Question

What would the nurse not expect to find in a patient who was experiencing acute decompensated heart failure with pulmonary edema?

1. Dyspnea at rest, peripheral edema
2. Hypertension, bradycardia
3. Increased coughing, crackles
4. Decreased O2 saturation, increased PAWP

Answer 1

A nurse would not expect to find hypertension and bradycardia in a patient experiencing acute decompensated heart failure with pulmonary edema; tachycardia and possibly hypotension are more common in such acute scenarios.

Step-by-step explanation:

Among the options provided, what a nurse would not expect to find in a patient experiencing acute decompensated heart failure with pulmonary edema would be hypertension and bradycardia. Typically, acute heart failure can lead to symptoms such as dyspnea at rest, peripheral edema, increased coughing, crackles in the lungs, decreased O2 saturation, and increased pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) due to the compromised function of the heart's left ventricle leading to a buildup of pressure in the lungs.

However, bradycardia (unusually slow heart rate) is not a common feature of acute heart failure where tachycardia (fast heart rate) is more often expected, and hypertension is typically seen in chronic heart failure but may not be present during an acute decompensated state.