A patient in the nursing home wonders why he is having these signs and symptoms of left-sided failure. Which of the following explanations will the nurse give the patient? a) &q…

Question

A patient in the nursing home wonders why he is having these signs and symptoms of left-sided failure. Which of the following explanations will the nurse give the patient?

a) "The left ventricle is pumping excessive amounts of blood through the carotid arteries causing headache."
b) "The left ventricle is not adequately perfusing your gastrointestinal tract, leading to diarrhea and vomiting."
c) "The left ventricle is having problems pumping blood forward, and this is causing blood to back up into your lungs."
d) "The left ventricle is having problems pumping blood forward so blood is backing up systemically causing edema in your feet."

Answer 1

The nurse should explain that the left ventricle is having problems pumping blood forward, causing blood to back up into the lungs, leading to symptoms of left-sided heart failure.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct explanation for why the patient is having signs and symptoms of left-sided heart failure is that the left ventricle is having trouble pumping blood effectively. As a result of this issue, blood backs up into the lungs, leading to increased pressure in the pulmonary capillaries and subsequently causing fluid to leak into the lung tissue - a condition known as pulmonary edema. Thus, the nurse should tell the patient that option c) "The left ventricle is having problems pumping blood forward, and this is causing blood to back up into your lungs," is the accurate description of left-sided heart failure.