RCIS BOARD EXAM STUDY NOTES BASED
ON GLOWACKI AND SOMMERS MP3
ALREADY PASSED!!
What is the pressure as blood enters the right atrium?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
What organ system in the body acts on the blood in the vessels to make a pressure of 5mmHg?
ANSWER : Deep skeletal muscle pump system
What pressure is the blood under as it goes from the RA through the tricuspid valve?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
The bigger the diameter of the valve the __________ pressure is needed to move blood across it.
ANSWER : Less
The smaller the diameter of the valve the _________ pressure is needed to move blood across it.
ANSWER : more
What is the largest valve in the heart?
ANSWER : tricuspid valve
What is the normal right ventricular systolic pressure?
ANSWER : 25mmHg
How much smaller is the pulmonic valve than the tricuspid valve?
ANSWER : 5x smaller. It takes 5mmHg to get across the tricuspid valve and 25mmHg to get
across the pulmonic valve.
Which valve has a bigger diameter, the tricuspid or pulmonic valve?
,ANSWER : Tricuspid
Which valve requires more pressure to move across it, the tricuspid or the pulmonic?
ANSWER : pulmonic
Valve A requires 5mmHg to move blood and valve B requires 30mmHg. Which valve has a
smaller diameter?
ANSWER : Valve B
What is the right ventricular diastolic pressure?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
What is the RV EDP?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
Why is the RV EDP not zero?
ANSWER : Because some blood is not ejected out. The heart is not a perfectly efficient pump.
What is a normal RV ejection fraction?
ANSWER : 55-60%
What is EDP?
ANSWER : End Diastolic Pressure. An efficient heart has an ejection fraction of 55-60%, this
leftover blood in the ventricle is under a resting (diastolic) pressure.
What is a normal diastolic pressure in the pulmonary artery?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
What is the normal left atrial pressure?
,ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
What is the normal O2 concentration of a RBC leaving the lungs?
ANSWER : 98%
What is the normal O2 concentration of a RBC when it returns to the RA?
ANSWER : 70%
How much O2 is a RBC able to give up to the organs?
ANSWER : 30% of its O2
True/False: If someone has a higher EDP there is less damage to the heart.
ANSWER : False, the higher the EDP the more damage. More blood is being left and not
pumped out.
What is a normal wedge pressure?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
If the RBCs go through the lungs faster than 7-12mmHg what happens?
ANSWER : The RBCs have less time to get the O2 needed to fill them up fully.
True or False: The higher the wedge pressure the faster the RBCs go through the lungs and the
less O2 they are able to acquire.
ANSWER : True.
COPD is elevated wedge pressure. True or False
ANSWER : True. 30-40mmHg is not unusual. RBCs move so fast that they come out of the
lungs with much less than 98% O2.
, COPD O2 sats can be in the low to mid 80's. True or false
ANSWER : True.
Why is the wedge pressure indicative of the LA pressure?
ANSWER : Because there are no valves in between, just the lung system. Since no valves the
pressure in the LA should be the same. When the leaflets open up on the mitral valve it is
possible to see into the left ventricle.
When the mitral valve leaflets open up and the wedge catheter is able to see into the LV what is
the pressure that it sees?
ANSWER : LV EDP
What is a normal LV EDP?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
If the LV EDP goes up and the LA pressure goes up, what other pressure would you expect to
rise?
ANSWER : The wedge pressure
What would increase your right atrial pressure?
ANSWER : tricuspid stenosis
Where would you see a high RA pressure demonstrated on a patient?
ANSWER : Jugular vein distention
If a person has an RV MI will the RV systolic pressure be affected?
ANSWER : No matter how big the MI the systolic pressure will not change. The RV EDP will
increase as the RV is not as able to push the blood out as effectively as before the MI.
ON GLOWACKI AND SOMMERS MP3
ALREADY PASSED!!
What is the pressure as blood enters the right atrium?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
What organ system in the body acts on the blood in the vessels to make a pressure of 5mmHg?
ANSWER : Deep skeletal muscle pump system
What pressure is the blood under as it goes from the RA through the tricuspid valve?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
The bigger the diameter of the valve the __________ pressure is needed to move blood across it.
ANSWER : Less
The smaller the diameter of the valve the _________ pressure is needed to move blood across it.
ANSWER : more
What is the largest valve in the heart?
ANSWER : tricuspid valve
What is the normal right ventricular systolic pressure?
ANSWER : 25mmHg
How much smaller is the pulmonic valve than the tricuspid valve?
ANSWER : 5x smaller. It takes 5mmHg to get across the tricuspid valve and 25mmHg to get
across the pulmonic valve.
Which valve has a bigger diameter, the tricuspid or pulmonic valve?
,ANSWER : Tricuspid
Which valve requires more pressure to move across it, the tricuspid or the pulmonic?
ANSWER : pulmonic
Valve A requires 5mmHg to move blood and valve B requires 30mmHg. Which valve has a
smaller diameter?
ANSWER : Valve B
What is the right ventricular diastolic pressure?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
What is the RV EDP?
ANSWER : 5mmHg
Why is the RV EDP not zero?
ANSWER : Because some blood is not ejected out. The heart is not a perfectly efficient pump.
What is a normal RV ejection fraction?
ANSWER : 55-60%
What is EDP?
ANSWER : End Diastolic Pressure. An efficient heart has an ejection fraction of 55-60%, this
leftover blood in the ventricle is under a resting (diastolic) pressure.
What is a normal diastolic pressure in the pulmonary artery?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
What is the normal left atrial pressure?
,ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
What is the normal O2 concentration of a RBC leaving the lungs?
ANSWER : 98%
What is the normal O2 concentration of a RBC when it returns to the RA?
ANSWER : 70%
How much O2 is a RBC able to give up to the organs?
ANSWER : 30% of its O2
True/False: If someone has a higher EDP there is less damage to the heart.
ANSWER : False, the higher the EDP the more damage. More blood is being left and not
pumped out.
What is a normal wedge pressure?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
If the RBCs go through the lungs faster than 7-12mmHg what happens?
ANSWER : The RBCs have less time to get the O2 needed to fill them up fully.
True or False: The higher the wedge pressure the faster the RBCs go through the lungs and the
less O2 they are able to acquire.
ANSWER : True.
COPD is elevated wedge pressure. True or False
ANSWER : True. 30-40mmHg is not unusual. RBCs move so fast that they come out of the
lungs with much less than 98% O2.
, COPD O2 sats can be in the low to mid 80's. True or false
ANSWER : True.
Why is the wedge pressure indicative of the LA pressure?
ANSWER : Because there are no valves in between, just the lung system. Since no valves the
pressure in the LA should be the same. When the leaflets open up on the mitral valve it is
possible to see into the left ventricle.
When the mitral valve leaflets open up and the wedge catheter is able to see into the LV what is
the pressure that it sees?
ANSWER : LV EDP
What is a normal LV EDP?
ANSWER : 7-12mmHg
If the LV EDP goes up and the LA pressure goes up, what other pressure would you expect to
rise?
ANSWER : The wedge pressure
What would increase your right atrial pressure?
ANSWER : tricuspid stenosis
Where would you see a high RA pressure demonstrated on a patient?
ANSWER : Jugular vein distention
If a person has an RV MI will the RV systolic pressure be affected?
ANSWER : No matter how big the MI the systolic pressure will not change. The RV EDP will
increase as the RV is not as able to push the blood out as effectively as before the MI.
