HESI Prep - Health Assessment Practice Questions
Western Governors University D 236 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS)
|ALREADY GRADED A+
1. During an assessment of a 68-year-old man with a recent onset of right-sided weakness, the nurse
hears a blowing, swishing sound with the bell of the stethoscope over the left carotid artery. This finding
would indicate:
A) a valvular disorder.
B) blood flow turbulence.
C) fluid volume overload.
D) ventricular hypertrophy. - answer :B) blood flow turbulence.
Page: 471. A bruit is a blowing, swishing sound indicating blood flow turbulence; normally none is
present.
2. During an assessment of a healthy adult, where would the nurse expect to palpate the apical impulse?
A) Third left intercostal space at the midclavicular line
B) Fourth left intercostal space at the sternal border
C) Fourth left intercostal space at the anterior axillary line
D) Fifth left intercostal space at the midclavicular line - answer :D) Fifth left intercostal space at the
midclavicular line
,Pages: 473-474. The apical impulse should occupy only one intercostal space, the fourth or fifth, and it
should be at or medial to the midclavicular line.
3. The nurse is preparing to auscultate for heart sounds. Which technique is correct?
A) Listen to the sounds at the aortic, tricuspid, pulmonic, and mitral areas.
B) Listen by inching the stethoscope in a rough Z pattern, from the base of the heart across and down,
then over to the apex.
C) Listen to the sounds only at the site where the apical pulse is felt to be the strongest.
D) Listen for all possible sounds at a time at each specified area. - answer :B) Listen by inching the
stethoscope in a rough Z pattern, from the base of the heart across and down, then over to the apex.
Pages: 475-476. Do not limit auscultation of breath sounds to only four locations. Sounds produced by
the valves may be heard all over the precordium. Inch the stethoscope in a rough Z pattern from the
base of the heart across and down, then over to the apex. Or, start at the apex and work your way up.
See Figure 19-22. Listen selectively to one sound at a time.
4. The nurse is assessing a patient's apical impulse. Which of these statements is true regarding the
apical impulse?
A) It is palpable in all adults.
B) It occurs with the onset of diastole.
C) Its location may be indicative of heart size.
D) It should normally be palpable in the anterior axillary line. - answer :C) Its location may be indicative
of heart size.
Page: 473 | Page: 492. The apical impulse is palpable in about 50% of adults. It is located in the fifth left
intercostal space in the midclavicular line. Horizontal or downward displacement of the apical impulse
may indicate an enlargement of the left ventricle.
5. During an assessment of an older adult, the nurse should expect to notice which finding as a normal
physiologic change associated with the aging process?
,A) Hormonal changes causing vasodilation and a resulting drop in blood pressure
B) Progressive atrophy of the intramuscular calf veins, causing venous insufficiency
C) Peripheral blood vessels growing more rigid with age, producing a rise in systolic blood pressure
D) Narrowing of the inferior vena cava, causing low blood flow and increases in venous pressure
resulting in varicosities - answer :C) Peripheral blood vessels growing more rigid with age, producing a
rise in systolic blood pressure
Pages: 504-505. Peripheral blood vessels grow more rigid with age, resulting in a rise in systolic blood
pressure. Aging produces progressive enlargement of the intramuscular calf veins, not atrophy. The
other options are not correct.
6. During an assessment, the nurse uses the "profile sign" to detect:
A) pitting edema.
B) early clubbing.
C) symmetry of the fingers.
D) insufficient capillary refill. - answer :B) early clubbing.
Page: 506. The nurse should use the profile sign (viewing the finger from the side) to detect early
clubbing.
7. When performing a peripheral vascular assessment on a patient, the nurse is unable to palpate the
ulnar pulses. The patient's skin is warm and capillary refill time is normal. The nurse should next:
A) check for the presence of claudication.
B) refer the individual for further evaluation.
C) consider this a normal finding and proceed with the peripheral vascular evaluation.
D) ask the patient if he or she has experienced any unusual cramping or tingling in the arm. - answer :C)
consider this a normal finding and proceed with the peripheral vascular evaluation.
Pages: 506-507. It is not usually necessary to palpate the ulnar pulses. The ulnar pulses are often not
palpable in the normal person. The other responses are not correct.
, 8. The nurse is attempting to assess the femoral pulse in an obese patient. Which of these actions would
be most appropriate?
A) Have the patient assume a prone position.
B) Ask the patient to bend his or her knees to the side in a froglike position.
C) Press firmly against the bone with the patient in a semi-Fowler position.
D) Listen with a stethoscope for pulsations because it is very difficult to palpate the pulse in an obese
person. - answer :B) Regular "lub, dub" pattern
Pages: 510-511. To help expose the femoral area, particularly in obese people, the nurse should ask the
person to bend his or her knees to the side in a froglike position.
9. When using a Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope, the nurse recognizes arterial flow when which sound is
heard?
A) Low humming sound
B) Regular "lub, dub" pattern
C) Swishing, whooshing sound
D) Steady, even, flowing sound - answer :C) Swishing, whooshing sound
Pages: 515-516. When using the Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope, the pulse site is found when one hears
a swishing, whooshing sound.
10. The nurse is reviewing an assessment of a patient's peripheral pulses and notices that the
documentation states that the radial pulses are "2+." The nurse recognizes that this reading indicates
what type of pulse?
