Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 84%
Simulated
A nurse is auscultating a client's carotid artery while performing a focused cardiac assessment and hears a bruit. The nurse should identify this finding as a manifestation of which of the following conditions?
Correct answer
D
Rationale
The correct answer is D: Narrowed arterial lumen. A bruit is a whooshing sound heard over a narrowed arterial lumen due to turbulent blood flow. This commonly occurs in carotid artery stenosis, indicating a risk for stroke. Dysrhythmia (A) is irregular heart rhythm; cardiac murmur (B) is abnormal heart sounds; and hypotension (C) is low blood pressure, none of which directly cause a bruit. Therefore, the correct choice is D.