Your Patient Is an 86-Year-Old Male with Congestive Heart Failure

Multiple Choice

Your patient is an 86-year-old male with congestive heart failure.He called for help tonight because he cannot breathe and feels like he is "drowning in his own lungs." The patient has had several heart attacks in the past and he tells you his "heart is shot." The patient's cardiac output is likely diminished because:

A) less blood fills his heart with each contraction (preload is diminished) .
B) the heart's force of contraction is reduced (contractility is diminished) .
C) the pressure in the system against which the heart must pump is increased (afterload is increased) .
D) All of the above are true.