PATHOPHYSIOLOGY PRACTICE TEST
2025/2026 ACCURATE QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT SOLUTIONS WITH
RATIONALES || 100% GUARANTEED PASS
<RECENT VERSION>
1. Describe four general treatment measures for cardiac disorders. - ANSWER
✓ dietary modification;
exercise program;
cessation of smoking;
drug therapy
2. Identify ten risk factors for developing atherosclerosis. Indicate which ones
are modifiable and which ones are not. Note that these are the same risk
factors for heart disease. - ANSWER ✓ • age—cannot be changed
• gender—cannot be changed
• genetic or familial factors—cannot be changed
• obesity—modifiable
• cigarette smoking—modifiable
• sedentary lifestyle—modifiable
• diabetes mellitus—modifiable
• poorly controlled hypertension—modifiable
• oral contraceptives and smoking in combination— modifiable
• high cholesterol and hypertension—modifiable
3. List factors that may contribute to the development of congenital heart
defects - ANSWER ✓ Most defects are multifactorial and reflect both
genetic and environmental influences (e.g., chromosomal abnormalities in
Down syndrome). Environmental factors include viral infections such as
, rubella and maternal alcoholism (fetal alcohol syndrome [FAS]) and
maternal diabetes.
4. Septal defect - ANSWER ✓ a hole or defect in the atrial or ventricular septa
5. Valvular incompetence - ANSWER ✓ Failure of a valve to close completely
allowing blood to regurgitate or leak backward.
6. Stenosis - ANSWER ✓ narrowing of a valve
7. Regurgitation - ANSWER ✓ backward flow or leaking of blood due to
valvular incompetence
8. Prolapse - ANSWER ✓ abnormally enlarged and floppy valve leaflets that
balloon backward with pressure or posterior displacement of the valve cusp
9. Heart murmur - ANSWER ✓ abnormal heart sounds due to leaky valves
10.How are most congenital heart defects detected? - ANSWER ✓ by presence
of a heart murmur
11."Right-to-left shunt." - ANSWER ✓ Right- to-left shunt means that
unoxygenated blood from the right side of the heart bypasses the lung
directly and enters the left side of the heart and hence the systemic
circulation, producing varying degrees of cyanosis; death may occur in
infancy in severe cases.
12."Left-to-right shunt" - ANSWER ✓ Left-to-right shunt means that blood
from the left side of the heart is recycled to the right side and to the lungs,
resulting in increased volume in the pulmonary circulation, decreased
cardiac output, and an inefficient system-an acyanotic condition.
13.Outline the signs and symptoms of large congenital heart defects. -
ANSWER ✓ • pallor and cyanosis
• tachycardia, with very rapid sleeping pulse, frequently a pulse deficit
• dyspnea on exertion and tachypnea
• in toddlers and older children, frequently assuming a squatting
position to modify blood flow
, • clubbed fingers developed in time
• marked intolerance for exercise and exposure to cold
• delayed growth and development
14.Explain the consequences of a large ventricular septal defect, including the
complications that develop if the defect is not surgically corrected. -
ANSWER ✓ Ventricular septal defect is the most common congenital heart
defect—"hole in the heart." Large openings: left-to-right shunt, reducing the
flow of blood from the left ventricle, reducing stroke volume and cardiac
output in the systemic circulation. More blood enters the pulmonary
circulation, compromising its efficiency, and in time, overloads and
irreversibly damages the pulmonary vessels, causing pulmonary
hypertension. This complication, if untreated, would lead to abnormally high
pressure in the right ventricle and reversal of the shunt to a right-to-left
shunt, leading to cyanosis
15.Mitral stenosis - ANSWER ✓ left atrial dilation hypertrophy - atrial
fibrillation, thrombus, pulmonary edema, RHF
16.Mitral regurgitation - ANSWER ✓ mitral insufficiency; incompetent mitral
valve allows regurgitation of blood back into left atrium during systole
17.Aortic stenosis - ANSWER ✓ calcification of aortic valve cusps that
restricts forward flow of blood during systole
18.Aortic regurgitation - ANSWER ✓ incompetent aortic valve that allows
backward flow of blood into left ventricle during diastole
19.Pulmonary stenosis - ANSWER ✓ Right ventricular hypertrophy Congestion
in right atrium and systemic veins Leads to right-sided heart failure
Decreased blood flow through pulmonary circulation, leading to decreased
gas exchange and blood to left side of heart Weakness, fatigue, cyanosis
Swelling of feet and ankles Symptoms of right-sided heart failure Heart
murmur
20.Pulmonary regurgitation - ANSWER ✓ Blood flows back into right ventricle
, 21.Name two conditions that are usually associated with heart murmurs. -
ANSWER ✓ valvular defect; septal defect
22.Describe the four defects that are present in tetralogy of Fallot. Describe the
implications of altered blood flow. - ANSWER ✓ i. pulmonary valve
stenosis: restricts outflow from the right ventricle, leading to right
ventricular hypertrophy and high pressure in the right ventricle leading to the
right-to-left shunt
ii. ventricular septal defect (VSD): an opening in the ventricular septum
allows blood to flow between the ventricles
iii. dextroposition of the aorta: promotes blood flow directly from the right
ventricle into the general circulation
iv. right ventricular hypertrophy: thickening of the ventricular wall because
of increased work The most common cyanotic congenital heart disorder,
tetralogy of Fallot, is a right-to-left shunt of blood through the VSD with
marked systemic effects. This means that unoxygenated blood from the right
side of the heart bypasses the lungs and enters the left side of the heart and
into the general circulation. The high proportion of unoxygenated blood
produces a bluish color in the skin and mucous membranes (cyanosis) and
marked systemic effects resulting from hypoxemia.
23.Describe therapeutic interventions used in the treatment of heart defects. -
ANSWER ✓ Treatments include surgical repair of defect, valve
replacement, or drug therapy (those used for heart failure).
24.Identify the most significant symptom of chronic bronchitis. - ANSWER ✓
constant productive cough
25.Describe the treatments for chronic bronchitis. - ANSWER ✓ Treatments
include reducing exposure to irritants, prompt treatment of infections,
influenza and pneumonia vaccination, and use of expectorants,
bronchodilators, chest therapy, low-flow oxygen, and nutritional
supplementation.
26.Asthma - ANSWER ✓ episodes of breathing difficulty due to narrowed or
obstructed airways
27.Explain why individuals with chronic bronchitis are sometimes referred to as
blue bloaters. - ANSWER ✓ Hypoxia is characteristic feature, particularly