NCLEX CRUSADE ACADEMY TEST - 7 CARDIOVASCULAR DRUGS

1. A nurse is preparing to administer digoxin to a patient with heart failure. Which action is the priority before giving the medication?. Assess the patients respiratory rate. Measure the apical pulse for one full minute. Check the patients temperature. Assess urine output.

2. Which mechanism best explains how digoxin improves cardiac output?. It inhibits sodium channels causing vasodilation. It stimulates beta receptors to increase heart rate. It inhibits the Na+/K+ ATPase pump increasing intracellular calcium. It blocks calcium entry into cardiac cells.

3. Which patient condition increases the risk for digoxin toxicity?. Hyperkalemia. Hypokalemia. Hypernatremia. Elevated glucose.

4. A patient receiving digoxin reports seeing yellow halos around lights. What should the nurse suspect?. Stroke. Digoxin toxicity. Hypertensive crisis. Migraine.

5. The antidote for severe digoxin toxicity is which medication?. Protamine sulfate. Digoxin immune Fab (Digibind). Naloxone. Vitamin K.

6. Nitroglycerin relieves chest pain primarily through which mechanism?. Increasing heart rate. Vasodilation that reduces cardiac workload. Increasing myocardial oxygen demand. Constricting coronary arteries.

7. A patient takes sublingual nitroglycerin for chest pain but the pain persists after the third dose. What is the priority instruction?. Take another dose. Drink water. Call emergency services. Lie flat for 30 minutes.

8. Which medication interaction can cause life threatening hypotension with nitroglycerin?. Acetaminophen. Sildenafil. Metformin. Insulin.

9. A nurse teaching about statins should emphasize monitoring which laboratory value?. Liver enzymes (AST/ALT). Sodium. Platelets. Amylase.

10. Which instruction is essential for a patient taking statins?. Avoid grapefruit juice. Increase vitamin K intake. Take medication with milk. Stop medication when cholesterol improves.

11. Severe muscle pain and dark urine in a patient taking statins may indicate which complication?. Myocardial infarction. Rhabdomyolysis. Hepatitis. Pancreatitis.

12. The classic triad of rhabdomyolysis includes which findings?. Fever, rash, cough. Myalgia, weakness, dark urine. Edema, hypertension, dyspnea. Vomiting, diarrhea, pain.

13. Levothyroxine is prescribed for which condition?. Hyperthyroidism. Hypothyroidism. Thyroid storm. Thyroid cancer.

14. Which instruction should the nurse provide for levothyroxine administration?. Take at bedtime with food. Take in the morning on an empty stomach. Take with grapefruit juice. Take only when symptoms occur.

15. Which symptom may indicate levothyroxine overdose?. Bradycardia. Weight gain. Tachycardia and anxiety. Hypothermia.

16. Methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU) treat which condition?. Hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism. Diabetes. Adrenal insufficiency.

17. Which medication is preferred for treating hyperthyroidism during pregnancy?. Methimazole. Propylthiouracil. Levothyroxine. Lithium.

18. A serious adverse effect of antithyroid medications is: Agranulocytosis. Hyperglycemia. Hypertension. Hypokalemia.

19. A patient with hyperkalemia is prescribed sodium polystyrene sulfonate (Kayexalate). What must the nurse assess first?. Blood pressure. Bowel function. Temperature. Oxygen saturation.

20. A TPN infusion pump suddenly stops. What is the nurses priority action?. Restart the pump immediately. Check blood glucose level. Call maintenance. Remove the IV line.

21. A patient on heparin develops aPTT of 180 seconds. What is the priority action?. Increase the infusion. Stop the infusion. Give aspirin. Give potassium.

22. Which medication reverses heparin toxicity?. Vitamin K. Protamine sulfate. Digoxin immune Fab. Atropine.

23. A patient receiving vancomycin develops flushing and itching during infusion. What should the nurse do?. Stop permanently. Increase infusion rate. Slow the infusion rate. Administer epinephrine.

24. Ciprofloxacin therapy carries a risk for which serious complication?. Kidney stones. Achilles tendon rupture. Heart failure. Thyroid storm.

25. Before administering a cephalosporin antibiotic, the nurse should assess for allergy to: Sulfa drugs. Penicillin. Aspirin. Morphine.