American Red Cross-ACLS-Final Exam Questions with
Correct Answers
/. A patient is in cardiac arrest. The cardiac monitor shows asystole. In addition to
providing continuous high-quality CPR, what is the other priority intervention for this
patient? - Answer-✅Administering epinephrine as early as possible
/.A patient has experienced return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cardiac
arrest. The healthcare team is conducting a secondary assessment to determine the
possible cause of the patient's cardiac arrest. Before the arrest, the patient exhibited
jugular venous distension, cyanosis, apnea and hyperresonance on percussion. The
patient was also difficult to ventilate during the response. The team would most likely
suspect which condition as the cause? - Answer-✅Tension Pneumothorax
/.A patient with suspected stroke arrives at the emergency department. The patient is
diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke and is a candidate for fibrinolytic therapy. To
achieve the best outcomes, this therapy should be initiated within what time frame? -
Answer-✅Within 1 hour of patient's arrival.
/.A patient in the telemetry unit is receiving continuous cardiac monitoring. The patient
has a history of myocardial infarction. The patient's ECG rhythm strip is shown in the
following figure. The provider interprets this strip as indicating which arrhythmia? -
Answer-✅Third-degree AV block
/.A 28-year-old pregnant patient who resides in transitional housing presents to the
emergency department with complaints of feeling feverish and very faint. The patient
tells the emergency nurse that she does not know when she became pregnant. Upon
palpation, the fundus is not at or above the umbilicus. The patient's condition quickly
deteriorates and she goes into cardiac arrest. If available and able to be used without
impeding or delaying the resuscitation effort, what diagnostic tool could be used to
guide decision-making in the care of this patient? - Answer-✅Point-of-care ultrasound
/.Cardiac monitoring indicates that a patient has a ventricular tachyarrhythmia. The
patient has a pulse and is not showing any signs of hemodynamic compromise. A 12-
lead ECG reveals an irregular rhythm with QRS complexes greater than 0.12 second in
duration. Which action would be appropriate at this time? - Answer-✅Consider an
antiarrhythmic medication
, /.A responsive patient is choking. What method should the provider use first to clear the
obstructed airway? - Answer-✅Back blows
/.What is the priority intervention for a patient with a narrow-complex tachycardia (160
bpm) and a blood pressure of 72/48 mmHg? - Answer-✅Perform immediate
synchronized cardioversion
/.A patient is admitted to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of stroke.
The stroke team should complete a comprehensive neurologic assessment and obtain
brain imaging results within what time frame? - Answer-✅Within 20 minutes
/.Cardiac monitoring of a patient in cardiac arrest reveals ventricular fibrillation. In
addition to high-quality CPR, what intervention should be a priority for the team? -
Answer-✅Defibrillation.
/.A patient with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has a pulse oximetry
reading of 86% and is given supplemental oxygen. The provider determines that the
supplemental oxygen dose is correct based on which SaO2 level? - Answer-✅93%
/.After cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation, the patient has a return of
spontaneous circulation. The patient is unable to follow verbal commands. Targeted
temperature management is initiated. Which method(s) would be appropriate for the
resuscitation team to use? - Answer-✅-Applying cooling blankets to the patient's body
-Using an endovascular catheter
-Giving an ice-cold IV fluid bolus
/.A patient comes to the emergency department complaining of palpitations and "some
shortness of breath." Cardiac monitoring is initiated and reveals the following ECG
rhythm strip. The provider interprets this strip as indicating which arrhythmia? - Answer-
✅Atrial flutter
/.A 35-year-old female patient's ECG is consistent with STEMI. The ECG reveals a new
ST-segment elevation at the J point in leads V2 and V3 of at least which size? -
Answer-✅0.15 mV
/.The following capnogram is from a patient experiencing respiratory distress. At which
point in the waveform would the patient's ETCO2 level be measured? - Answer-✅D
/.For a patient with third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block and a blood pressure of
70/48 mmHg, what interventions should be considered? - Answer-✅-Initiate a
dopamine infusion
-Administer atropine
-Initiate transcutaneous pacing
Correct Answers
/. A patient is in cardiac arrest. The cardiac monitor shows asystole. In addition to
providing continuous high-quality CPR, what is the other priority intervention for this
patient? - Answer-✅Administering epinephrine as early as possible
/.A patient has experienced return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cardiac
arrest. The healthcare team is conducting a secondary assessment to determine the
possible cause of the patient's cardiac arrest. Before the arrest, the patient exhibited
jugular venous distension, cyanosis, apnea and hyperresonance on percussion. The
patient was also difficult to ventilate during the response. The team would most likely
suspect which condition as the cause? - Answer-✅Tension Pneumothorax
/.A patient with suspected stroke arrives at the emergency department. The patient is
diagnosed with acute ischemic stroke and is a candidate for fibrinolytic therapy. To
achieve the best outcomes, this therapy should be initiated within what time frame? -
Answer-✅Within 1 hour of patient's arrival.
