What does the RN Targeted Medical Surgical Cardiovascular Online Practice 2023 cover?

What this exam is

The RN Targeted Medical Surgical: Cardiovascular online practice is an ATI assessment that drills the cardiovascular nursing concepts you are expected to master in a med-surg course. Rather than memorizing a leaked answer key (which changes and violates academic integrity), you will pass by understanding the underlying rationales. Below is a free, topic-organized review of the highest-yield content.

Core topics and rationales

Myocardial infarction (MI) — MONA. For acute chest pain from an MI, the classic memory aid is MONA: Morphine (pain and preload reduction), Oxygen (if hypoxic), Nitroglycerin (vasodilation, relieves ischemic pain), and Aspirin (antiplatelet, chewed for fast absorption). Order of administration in practice is usually aspirin and nitroglycerin and oxygen first, with morphine if pain persists. Watch for troponin elevation as the key cardiac biomarker.

Heart failure and furosemide. Furosemide (Lasix) is a loop diuretic that treats the fluid overload of heart failure by making the kidneys excrete sodium and water, reducing preload, pulmonary congestion, and edema. Key nursing monitoring: potassium (loop diuretics waste potassium — watch for hypokalemia), daily weights, intake/output, and blood pressure. A weight loss and reduced crackles indicate the drug is working.

Infective (bacterial) endocarditis. Infection of the heart's inner lining and valves. Signs to recognize: fever, new or changed heart murmur, Osler nodes, Janeway lesions, splinter hemorrhages, and petechiae. It is treated with long-term IV antibiotics, and prophylactic antibiotics may be given before dental or invasive procedures in at-risk patients.

Dysrhythmias and ECG. Expect items on recognizing atrial fibrillation (irregularly irregular, no clear P waves), the risk of clot formation and stroke in a-fib, and basic ECG interpretation. Ventricular fibrillation and pulseless V-tach require immediate defibrillation.

Anticoagulation — heparin and aPTT. IV heparin is monitored with the aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time); the therapeutic goal is roughly 1.5 to 2.5 times the normal control value. The antidote for heparin is protamine sulfate. Warfarin, by contrast, is monitored with PT/INR (therapeutic INR usually 2–3) and reversed with vitamin K. Do not confuse the two monitoring tests — this is a favorite exam trap.

The bigger picture

Cardiovascular med-surg questions reward pattern recognition: match the drug to the lab you monitor, the disease to its hallmark signs, and the emergency to its first intervention. Study the why behind each answer and the practice exam becomes straightforward. Use the quiz below to self-check the highest-yield facts.