22 Cardiology & Resuscitation Practice Questions & Answers
Every Cardiology & Resuscitation practice question from the EMT (NREMT) Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.
Start practice test →1. You are assessing an unresponsive 4-month-old infant. Where should you check for a pulse?
- A.Radial artery at the wrist
- B.Femoral artery in the groin
- C.Carotid artery in the neck
- D.Brachial artery in the arm✓ Answer
For infants the brachial artery on the inner upper arm is used because a short, chubby neck makes the carotid hard to locate; the pulse check should take no more than 10 seconds.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — Infant pulse check: brachial artery (≤10 s)Report a problem with this question
2. Two EMTs are performing CPR on an adult in cardiac arrest without an advanced airway. What compression-to-ventilation ratio should they use?
- A.10:2
- B.30:1
- C.15:2
- D.30:2✓ Answer
For adults the ratio stays 30:2 whether one or two rescuers are present; only children and infants change to 15:2 when two rescuers are working, a commonly tested trap.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — Adult compression-to-ventilation ratio remains 30:2 with 1 or 2 rescuersReport a problem with this question
3. After confirming an adult is unresponsive, pulseless, and apneic, which action should you perform first?
- A.Give two rescue breaths
- B.Begin chest compressions✓ Answer
- C.Do a head-tilt/chin-lift
- D.Sweep the mouth for objects
Current guidelines use the C-A-B sequence — Compressions, Airway, Breathing. At the moment of arrest the blood still carries residual oxygen, so circulation is the limiting factor: every second before the first compression lowers coronary and cerebral perfusion pressure. Airway and ventilation follow the first set of 30 compressions.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — C-A-B sequence (compressions before airway/breathing)Report a problem with this question
4. Where should you place your hands to perform chest compressions on an adult?
- A.Directly over the xiphoid process
- B.Over the left nipple, on the apex
- C.Center of the chest, lower sternum✓ Answer
- D.Upper third of the sternum, midline
Hands are placed on the center of the chest over the lower half of the sternum; compressing over the xiphoid can cause injury, and compressing too high is ineffective.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — Adult hand placement: lower half of the sternumReport a problem with this question
5. What is the correct chest compression depth for a child (1 year to puberty) during CPR?
- A.About 2.4 inches (6 cm)
- B.About 1.5 inches (4 cm)
- C.About 1 inch (2.5 cm)
- D.About 2 inches (5 cm)✓ Answer
For a child, compress about one-third of the anterior-posterior chest diameter, which is roughly 2 inches (5 cm) — deeper than the 1.5 in (4 cm) used for an infant, but not the 2.4 in (6 cm) that marks the adult upper limit.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — Child compression depth ~1/3 AP diameter (~2 in/5 cm)Report a problem with this question
6. Two rescuers are performing CPR on an infant. Which compression technique is preferred?
- A.Two hands, as used for an adult
- B.Two thumbs, hands encircling chest✓ Answer
- C.Two fingers on the lower sternum
- D.Two thumbs on the xiphoid process
With two rescuers, the two-thumb encircling-hands technique is preferred for infants because it produces better coronary perfusion and more consistent depth than the two-finger method, which current guidelines no longer recommend. Either way the thumbs sit on the lower half of the sternum, just below the nipple line — never on the xiphoid, which risks liver injury.
Source: AHA BLS Guidelines — Infant two-rescuer technique: two-thumb encircling handsReport a problem with this question
7. The AED analyzes an adult in cardiac arrest and states 'No shock advised.' What should you do?
- A.Get a replacement AED; this one has failed
- B.Immediately resume high-quality CPR for 2 minutes✓ Answer
- C.Stop CPR and monitor; the rhythm is normal
- D.Re-analyze the rhythm before resuming CPR
'No shock advised' means only that the rhythm is non-shockable — usually asystole or PEA — not that the patient has recovered. Those rhythms are treated with chest compressions, which build the coronary perfusion pressure that makes any later shock work, so resume CPR at once and let the AED re-analyze after about 2 minutes.