A) Bounding
B) Normal
C) Weak
Western Governors University D 236 QUESTIONS AND
CORRECT DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS)
|ALREADY GRADED A+
1. During an assessment of a 68-year-old man with a recent onset of right-sided weakness, the nurse
hears a blowing, swishing sound with the bell of the stethoscope over the left carotid artery. This finding
would indicate:
A) a valvular disorder.
B) blood flow turbulence.
C) fluid volume overload.
D) ventricular hypertrophy. - answer :B) blood flow turbulence.
Page: 471. A bruit is a blowing, swishing sound indicating blood flow turbulence; normally none is
present.
2. During an assessment of a healthy adult, where would the nurse expect to palpate the apical impulse?
A) Third left intercostal space at the midclavicular line
B) Fourth left intercostal space at the sternal border
C) Fourth left intercostal space at the anterior axillary line
D) Fifth left intercostal space at the midclavicular line - answer :D) Fifth left intercostal space at the
midclavicular line
,Pages: 473-474. The apical impulse should occupy only one intercostal space, the fourth or fifth, and it
should be at or medial to the midclavicular line.
3. The nurse is preparing to auscultate for heart sounds. Which technique is correct?
A) Listen to the sounds at the aortic, tricuspid, pulmonic, and mitral areas.
B) Listen by inching the stethoscope in a rough Z pattern, from the base of the heart across and down,
then over to the apex.
C) Listen to the sounds only at the site where the apical pulse is felt to be the strongest.
D) Listen for all possible sounds at a time at each specified area. - answer :B) Listen by inching the
stethoscope in a rough Z pattern, from the base of the heart across and down, then over to the apex.
Pages: 475-476. Do not limit auscultation of breath sounds to only four locations. Sounds produced by
the valves may be heard all over the precordium. Inch the stethoscope in a rough Z pattern from the
base of the heart across and down, then over to the apex. Or, start at the apex and work your way up.
See Figure 19-22. Listen selectively to one sound at a time.
4. The nurse is assessing a patient's apical impulse. Which of these statements is true regarding the
apical impulse?
A) It is palpable in all adults.
B) It occurs with the onset of diastole.
C) Its location may be indicative of heart size.
D) It should normally be palpable in the anterior axillary line. - answer :C) Its location may be indicative
of heart size.
Page: 473 | Page: 492. The apical impulse is palpable in about 50% of adults. It is located in the fifth left
intercostal space in the midclavicular line. Horizontal or downward displacement of the apical impulse
may indicate an enlargement of the left ventricle.
5. During an assessment of an older adult, the nurse should expect to notice which finding as a normal
physiologic change associated with the aging process?
,A) Hormonal changes causing vasodilation and a resulting drop in blood pressure
B) Progressive atrophy of the intramuscular calf veins, causing venous insufficiency
C) Peripheral blood vessels growing more rigid with age, producing a rise in systolic blood pressure
D) Narrowing of the inferior vena cava, causing low blood flow and increases in venous pressure
resulting in varicosities - answer :C) Peripheral blood vessels growing more rigid with age, producing a
rise in systolic blood pressure
Pages: 504-505. Peripheral blood vessels grow more rigid with age, resulting in a rise in systolic blood
pressure. Aging produces progressive enlargement of the intramuscular calf veins, not atrophy. The
other options are not correct.
6. During an assessment, the nurse uses the "profile sign" to detect:
A) pitting edema.
B) early clubbing.
C) symmetry of the fingers.
D) insufficient capillary refill. - answer :B) early clubbing.
Page: 506. The nurse should use the profile sign (viewing the finger from the side) to detect early
clubbing.
7. When performing a peripheral vascular assessment on a patient, the nurse is unable to palpate the
ulnar pulses. The patient's skin is warm and capillary refill time is normal. The nurse should next:
A) check for the presence of claudication.
B) refer the individual for further evaluation.
C) consider this a normal finding and proceed with the peripheral vascular evaluation.
D) ask the patient if he or she has experienced any unusual cramping or tingling in the arm. - answer :C)
consider this a normal finding and proceed with the peripheral vascular evaluation.
Pages: 506-507. It is not usually necessary to palpate the ulnar pulses. The ulnar pulses are often not
palpable in the normal person. The other responses are not correct.
, 8. The nurse is attempting to assess the femoral pulse in an obese patient. Which of these actions would
be most appropriate?
A) Have the patient assume a prone position.
B) Ask the patient to bend his or her knees to the side in a froglike position.
C) Press firmly against the bone with the patient in a semi-Fowler position.
D) Listen with a stethoscope for pulsations because it is very difficult to palpate the pulse in an obese
person. - answer :B) Regular "lub, dub" pattern
Pages: 510-511. To help expose the femoral area, particularly in obese people, the nurse should ask the
person to bend his or her knees to the side in a froglike position.
9. When using a Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope, the nurse recognizes arterial flow when which sound is
heard?
A) Low humming sound
B) Regular "lub, dub" pattern
C) Swishing, whooshing sound
D) Steady, even, flowing sound - answer :C) Swishing, whooshing sound
Pages: 515-516. When using the Doppler ultrasonic stethoscope, the pulse site is found when one hears
a swishing, whooshing sound.
10. The nurse is reviewing an assessment of a patient's peripheral pulses and notices that the
documentation states that the radial pulses are "2+." The nurse recognizes that this reading indicates
what type of pulse?
A) Bounding
B) Normal
C) Weak
