RCIS EXAM STUDY PACKAGE PRACTICE
QUESTIONS 2026
◉ 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
QUESTIONS 2026
◉ 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