Source: AHA BLS/AED operation — 'No shock advised' → resume CPR immediatelyReport a problem with this question
8. You are about to use an AED on a patient just pulled from a swimming pool. The chest is wet. What should you do first?
- A.Pour saline on the chest for contact
- B.Apply pads now; water conducts well
- C.Do not use an AED on a wet patient
- D.Move off the water and dry the chest✓ Answer
Water on the chest or standing water under the patient conducts the shock across the skin surface or into rescuers instead of through the heart, so move the patient off wet ground and towel the chest dry before applying pads. A quick dry-off costs seconds; it does not mean withholding defibrillation.
Source: AHA AED special situations — remove from water and dry chest before useReport a problem with this question
9. While placing AED pads on a patient's chest, you find a medication patch where a pad must go. What should you do?
- A.Cancel AED use; the drug interferes
- B.Remove the patch, then wipe the area✓ Answer
- C.Leave the patch; shift the pad aside
- D.Place the pad directly over the patch
A transdermal medication patch can block energy delivery and cause burns, so remove it — with a gloved hand to avoid absorbing the drug — wipe the area, then apply the pad.
Source: AHA AED special situations — remove transdermal medication patch before pad placementReport a problem with this question
10. You notice a hard lump under the skin of a cardiac-arrest patient's upper chest, consistent with an implanted pacemaker. How should you place the AED pad?
- A.The opposite side of the chest only
- B.Do not use the AED on this patient
- C.Over the device, to reset the device
- D.At least 1 inch (2.5 cm) to the side✓ Answer
Current flows between the two pads, so a pad sitting on the generator lets the device shunt or absorb the energy instead of it reaching the myocardium, and the pacemaker or ICD itself can be damaged. Offsetting the pad by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) keeps the shock path across the heart; an implanted device is never a reason to withhold defibrillation.
Source: AHA AED special situations — place pad ≥1 in (2.5 cm) from implanted pacemaker/ICDReport a problem with this question
11. You have only pediatric AED pads with a dose attenuator available for an adult in cardiac arrest. What should you do?
- A.Use pediatric pads; the dose is safer
- B.Place pediatric pads front and back
- C.Use adult pads, not the pediatric pads✓ Answer
- D.Withhold defibrillation altogether
Pediatric pads and dose attenuators deliver too little energy for an adult and may fail to defibrillate, so adults require adult pads — whereas adult pads may be used on a child if pediatric pads are unavailable. Changing where the pads sit does not change the energy they deliver.
Source: AHA AED pad rules — pediatric pads/attenuator must not be used on an adultReport a problem with this question
12. For which cardiac rhythm is an AED designed to deliver a defibrillation shock?
- A.Asystole (a flat-line rhythm)
- B.Normal sinus rhythm at 70 bpm
- C.Ventricular fibrillation (VF)✓ Answer
- D.Pulseless electrical activity
Ventricular fibrillation — a disorganized, quivering rhythm — and pulseless ventricular tachycardia are the shockable rhythms a defibrillator can reorganize; asystole and PEA are non-shockable and treated with CPR.
Source: AHA ECC — shockable rhythms: ventricular fibrillation and pulseless VTReport a problem with this question
13. A 58-year-old man with chest pain asks you to help him take his prescribed nitroglycerin. He mentions he took sildenafil (Viagra) about 6 hours ago. What should you do?
- A.Give a double dose instead
- B.Give the nitroglycerin as usual
- C.Withhold the nitroglycerin✓ Answer
- D.Give it only if he lies flat
Nitroglycerin combined with a PDE-5 inhibitor (sildenafil within 24 h, tadalafil within 48 h) can cause profound, life-threatening hypotension that no position change or dose adjustment prevents, so it must be withheld.
Source: Nitroglycerin contraindication — PDE-5 inhibitors (sildenafil <24 h, tadalafil <48 h)Report a problem with this question
14. Before assisting a chest-pain patient with nitroglycerin, you find the blood pressure is 84/50 mmHg. What is the appropriate action?
