Med-surg: cardiovascular & respiratory worksheet with answers

Free printable Med-surg: cardiovascular & respiratory worksheet: 8 problems from easy to exam level, with an answer key. Print it or save it as a PDF.

New worksheetPractise online with hints

For teachers: free to print, copy and use in class. Every new worksheet has new values and its own answer key. A link to ExamProblems on your course page is appreciated.

Name: ____________________   Date: ____________

1.Easy

Which dietary change lowers blood pressure most?

  1. AMore coffee and fewer fizzy drinks with added sugar
  2. BLess salt and more fruit and vegetables
  3. CMore fruit juice and less water
  4. DMore red meat and less bread
2.Easy

Which breath sound is typical of narrowed small airways in asthma?

  1. ACoarse crackles that clear after coughing
  2. BStridor heard mainly on inspiration
  3. CPleural friction rub on deep breathing
  4. DWheeze, usually louder on expiration
3.Easy

Which group of findings is typical of bacterial pneumonia?

  1. AFever, productive cough and crackles over one area
  2. BWheeze that clears fully within minutes of a reliever inhaler
  3. CBarrel chest and breathlessness for many years
  4. DSudden chest pain with clear lungs and no fever
4.Medium

A patient with hypertension takes amlodipine. Which side effect is the nurse most likely to observe?

  1. AWheeze
  2. BDry, tickly cough
  3. CHyperkalaemia
  4. DAnkle swelling
5.Medium

Which features best describe an arterial leg ulcer?

  1. AShallow, moist ulcer above the inner ankle with brown skin
  2. BPainful, pale, punched-out ulcer on the toes with weak foot pulses
  3. CWeeping ulcer on the shin with pitting oedema of the leg
  4. DPainless ulcer under the ball of the foot with thick callus around it
6.Medium

After a prescribed IV fluid bolus for hypotension, what should the nurse do next?

  1. AStart a second fluid bolus straight away without checking anything
  2. BStop all monitoring if the patient says they feel better
  3. CReassess heart rate, blood pressure, urine output and lung sounds
  4. DWait until the next routine observations in four hours
7.Hard

After chest trauma, a patient is hypotensive with reduced breath sounds on the left. Which finding suggests a haemothorax rather than a tension pneumothorax?

  1. ATrachea pushed away from the affected side
  2. BDullness to percussion on the affected side
  3. CHyper-resonance on the affected side
  4. DDistended neck veins
8.Hard

After four days of antibiotics for pneumonia, a patient still has fever and pleuritic pain. There is dullness and reduced breath sounds at the right base. What complication should be suspected?

  1. AA parapneumonic effusion or empyema
  2. BAn allergic reaction to the antibiotic
  3. CNormal recovery from pneumonia
  4. DAsthma triggered by the infection

Answer key

  1. 1. B · Less salt and more fruit and vegetables
  2. 2. D · Wheeze, usually louder on expiration
  3. 3. A · Fever, productive cough and crackles over one area
  4. 4. D · Ankle swelling
  5. 5. B · Painful, pale, punched-out ulcer on the toes with weak foot pulses
  6. 6. C · Reassess heart rate, blood pressure, urine output and lung sounds
  7. 7. B · Dullness to percussion on the affected side
  8. 8. A · A parapneumonic effusion or empyema

Full step-by-step solutions: practise this topic on examproblems.com.