Respiratory and Cardiovascular Nursing Practice Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from lecture notes on respiratory and cardiovascular health, including diagnostics, conditions, and nursing priorities.

Tonsils

Lymphoid tissue that encircles the throat and guards the body from invasion of organisms entering the nose and throat.

Shunting

The main cause of hypoxia after thoracic or abdominal surgery and most types of respiratory failure.

Wheezing

A high-pitched, musical sound that is often the major finding in a patient with bronchoconstriction or airway narrowing.

Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) study

The most accurate measurement of oxygen concentration in the blood, measuring $PaO_2$, $PaCO_2$, and blood $pH$.

Tidal volume

The volume of air inspired and expired with a normal breath.

Total lung capacity

The maximal amount of air the lungs and respiratory passages can hold after a forced inspiration.

Residual volume

The maximal amount of air left in the lung after a maximal expiration.

Vital capacity

The maximal volume of air exhaled from the point of maximal inspiration.

Paranasal sinuses

Structures that serve as a resonating chamber in speech.

Pleural effusion

A condition characterized by lung fields dull to percussion, absent breath sounds, and a potential pleural friction rub.

Funnel chest

A chest deformity characterized by a depression in the lower portion of the sternum.

Barrel chest

A deformity resulting from overinflation of the lungs, characterized by an increase in the anteroposterior diameter of the thorax.

Lung compliance

The elasticity and expandability of the lungs; increased in conditions like emphysema and decreased in pulmonary fibrosis or ARDS.

Egophony

A voice sound assessment finding where the distortion produced by consolidation transforms the sound of the letter "E" into an audible "A".

Pulmonary perfusion

The actual blood flow through the pulmonary circulation.

Anticholinergics

A class of medications used to alleviate airflow obstruction in patients with asthma.

Cromolyn (Nasalcrom)

A medication that treats allergic rhinitis by inhibiting the release of histamine and other chemicals.

Epistaxis

Commonly known as a nosebleed; treated with direct pressure, silver nitrate application, or nasal packing.

Atelectasis

A condition characterized by the collapse of alveoli, often caused by a shallow, monotonous respiratory pattern and immobility.

Mantoux test

A screening for tuberculosis via an intradermal injection of purified protein derivative (PPD) into the inner forearm.

Pleurisy

Inflammation of the pleura characterized by pain that intensifies when the patient coughs or takes a deep breath.

Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

A genetic disease characterized by bronchial mucus plugging, inflammation, eventual bronchiectasis, and thick, viscous secretions.

Systole

The process by which blood is ejected into circulation as the chambers of the heart become smaller.

Diastole

The period of the cardiac cycle when the heart muscle relaxes and the chambers fill with blood.

Point of Maximum Impulse (PMI)

The apical beat normally palpated in the left midclavicular line of the chest wall at the fifth intercostal space.

Pulse pressure

The difference between the systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Troponin I

A protein specific to cardiac muscle that serves as an accurate indicator of myocardial injury within hours of occurrence.

Central Venous Pressure (CVP)

A measurement of right ventricular function and venous blood return; the normal range is $2$ to $6\,mmHg$.

Afterload

The amount of resistance to ejection of blood from the ventricle, which is increased by arterial vasoconstriction.

Brain (B-type) Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)

A blood level that increases as ventricular walls expand; used to diagnose and monitor heart failure.

Intermittent claudication

Muscular, cramp-type pain in the extremities consistently reproduced with the same degree of exercise and relieved by rest; caused by arterial insufficiency.

Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI)

A noninvasive test used to assess the degree of stenosis of peripheral arteries; an ABI of less than $1.0$ indicates possible claudication.

Virchows triad

The three factors believed to play a role in the development of venous thrombosis: venous stasis, vessel wall injury, and altered blood coagulation.

Hypertension

A condition confirmed by two or more readings with a systolic pressure of at least $140\,mmHg$ or a diastolic pressure of at least $90\,mmHg$.

Hypertensive emergency

Acute, life-threatening blood pressure elevations (e.g., $>180/120\,mmHg$) with evidence of target organ damage.

Orthopnea

Difficulty breathing while lying flat, typically requiring the patient to prop themselves up with pillows.