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Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing 14e (Hinkle 2017)
Chapter 30 : Assessment and Management of Patients With Vascular Disorders and Problems of Peripheral Circulation Questions
Question 1 of 5
A nurse in a long-term care facility is caring for an 83-year-old woman who has a history of HF and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). At present the patient is unable to stand or ambulate. The nurse should implement measures to prevent what complication?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Although the exact cause of venous thrombosis remains unclear, three factors, known as Virchows triad, are believed to play a significant role in its development: stasis of blood (venous stasis), vessel wall injury, and altered blood coagulation. In this womans case, she has venous stasis from immobility, vessel wall injury from PAD, and altered blood coagulation from HF. The cause of aoritis is unknown, but it has no direct connection to HF, PAD, or mobility issues. The greatest risk factors for thoracic aortic aneurysm are atherosclerosis and hypertension; there is no direct connection to HF, PAD, or mobility issues. Raynauds disease is a disorder that involves spasms of blood vessels and, again, no direct connection to HF, PAD, or mobility issues.
Question 2 of 5
A nurse is admitting a 45-year-old man to the medical unit who has a history of PAD. While providing his health history, the patient reveals that he smokes about two packs of cigarettes a day, has a history of alcohol abuse, and does not exercise. What would be the priority health education for this patient?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
Tobacco is powerful vasoconstrictor; its use with PAD is highly detrimental, and patients are strongly advised to stop using tobacco. Sedentary lifestyle is also a risk factor, but smoking is likely a more significant risk factor that the nurse should address. Alcohol use is less likely to cause PAD, although it carries numerous health risks.
Question 3 of 5
A nurse has written a plan of care for a man diagnosed with peripheral arterial insufficiency. One of the nursing diagnoses in the care plan is altered peripheral tissue perfusion related to compromised circulation. What is the most appropriate intervention for this diagnosis?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The nursing diagnosis of altered peripheral tissue perfusion related to compromised circulation requires interventions that focus on improving circulation. Encouraging the patient to engage in a moderate amount of exercise serves to improve circulation. Elevating his legs and arms above his heart when resting would be passive and fails to promote circulation. Encouraging long periods of sitting or standing would further compromise circulation. The nurse should encourage, not discourage, walking to increase circulation and decrease pain.
Question 4 of 5
The nurse is caring for a 72-year-old patient who is in cardiac rehabilitation following heart surgery. The patient has been walking on a regular basis for about a week and walks for 15 minutes 3 times a day. The patient states that he is having a cramp-like pain in the legs every time he walks and that the pain gets better when I rest. The patients care plan should address what problem?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Intermittent claudication presents as a muscular, cramp-type pain in the extremities consistently reproduced with the same degree of exercise or activity and relieved by rest. Patients with peripheral arterial insufficiency often complain of intermittent claudication due to a lack of oxygen to muscle tissue. Venous insufficiency presents as a disorder of venous blood reflux and does not present with cramp-type pain with exercise. Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels and presents with weakness, fever, and fatigue, but does not present with cramp-type pain with exercise. The pain associated with VTE does not have this clinical presentation.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse in the rehabilitation unit is caring for an older adult patient who is in cardiac rehabilitation following an MI. The nurses plan of care calls for the patient to walk for 10 minutes 3 times a day. The patient questions the relationship between walking and heart function. How should the nurse best reply?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Veins, unlike arteries, are equipped with valves that allow blood to move against the force of gravity. The legs have one-way bicuspid valves that prevent blood from seeping backward as it moves forward by the muscles in our legs pressing on the veins as we walk and increasing venous return. Leg arteries do constrict when walking, which allows the blood to move faster and with more pressure on the tissue, but the greater concern is increasing the flow of venous blood to the heart. Walking increases, not decreases, the heart pumping ability, which increases heart rate and blood pressure and the hearts ability to manage stress. Walking does help the heart adjust to new arteries and may enhance self-esteem, but the patient had an MIthere are no new arteries.