A 63-year-old man arrives at the ED in an ambulance, complaining of a persistent, dull epigastric pain radiating to the interscapular region; the pain began 2 days ago. The nurse notes that he is alert and has good coloring and that his skin is warm and dry. Vital signs include right-arm blood pressure (BP) 120/60 mmHg, left-arm BP 220/100 mmHg, right radial pulse 2+, and left radial pulse 3+. The nurse notes bilateral basilar crackles and a systolic cardiac murmur at the second right intercostal space. The patient has a 33-year history of hypertension, for which he is taking medications. The physician prescribes an antihypertensive agent for the patient. The main objective of therapy is to maintain:

The nurse understands that the most common cause of hypertension is:

Nitroprusside sodium (Nipride) is commonly used in hypertensive emergencies. The nurse understands that this medication:

A 50-year-old man arrives at the ED complaining of headache, nausea, vomiting, and blurred vision. His blood pressure is 210/144 mmHg. When asked about his medication history, the patient states that he usually takes clonidine hydrochloride (Catapres) but that he hasn’t taken it for 2 days because he ran out of medication. The nurse suspects this patient is in a hypertensive crisis, which is probably the result of:

Which EKG finding would the nurse expect for a patient whose potassium level is 6.5 mEq/L?

The nurse understands that the most serious adverse effect of IV nitroglycerin therapy is:

The nurse understands that a rapid IV infusion of nitroprusside may cause the patient to experience:

The nurse understands that one of the therapeutic effects of propranolol is:

A 50-year-old man arrives at the ED complaining of headache, nausea, vomiting, and blurred vision. His blood pressure is 210/144 mmHg. When asked about his medication history, the patient states that he usually takes clonidine hydrochloride (Catapres) but that he hasn’t taken it for 2 days because he ran out of medication. Which assessment finding is least important in alerting the nurse to the patient’s need for prompt medical attention?