NURS 535 Practice Exam Questions with
Verified Answers
What is coronary artery disease? - ✔✔Any vascular disorder that narrows or occludes the
coronary arteries depriving the heart muscle of oxygen and nutrients.
What does CAD lead to? - ✔✔MI and acute coronary syndromes
What is the most common cause of CAD? - ✔✔atherosclerosis
What is the epidemiology of CAD? - ✔✔-7% of the US population older than 20 years of age has
CAD
-610,000 new heart attacks each year
-325,000 recurrent heart attacks each year
-Heart attack occurs every 25 seconds
-1 in 6 deaths results from CAD
What are non-modifiable risk factors for CAD? - ✔✔-Advanced age
-Male gender or woman after menopause
-Family history
What are modifiable risk factors for CAD? - ✔✔-Dyslipidemia
-Hypertension
-Cigarette smoking
-Diabetes and insulin resistance
-Obesity
-Sedentary life-style
,-Atherogenic diet
What is atherosclerosis? - ✔✔a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Over
time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to
your organs and other parts of your body.
What is the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis? - ✔✔1.Injured endothelial cells become
inflamed and cannot make normal amounts of antithrombotic and vasodilating cytokines.
2. Inflammatory cytokines are released.
3. Macrophages adhere to injured endothelium through the use of adhesion molecules.
4. Macrophages then release enzymes and toxic oxygen radicals that create oxidative stress,
oxidize LDL, and further injure the vessel wall.
5. Growth factors are also release, which stimulate smooth muscle cell proliferation in the
affected vessel.
What is an MI? - ✔✔A blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle (heart attack).
What is the pathophysiology of an MI? - ✔✔-Develops if supply of coronary blood cannot meet
the demand of myocardium for oxygen and nutrients
-Most common cause of decreased coronary blood flow is formation of atherosclerotic plaques
-Myocardial cells become ischemic within 10 seconds of coronary occlusion
-Cardiac cells remain viable for approximately 20 minutes under ischemic conditions.
What are clinical manifestations of an MI? - ✔✔• Stable angina
• Angina pectoris
What is stable angina? - ✔✔chronic coronary obstruction usually results in recurrent
predictable chest pain
, What is angina pectoris? - ✔✔transient substernal chest discomfort, ranging from a sensation
of heaviness or pressure to moderately severe pain
What is angina pectoris mistaken for? - ✔✔indigestion
What causes stable angina? - ✔✔Physical exertion or emotional stress
What causes angina pectoris? - ✔✔Caused by a build up of lactic acid or abnormal stretching of
the ischemic myocardium that irritates myocardial nerve fibers
What are examples of acute coronary syndromes? - ✔✔Unstable angina, Non-ST-segment
elevation MI (NSTEMI), and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)
Where does angina pectoris radiate? - ✔✔may also radiate to the neck, lower jaw, left arm, and
left shoulder or occasionally to the back or down the right arm.
How does angina pectoris present? - ✔✔Pallor, diaphoresis, dyspnea may be associated with
the pain.
How is the pain of angina pectoris resolved? - ✔✔relieved by rest and nitrates
What does lack of relief from angina pectoris result in? - ✔✔indicates an individual may be
developing infarction
What are clinical manifestations of MI in women? - ✔✔atypical chest pain, palpitations, sense
of unease, severe fatigue.
What is Prinzmetal angina? - ✔✔transient ischemia of the myocardium the occurs
unpredictably and almost exclusively at rest during the night
Verified Answers
What is coronary artery disease? - ✔✔Any vascular disorder that narrows or occludes the
coronary arteries depriving the heart muscle of oxygen and nutrients.
What does CAD lead to? - ✔✔MI and acute coronary syndromes
What is the most common cause of CAD? - ✔✔atherosclerosis
What is the epidemiology of CAD? - ✔✔-7% of the US population older than 20 years of age has
CAD
-610,000 new heart attacks each year
-325,000 recurrent heart attacks each year
-Heart attack occurs every 25 seconds
-1 in 6 deaths results from CAD
What are non-modifiable risk factors for CAD? - ✔✔-Advanced age
-Male gender or woman after menopause
-Family history
What are modifiable risk factors for CAD? - ✔✔-Dyslipidemia
-Hypertension
-Cigarette smoking
-Diabetes and insulin resistance
-Obesity
-Sedentary life-style
,-Atherogenic diet
What is atherosclerosis? - ✔✔a disease in which plaque builds up inside your arteries. Over
time, plaque hardens and narrows your arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to
your organs and other parts of your body.
What is the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis? - ✔✔1.Injured endothelial cells become
inflamed and cannot make normal amounts of antithrombotic and vasodilating cytokines.
2. Inflammatory cytokines are released.
3. Macrophages adhere to injured endothelium through the use of adhesion molecules.
4. Macrophages then release enzymes and toxic oxygen radicals that create oxidative stress,
oxidize LDL, and further injure the vessel wall.
5. Growth factors are also release, which stimulate smooth muscle cell proliferation in the
affected vessel.
What is an MI? - ✔✔A blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle (heart attack).
What is the pathophysiology of an MI? - ✔✔-Develops if supply of coronary blood cannot meet
the demand of myocardium for oxygen and nutrients
-Most common cause of decreased coronary blood flow is formation of atherosclerotic plaques
-Myocardial cells become ischemic within 10 seconds of coronary occlusion
-Cardiac cells remain viable for approximately 20 minutes under ischemic conditions.
What are clinical manifestations of an MI? - ✔✔• Stable angina
• Angina pectoris
What is stable angina? - ✔✔chronic coronary obstruction usually results in recurrent
predictable chest pain
, What is angina pectoris? - ✔✔transient substernal chest discomfort, ranging from a sensation
of heaviness or pressure to moderately severe pain
What is angina pectoris mistaken for? - ✔✔indigestion
What causes stable angina? - ✔✔Physical exertion or emotional stress
What causes angina pectoris? - ✔✔Caused by a build up of lactic acid or abnormal stretching of
the ischemic myocardium that irritates myocardial nerve fibers
What are examples of acute coronary syndromes? - ✔✔Unstable angina, Non-ST-segment
elevation MI (NSTEMI), and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)
Where does angina pectoris radiate? - ✔✔may also radiate to the neck, lower jaw, left arm, and
left shoulder or occasionally to the back or down the right arm.
How does angina pectoris present? - ✔✔Pallor, diaphoresis, dyspnea may be associated with
the pain.
How is the pain of angina pectoris resolved? - ✔✔relieved by rest and nitrates
What does lack of relief from angina pectoris result in? - ✔✔indicates an individual may be
developing infarction
What are clinical manifestations of MI in women? - ✔✔atypical chest pain, palpitations, sense
of unease, severe fatigue.
What is Prinzmetal angina? - ✔✔transient ischemia of the myocardium the occurs
unpredictably and almost exclusively at rest during the night
