Test 3 Study Guide

Question 1

Name the four cardiac valves?

Answer 1

Aortic, Mitral, Tricuspid, and Pulmonic

Question 2

What is Aortic Stenosis? What causes it?

Answer 2

Narrowing of the opening in the aortic valve when the valve cusp becomes stiff and rigid.
In older adults with predisposing cardiac condition, narrowing of the aortic valve is an age-related degenerative change from progressive calcium deposits in valve cells.

Question 3

What are the signs and symptoms of Aortic Stenosis?

Answer 3

Dizzy, fainting, and angina of insufficient cardiac output.

Question 4

What is the medical treatment of Aortic Stenosis? What about surgical treatment?

Answer 4

Maintain cardiac output
Antibiotics for patients with artificial hearts valves
Surgery maybe needed to correct damage or leaky valves that cause a heart murmur

Question 5

What is Aortic Regurgitation? What causes it?

Answer 5

Reflux of blood from aorta into left ventricle during diastole.
Causes: Atherosclerosis, Aortic Valve leaflet abnormalities, damage, aortic root dilation

Question 6

What are signs and symptom of Aortic Regurgitation?

Answer 6

Tachycardia is one of the first signs of cardiac compensation.

Question 7

What is the treatment of Aortic Regurgitation?

Answer 7

Because it is mild and only slowly progressive in most people, clients are used to sustained pain the cardiac glycosides or beta-blockers and diuretics.

Question 8

What is mitral stenosis? What happens to the cusp valves?

Answer 8

The valve does not open properly to facilitate the left ventricle. The cusp sticks together and form, thick, rigid, calcified scar, the area where the cups contact each other and chordac tendineae fuse and shorten.

Question 9

What is the signs and symptoms of Mitral Stenosis?

Answer 9

It may take 20 to 40 years for a client who has had some rheumatic fever to develop mitral stenosis. Clients report fatigue and dyspnea and slight excretion. Only symptoms include irregular, heartbeat, dizziness, chest pain or coughing up blood

Question 10

What is Mitral Regurgitation? What happens to the blood flow when the valve becomes incompetent?

Answer 10

Valve doesn’t completely close. The blood flows backwards into the left atrium during ventricular systole and then leaks into the left ventricle during atrial diastole.

Question 11

What are signs and symptoms of Mitral Regurgitation?

Answer 11

Chronic fatigue and dyspnea on exertion. Heart palpitations may occur.

Question 12

What is the medical treatment for Mitral Regurgitation?

Answer 12

An ace inhibitor such as quinapril, and angiotensin receptor blocker such as losartan, or a nitrate such as isosorbide denitrate reduces after load, preserving the left ventricle’s ability to eject blood effectively.

Question 13

What is mitral valve prolapse?

Answer 13

The valve cusp enlarge, becomes floppy, and bulge backward into the left atrium.

Question 14

What causes a Mitral Valve Prolapse, and what are signs and symptoms?

Answer 14

The tissue changes result from an inherited connective tissue disorder that affects the mitral valve and other connective tissue in the body. Symptoms include chest pain, palpitations, and fatigue.

Question 15

What typer of murmur is associated with this?

Answer 15

A systolic murmur

Question 16

What is the purpose of increasing activity during tachycardia for the pt with Mitral Valve Prolapse?

Answer 16

To eliminate the extra ineffective beats: make up for reduced cardiac output, and lowers levels of catecholamines.

Question 17

What lab tests should be monitored with a pt on blood thinners?

Answer 17

PT, INR

Question 18

What should be assessed prior to giving beta blockers? What signs and symptoms, if assessed should be reported immediately?

Answer 18

Apical pulse and blood pressure. Pulse less than 50 and significant changes in blood pressure

Question 19

List the characteristics of Normal Sinus Rhythm?

Answer 19

HR between 60 and 100bpm, the SA node initiates the impulse, travels to the AV mode in 0.12-.02 seconds, the ventricles depolarize in 0.12 seconds or less, each impulse occurs regularly.

Question 20

What is Sinus bradycardia?

Answer 20

Is an arrhythmia that precedes normally through the conduction pathway but at a slower usual rate.

Question 21

What is sinus Tachycardia?

Answer 21

An arrhythmia that proceeds normally through the conductions pathway but at a faster than usual rate (100-150 bpm)

Question 22

What is premature atrial conduction? What can this cause?

Answer 22

An irregularly in the underlying rhythm. It can occur for various reasons: consumption of caffeine, use of nicotine or other sympathetic nervous system stimulation. Ants, or in response to heart disease metabolic disorders such as hyperthyroidism.

Question 23

What is supra-ventricular tachycardia?

Answer 23

It is an arrhythmia in which the heart rate has a consistent rhythm but beats dangerously high rate (greater than 150 bpm) Diastole is shortened and the heart does not have sufficient to fill.

Question 24

Describe atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation and their treatments.

Answer 24

Atrial flutter- is a disorder in which a single atrial impulse outside the SA node causes that atria to contract at an exceedingly rapid rate.
Atrial fibrillation- several areas in the right atrium initiate impulses resulting in disorganized, rapid activity.
Treatments: Ibutilide: is an anti-arrhythmic drug used to convert new-onset atrial fibrillation into sinus rhythm.
Flecainide and Propafenone also are used to treat and prevent atrial fibrillation.

Question 25

If clients don’t respond to conventional treatment, what can they be candidates for?

Answer 25

They may be candidates for a surgical intervention referred to as the maze procedure or surgical ablation. During the maze procedure, the surgeon restores the normal conduction pathway in the atria by eliminating the rapid firing of ectopic pacemaker sites using scar-forming techniques.

Question 26

What is Premature Ventricular Contraction? What are the signs and symptoms?

Answer 26

Is a ventricular contraction that occurs early and independently in the cardiac cycle before the SA node initiates as electrical impulse. Signs and Symptoms include pallor, nervousness, sweating, and faintness.

Question 27

Bigeminy

Answer 27

Every other beat is a PVC

Question 28

Multi focal PVC’s

Answer 28

Originating from more than one location

Question 29

Couplets

Answer 29

Two PVC’s in a row

Question 30

Run of PVC’s

Answer 30

Three or more in a row

Question 31

Describe Ventricular Tachycardia and Fibrillation. What one is lethal?

Answer 31

Is caused by a single, irritable focus in the ventricles that initiates and then continues that same repetitive pattern. Ventricular fibrillation is the rhythm of a dying heart.

Question 32

Describe the differences between Elective Electrical Cardio version and Defibrillation. Include when it’s done, for what reason, which requires more energy and if the client is sedated.

Answer 32

It’s a non emergency procedure done by a primary provider to stop rapid, but not necessarily life-threatening, atrial arrhythmias. Defibrillation is performed in an emergency such as during resuscitation.

Question 33

Who is a candidate for an implanted cardioverter defibrillator and what should the client be educated to avoid.

Answer 33

Those who have survived at least on episode of cardiac arrest from a ventricular dysthymia, experience recurrent episodes of ventricular tachycardia, or at risk of a sudden cardiac death because of structural heart disease such as cardiomyopathy with poor ventricular function. Instructed to avoid devices with a magnetic field, for example: MRI device, extra-corporal shock wave lithotripsy machine, electrocautery and diathermy devices, peripheral nerve stimulators, large industrial electrical motors, and welding equipment.