Ventricular Assist Devices: Assessment and
Treatment Considerations (BLS) Ventricular
Assist Device (VAD-C) Comprehensive
Practice Exam Questions with Answers &
Rationales | PDF
Your BiVAD patient is awake and alert, with warm, dry skin and pink mucous
membranes. He has called you because he had a persistent VAD alarm, which
resolved by replacing his external controller with a spare prior to your arrival. The
cardiac monitor shows ventricular tachycardia. Your next step should be to:
A. immediately perform synchronized cardioversion at 100 Joules
B. immediately deliver an unsynchronized shock at 200 Joules
, C. contact the VAD Coordinator at the hospital for instructions
D. administer a loading dose of 150 mg amiodarone - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----
contact the VAD Coordinator at the hospital for instructions
Your 54-year-old patient has an VAD following a heart attack that severely
damaged his left ventricle. He is otherwise healthy, and is on a heart transplant
list. He is awake and alert with pink skin, but complaining of weakness. While
assessing him, you note that you cannot obtain a blood pressure or pulse, nor
does your pulse oximeter display a plethysmography waveform. From these
assessment findings, you can infer that:
A. he is hypoperfusing.
B. he has a BiVAD.
C. his VAD has stopped running.
D. he has a direct-flow, rather than pulsatile, VAD. - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----
he has a direct-flow, rather than pulsatile, VAD
Your patient is a 60-year-old male with an LVAD. He takes warfarin and lisinopril.
He complains of weakness and severe fatigue, and states he has been passing
black, tarry stools for the past 48 hours. Of the following, which is NOT a reliable
indirect measure of this patient's perfusion?
A. Color of mucous membranes
B. Waveform capnography and etCO2 readings
C. Urinary output
D. Presence, rate and character of radial pulse
E. Level of consciousness - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----Presence, rate and
character of radial pulse
Treatment Considerations (BLS) Ventricular
Assist Device (VAD-C) Comprehensive
Practice Exam Questions with Answers &
Rationales | PDF
Your BiVAD patient is awake and alert, with warm, dry skin and pink mucous
membranes. He has called you because he had a persistent VAD alarm, which
resolved by replacing his external controller with a spare prior to your arrival. The
cardiac monitor shows ventricular tachycardia. Your next step should be to:
A. immediately perform synchronized cardioversion at 100 Joules
B. immediately deliver an unsynchronized shock at 200 Joules
, C. contact the VAD Coordinator at the hospital for instructions
D. administer a loading dose of 150 mg amiodarone - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----
contact the VAD Coordinator at the hospital for instructions
Your 54-year-old patient has an VAD following a heart attack that severely
damaged his left ventricle. He is otherwise healthy, and is on a heart transplant
list. He is awake and alert with pink skin, but complaining of weakness. While
assessing him, you note that you cannot obtain a blood pressure or pulse, nor
does your pulse oximeter display a plethysmography waveform. From these
assessment findings, you can infer that:
A. he is hypoperfusing.
B. he has a BiVAD.
C. his VAD has stopped running.
D. he has a direct-flow, rather than pulsatile, VAD. - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----
he has a direct-flow, rather than pulsatile, VAD
Your patient is a 60-year-old male with an LVAD. He takes warfarin and lisinopril.
He complains of weakness and severe fatigue, and states he has been passing
black, tarry stools for the past 48 hours. Of the following, which is NOT a reliable
indirect measure of this patient's perfusion?
A. Color of mucous membranes
B. Waveform capnography and etCO2 readings
C. Urinary output
D. Presence, rate and character of radial pulse
E. Level of consciousness - ---✔✔✔ANSWER----Presence, rate and
character of radial pulse
