Question

A 55-year-old male was admitted to the hospital with heart failure. he complains of increasing shortness of breath on exertion, and of needing to sleep on three pillows at night. on physical assessment, the nurse determines that his ankles and feet are very swollen. which of these symptoms either reflect left-sided and/or right-sided heart failure

Answer 1

This patient both has left-sided heart failure and right-sided heart failure. In left-sided heart failure, this patient exhibits increasing shortness of breath on exertion as well as three pillow orthopnea which indicates pulmonary congestion. This is because of pooling of blood in the pulmonary circulation. Bipedal edema, in this patient is a grade 2 bipedal edema, reflect right-sided heart failure as there is pooling of blood in the systemic circulation, causing transudation in the most dependent areas of the body.