Practice Quiz

CCRN Critical Care Nursing

Category - Adult

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A patient, previously with no heart conditions, is admitted to the intensive care unit for an acute exacerbation of heart failure has an ejection fracture of 28%. He first began experiencing symptoms of heart failure about 6 weeks ago: general tiredness, a dry cough and a weight gain of 12 pounds. What is the most likely cause of the ejection fracture?
  1. Viral Cardiomyopathy
  2. Recent Myocardial Infarction
  3. Long Standing Hypertension
  4. Congenital Heart Defect
Explanation
Answer: A - The most likely cause of the low ejection fracture indicating heart failure is Viral Cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is a chronic disease of the heart muscle, in which the muscle is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. The weakened heart muscle loses the ability to pump blood effectively, resulting in irregular heartbeats and can lead to heart failure. The other diagnoses are all possible causes of systolic heart failure but are not in the patient’s history.
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