year-old patient is four hours post-femoral catheterization and reports a throbbing sensation at the access site. The nurse palpates a pulsatile mass and hears a systolic bruit upon auscultation of the right groin.

A 50-year-old patient is preparing for discharge six hours after a successful femoral artery diagnostic catheterization. The nurse provides education regarding activity restrictions and site care for the first forty-eight hours at home.

An 80-year-old patient with stage three chronic kidney disease has just returned from a coronary angiogram. The nurse is planning the plan of care to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy over the next twelve hours.

A 55-year-old patient is one hour post-radial artery catheterization with a compression device in place. The nurse notes the hand is cool to the touch and the pulse oximetry waveform on the thumb is intermittently dampened.

A 70-year-old female is two hours post-cardiac catheterization via the right femoral approach. She reports sudden, severe lower back pain and the nurse notes a blood pressure of 90/50 mmHg with a heart rate of 115 beats per minute.

A 62-year-old male is 45 minutes post-femoral artery catheterization for stable angina. The nurse observes a new 4-cm firm area of swelling and ecchymosis at the puncture site while the patient reports increasing groin pain.

A patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is being evaluated for new-onset right-sided heart failure. Hemodynamic monitoring reveals a pulmonary artery pressure of 52/26 mmHg, a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure of 11 mmHg, and a central venous pressure of 15 mmHg. These findings are most consistent with which condition?

A post-operative cardiac surgery patient has a continuous mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2) monitor. The SvO2 has decreased from 72% to 54% over the last hour, while the arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) remains stable at 98% and the hemoglobin level is unchanged. Which physiological change most likely explains this specific trend?

A 68-year-old male with a history of hypertension and tobacco use presents to the clinic reporting intermittent lightheadedness. The twelve-lead electrocardiogram reveals a regular atrial rate of 90 beats per minute and a ventricular rate of 30 beats per minute. The PR intervals vary significantly with no discernible relationship between the P waves and the QRS complexes, and the QRS complexes are wide at 0.14 seconds. Which rhythm interpretation is most accurate for this clinical presentation?

A patient has an arterial line for continuous blood pressure monitoring. The nurse notes that the waveform appears “whip-like” with multiple small oscillations on the upstroke and a systolic pressure that is 20 mmHg higher than the non-invasive cuff pressure. Which action should the nurse take to address this specific hemodynamic waveform abnormality?

While performing thermodilution cardiac output measurements on a patient with heart failure, the nurse observes that the resulting thermodilution curve is exceptionally tall and narrow. The calculated cardiac output value is significantly higher than the previous readings. Which technical factor most likely accounts for this specific change in the hemodynamic data?

A patient in the cardiac intensive care unit following an acute myocardial infarction develops a new, loud holosystolic murmur at the apex. The pulmonary artery catheter reveals a pulmonary capillary wedge pressure of 28 mmHg with prominent, tall v-waves noted on the oscilloscope. Which clinical condition is most likely represented by these specific hemodynamic findings?

The nurse is assessing a patient with suspected acute limb ischemia of the left leg. The patient has a history of atrial fibrillation and reports a sudden onset of “numbness and tingling.” The nurse observes that the left foot is cooler than the right and the patient is unable to wiggle their toes. What does the inability to move the toes signify?

A patient is admitted with a large, heavily exudative ulcer on the lateral lower leg. The nurse notes significant pitting edema and a brownish discoloration of the skin, but the pedal pulses are strong and the capillary refill is less than two seconds. Which management strategy is most appropriate for this patient?

A patient with stable peripheral artery disease reports experiencing cramping pain in the calves after walking approximately two city blocks, which subsides after five minutes of sitting. The nurse is developing an exercise prescription to improve the patient’s functional walking distance. Which instruction is most effective for this goal?

Four hours after undergoing a percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the right common iliac artery, a patient reports sudden, severe coldness in the right foot. Upon assessment, the nurse finds the right pedal pulse is no longer palpable by Doppler, and the foot appears pale compared to the left. What is the most appropriate nursing action?

A 72-year-old patient with a long history of type 2 diabetes mellitus presents with a non-healing ulcer on the tip of the great toe. The nurse performs an ankle-brachial index (ABI) and obtains a value of 1.45. How should the nurse interpret this finding in the context of the patient’s clinical presentation?

A 68-year-old patient presents to the vascular clinic with a shallow, irregular ulcer located near the medial malleolus. The surrounding skin is hyperpigmented and leathery, and the patient reports that the lower leg aching improves when the limb is elevated during sleep. Which intervention should the nurse incorporate into the plan of care to address the underlying pathophysiology?

A 52-year-old female with a history of stable angina reports an episode of severe, crushing chest pain that lasted twenty minutes but has now completely resolved. She is currently pain-free. The twelve-lead electrocardiogram shows a normal sinus rhythm with no ST-segment elevation; however, there are deep, symmetric, biphasic T-wave inversions in leads V2 and V3. What clinical syndrome should the nurse suspect based on these findings?

A 75-year-old male with a long-standing history of untreated hypertension and aortic stenosis presents for a routine evaluation. The twelve-lead electrocardiogram shows a normal sinus rhythm with a QRS duration of 0.10 seconds. The R-wave amplitude in lead V5 is 32 mm, and the S-wave depth in lead V1 is 15 mm. There is also asymmetric ST-segment depression and T-wave inversion in leads I, aVL, V5, and V6. What is the most accurate interpretation of these findings?

A 60-year-old female with end-stage renal disease who missed her last two dialysis sessions presents with generalized muscle weakness. The twelve-lead electrocardiogram shows a heart rate of 54 beats per minute, flattened P waves, a widened QRS complex of 0.13 seconds, and tall, narrow, tent-shaped T waves across the precordial leads. Which metabolic condition is most consistent with these electrocardiographic findings?

A 72-year-old male with a history of ischemic cardiomyopathy and a previous ejection fraction of 30% presents with sudden-onset palpitations and shortness of breath. The cardiac monitor shows a regular, wide-complex tachycardia at a rate of 170 beats per minute. The twelve-lead electrocardiogram reveals a QRS duration of 0.16 seconds, a monomorphic morphology, and clear evidence of atrioventricular dissociation. What is the most likely interpretation of this rhythm?

A 55-year-old female with type 2 diabetes presents to the emergency department with persistent epigastric discomfort and diaphoresis. The initial twelve-lead electrocardiogram shows 2-mm ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, and aVF. Additionally, there is 2-mm ST-segment depression in leads V1 and V2, accompanied by tall, upright R waves and prominent T waves in those same leads. Based on these findings, which myocardial region is most likely affected?