A student nurse is taking care of an elderly patient with hypertension during a clinical experience. The instructor asks the student about the relationships between BP and age. What would be the best answer by the student?

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Structural and functional changes in the heart and blood vessels contribute to increases in BP that occur with aging. Venous insufficiency does not cause hypertension, however. Increased BP is not primarily a result of neurologic changes.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Decreased extracellular K+ generally does not cause vasodilation; rather, increased K+ can promote vasodilation.

Correct Answer: A

Rationale: The aorta carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to the body.

Correct Answer: C

Rationale: Stroke volume is the amount of blood ejected by a ventricle during a single contraction.

Correct Answer: B

Rationale: Blood pressure is highest in the aorta, where blood is ejected from the heart, and lowest in the vena cavae, where blood returns to the heart.