WGU D117 / NURS 6810 – Advanced Health
Assessment Exam Prep Practice Questions With
Answers and Rationales
,Cardiovascular Assessment
1. A patient presents with chest pain that worsens with exertion and improves
with rest. Which condition is most likely?
A. Pericarditis
B. Stable angina
C. Pulmonary embolism
D. Costochondritis
Correct Answer:
B. Stable angina
Rationale:
Stable angina occurs when myocardial oxygen demand exceeds supply during
exertion. Symptoms improve with rest or nitroglycerin. Pericarditis pain is
, positional, pulmonary embolism usually presents with acute dyspnea, and
costochondritis is reproducible with palpation.
2. A crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur heard best at the right upper
sternal border is most consistent with:
A. Mitral regurgitation
B. Aortic stenosis
C. Tricuspid regurgitation
D. Mitral stenosis
Correct Answer:
B. Aortic stenosis
Rationale:
Aortic stenosis classically presents with a systolic ejection murmur heard best at
the right upper sternal border and may radiate to the carotids.
3. Which finding suggests left-sided heart failure?
A. Hepatomegaly
B. Peripheral edema
C. Crackles in the lungs
D. Ascites
Correct Answer:
C. Crackles in the lungs
Rationale:
Left-sided heart failure causes pulmonary congestion leading to crackles, dyspnea,
and orthopnea. Right-sided failure is more associated with edema, ascites, and
hepatomegaly.
Assessment Exam Prep Practice Questions With
Answers and Rationales
,Cardiovascular Assessment
1. A patient presents with chest pain that worsens with exertion and improves
with rest. Which condition is most likely?
A. Pericarditis
B. Stable angina
C. Pulmonary embolism
D. Costochondritis
Correct Answer:
B. Stable angina
Rationale:
Stable angina occurs when myocardial oxygen demand exceeds supply during
exertion. Symptoms improve with rest or nitroglycerin. Pericarditis pain is
, positional, pulmonary embolism usually presents with acute dyspnea, and
costochondritis is reproducible with palpation.
2. A crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur heard best at the right upper
sternal border is most consistent with:
A. Mitral regurgitation
B. Aortic stenosis
C. Tricuspid regurgitation
D. Mitral stenosis
Correct Answer:
B. Aortic stenosis
Rationale:
Aortic stenosis classically presents with a systolic ejection murmur heard best at
the right upper sternal border and may radiate to the carotids.
3. Which finding suggests left-sided heart failure?
A. Hepatomegaly
B. Peripheral edema
C. Crackles in the lungs
D. Ascites
Correct Answer:
C. Crackles in the lungs
Rationale:
Left-sided heart failure causes pulmonary congestion leading to crackles, dyspnea,
and orthopnea. Right-sided failure is more associated with edema, ascites, and
hepatomegaly.
