A patient is admitted with acute pericarditis. When auscultating heart sounds, the nurse should ask the patient to perform which action?
1. sit and lean forward while the nurse auscultates at the left lower sternal border
2. lie supine and breathe quietly while the nurse auscultates for expiratory wheezes
3. sit upright while the nurse auscultates the outer aspects of the upper lobes for vesicular breath sounds
4. sit and lean forward while the nurse auscultates at the second right intercostal space, near the sternal border
Question 2
A patient is being discharged from the healthcare facility following surgical replacement of a mitral valve with a mechanical valve. The patient asks the nurse how much longer he will need to take warfarin (Coumadin). What is the nurse's best response?
1. You will be on it for the rest of your life because you have a mechanical valve.
2. That will depend on your surgeon. Ask her when you go to your office visit.
3. You will be on it for the rest of your life because you have a biologic tissue valve.
4. You will be told when to stop, usually when your mechanical prosthetic valve is healed and there is a minimal risk of clots.
Three Chamber Heart -- Circulatory System
Coupling of electrical and mechanical activity in the mammalian heart.
Heart Sounds
Patient Teaching
A surgeon holds a pacemaker next to an X-ray of a pacemaker implanted in a patient’s chest.
Diagram of the heart showing normal conduction pathway.