Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 63%
Simulated
The nurse auscultates a loud heart murmur while performing a cardiac assessment on a client. The nurse is aware that a heart murmur reflects:
Correct answer
B
Rationale
The correct answer is B: dysfunction of one or more heart valves. A heart murmur is an abnormal heart sound caused by turbulent blood flow. Dysfunction of heart valves can lead to turbulent blood flow, resulting in a heart murmur. Increased fluid in the pericardial sac (A) may cause pericardial effusion but not a heart murmur. An aneurysm of the descending aorta (C) can lead to other symptoms but not necessarily a heart murmur. An occlusion of the right coronary artery (D) may cause a heart attack or myocardial infarction but not directly result in a heart murmur.