/.A patient in the telemetry unit is receiving continuous cardiac monitoring. The patient
has a history of myocardial infarction. The patient's ECG rhythm strip is shown in the
following figure. The provider interprets this strip as indicating which arrhythmia? -
Answer-✅Third-degree AV block
/.A 28-year-old pregnant patient who resides in transitional housing presents to the
emergency department with complaints of feeling feverish and very faint. The patient
tells the emergency nurse that she does not know when she became pregnant. Upon
palpation, the fundus is not at or above the umbilicus. The patient's condition quickly
deteriorates and she goes into cardiac arrest. If available and able to be used without
impeding or delaying the resuscitation effort, what diagnostic tool could be used to
guide decision-making in the care of this patient? - Answer-✅Point-of-care ultrasound
/.Cardiac monitoring indicates that a patient has a ventricular tachyarrhythmia. The
patient has a pulse and is not showing any signs of hemodynamic compromise. A 12-
lead ECG reveals an irregular rhythm with QRS complexes greater than 0.12 second in
duration. Which action would be appropriate at this time? - Answer-✅Consider an
antiarrhythmic medication
, /.A responsive patient is choking. What method should the provider use first to clear the
obstructed airway? - Answer-✅Back blows
/.What is the priority intervention for a patient with a narrow-complex tachycardia (160
bpm) and a blood pressure of 72/48 mmHg? - Answer-✅Perform immediate
synchronized cardioversion
/.A patient is admitted to the emergency department with signs and symptoms of stroke.
The stroke team should complete a comprehensive neurologic assessment and obtain
brain imaging results within what time frame? - Answer-✅Within 20 minutes
/.Cardiac monitoring of a patient in cardiac arrest reveals ventricular fibrillation. In
addition to high-quality CPR, what intervention should be a priority for the team? -
Answer-✅Defibrillation.
/.A patient with suspected acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has a pulse oximetry
reading of 86% and is given supplemental oxygen. The provider determines that the
supplemental oxygen dose is correct based on which SaO2 level? - Answer-✅93%
/.After cardiac arrest and successful resuscitation, the patient has a return of
spontaneous circulation. The patient is unable to follow verbal commands. Targeted
temperature management is initiated. Which method(s) would be appropriate for the
resuscitation team to use? - Answer-✅-Applying cooling blankets to the patient's body
-Using an endovascular catheter
-Giving an ice-cold IV fluid bolus
/.A patient comes to the emergency department complaining of palpitations and "some
shortness of breath." Cardiac monitoring is initiated and reveals the following ECG
rhythm strip. The provider interprets this strip as indicating which arrhythmia? - Answer-
✅Atrial flutter
/.A 35-year-old female patient's ECG is consistent with STEMI. The ECG reveals a new
ST-segment elevation at the J point in leads V2 and V3 of at least which size? -
Answer-✅0.15 mV
/.The following capnogram is from a patient experiencing respiratory distress. At which
point in the waveform would the patient's ETCO2 level be measured? - Answer-✅D
/.For a patient with third-degree atrioventricular (AV) block and a blood pressure of
70/48 mmHg, what interventions should be considered? - Answer-✅-Initiate a
dopamine infusion
-Administer atropine
-Initiate transcutaneous pacing
