A client with known heart failure presents to the clinic with worsening pulmonary edema. Which symptom should the nurse expect the client to report as a common manifestation of pulmonary edema related to heart failure?
A.
Nausea and vomiting<\/p>\n\n\n\n
B.
Orthopnea (difficulty breathing when lying flat)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
C.
Excessive sweating and diaphoresis<\/p>\n\n\n\n
D.
Sharp, stabbing chest pain<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Correct answer and Explanation is:<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The correct answer is B. Orthopnea (difficulty breathing when lying flat)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Explanation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pulmonary edema is a condition characterized by excess fluid accumulation in the lungs, often due to heart failure. In heart failure, the heart’s reduced ability to pump blood effectively can lead to increased pressure in the pulmonary circulation, resulting in fluid leaking into the alveoli and interstitial spaces of the lungs. This fluid accumulation impairs gas exchange and leads to respiratory distress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the hallmark symptoms of pulmonary edema is orthopnea, which refers to difficulty breathing when lying flat. Patients often find relief when sitting up or propping themselves with pillows. This symptom occurs because, in a supine position, venous return to the heart increases, leading to heightened pulmonary congestion and worsening respiratory symptoms. Patients may report needing to sleep in a reclined position or with multiple pillows to breathe comfortably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other symptoms related to pulmonary edema may include shortness of breath (dyspnea), wheezing, and a feeling of suffocation. Patients may also exhibit signs of increased work of breathing, such as using accessory muscles, tachypnea, and cyanosis. While nausea and vomiting (option A) can occur in some patients with heart failure due to decreased cardiac output and compromised perfusion, they are not specific indicators of pulmonary edema. Excessive sweating (option C) can be seen in various conditions, but it is not a primary symptom of pulmonary edema. Sharp, stabbing chest pain (option D) is more characteristic of conditions like pulmonary embolism or myocardial infarction, rather than pulmonary edema.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In summary, when assessing a client with worsening pulmonary edema due to heart failure, the nurse should be alert for the symptom of orthopnea, as it is a significant indicator of the underlying respiratory compromise associated with this condition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A client with known heart failure presents to the clinic with worsening pulmonary edema. Which symptom should the nurse expect the client to report as a common manifestation of pulmonary edema related to heart failure?A.Nausea and vomiting B.Orthopnea (difficulty breathing when lying flat) C.Excessive sweating and diaphoresis D.Sharp, stabbing chest pain The Correct answer and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143118"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143118\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}