NCLEX Simplified: Cardiac, Circulatory, and Musculoskeletal

Explain stable versus unstable angina, including causes, symptoms, and the nitroglycerin three-dose, five-minute-apart protocol; warn against combining nitroglycerin with sildenafil and note vasodilator side effects.

Define essential and secondary hypertension, identify modifiable and nonmodifiable risk factors, and review common antihypertensives—calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, and ARBs—plus notable side effects.

Learn to distinguish arterial and venous insufficiency and DVTs by recognizing cool, pale, hair loss with claudication versus edema and brown skin; apply compression stockings, elevation, anticoagulation, and risk awareness.

Learn how cardiac catheterization threads a catheter from the groin or arm to observe heart blood flow with dye, and how CABG bypasses blockages with vein grafts, risk of tamponade.

Explain normal and abnormal heart rates, including bradycardia and tachycardia. Demonstrate how activity, sleep, and fatigue affect rate, and outline the SA node, the AV node, and Kendu fibers' roles.

Examine normal sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter, note irregular rhythms that raise clot risk, and review treatments including digitalis, adenosine, and Coumadin, plus potassium considerations with diuretics.

Identify premature atrial and ventricular contractions, recognize patterns such as couplets, bigeminy, and trigeminy, and explain management of ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation with CPR and defibrillation when indicated.

Learn how heart blocks disrupt electrical signaling across the AV node, including first-degree, second-degree (types 1 and 2), and third-degree, highlighting monitoring needs and pacing considerations.

Explain defibrillation versus cardioversion for unconscious rhythms and when to shock. Learn CPR steps: check consciousness, activate EMS, assess breathing and pulse, perform 30 compressions at 100 bpm with breaths.

Identify myocardial infarction as a heart attack from oxygen deprivation, with chest pain and sweating. Treat with mona, monitor ekg for st elevation or t wave inversion, and consider tpa.

Describe left-sided heart failure symptoms—dyspnea, edema, weight gain, jugular venous distension, hepatomegaly—and daily weight with sodium restriction; cover diuretics hctz, furosemide, spironolactone and shock management.

Learn about pacemakers, pulmonary artery catheters, central venous pressure, and arterial lines, including post-op arm restrictions, pacemaker IDs, magnet effects, MRI risks, and signs of device issues.

Explore thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms, heart valve damage from rheumatic fever, and orthostatic vital signs to assess blood pressure changes across lying, sitting, and standing.