- A.Withhold the nitroglycerin✓ Answer
- B.Give half the usual dosage
- C.Give it; it will relieve pain
- D.Give it, then recheck the BP
Nitroglycerin is a vasodilator that lowers blood pressure, so it is contraindicated when the systolic pressure is below about 90–100 mmHg; halving the dose or checking the pressure afterward does not remove the risk of dangerous hypotension.
Source: Nitroglycerin contraindication — systolic BP <90–100 mmHg (hypotension)Report a problem with this question
15. You are giving aspirin to a conscious patient with suspected acute coronary syndrome. How should the patient take it?
- A.Take it together with an antacid
- B.Swallow it whole with some water
- C.Chew the tablets, then swallow them✓ Answer
- D.Let it dissolve under the tongue
Aspirin works by irreversibly blocking platelet cyclo-oxygenase, which shuts down thromboxane A2 and keeps the clot in the coronary artery from growing. Chewing 162–324 mg of non-enteric aspirin gets it absorbed within minutes instead of waiting on gastric dissolution, so platelet inhibition starts far sooner.
Source: EMT protocol — aspirin 162–324 mg chewable, chewed for faster antiplatelet effectReport a problem with this question
16. Which finding is a contraindication to giving aspirin to a patient with chest pain?
- A.Being older than 65 years of age
- B.Active gastrointestinal bleeding✓ Answer
- C.A previous heart attack or stent
- D.A history of high blood pressure
Aspirin impairs platelet function and can worsen bleeding, so active gastrointestinal bleeding — along with aspirin allergy or inability to swallow — is a contraindication. Age, hypertension, and a prior MI or stent are not; those patients are usually the ones who benefit most.
Source: Aspirin contraindications — active GI bleeding/ulcer, allergy, inability to swallowReport a problem with this question
17. A 70-year-old woman with diabetes reports unusual fatigue, nausea, and mild shortness of breath but denies chest pain. What is the most appropriate action?
- A.Delay transport until chest pain begins
- B.Reassure her that her heart is fine
- C.Treat her for simple indigestion only
- D.Treat as a heart attack and transport✓ Answer
Women, the elderly, and diabetics often have atypical or 'silent' MI presentations without classic chest pain — diabetic neuropathy blunts the pain signal — so these symptoms warrant treating and transporting for possible acute coronary syndrome.
Source: ACS assessment — atypical/silent MI presentations in women, elderly, and diabeticsReport a problem with this question
18. A patient's chest discomfort came on with exertion, lasted about 5 minutes, and went away completely with rest. This pattern is most consistent with:
- A.An acute heart attack
- B.Unstable angina pectoris
- C.Acute cardiac tamponade
- D.Stable angina pectoris✓ Answer
Stable angina is transient ischemia — typically brief (under about 15 minutes) and relieved by rest or nitroglycerin — without the myocardial cell death that occurs in an MI. Unstable angina, by contrast, comes on at rest or with less and less exertion and is not fully relieved by rest.
Source: ACS spectrum — stable angina: transient, <15 min, relieved by rest/nitroglycerinReport a problem with this question
19. A patient with a history of heart failure is short of breath, has crackles in both lungs, and coughs up pink, frothy sputum. If blood pressure allows, how should you position this patient?
- A.Trendelenburg, with the head down
- B.The left lateral recumbent position
- C.Supine and lying completely flat
- D.Sitting upright (semi-Fowler's)✓ Answer
These signs indicate pulmonary edema from left-sided heart failure; sitting the patient upright eases the work of breathing and reduces venous return to the congested lungs.
Source: Left-sided heart failure/pulmonary edema — position upright (semi-Fowler's)Report a problem with this question
20. A patient with a suspected heart attack now has a weak, thready pulse; cool, clammy skin; low blood pressure; and altered mental status. This presentation is most consistent with:
- A.Vasovagal syncope
- B.Acute panic attack
- C.Cardiogenic shock✓ Answer
- D.Severe dehydration
When the heart's pumping function fails after an MI, cardiac output drops, producing hypotension, a weak pulse, cool clammy skin, and altered mental status — the hallmarks of cardiogenic shock, which requires rapid transport.
Source: Cardiogenic shock — pump failure causing hypotension and poor perfusionReport a problem with this question
21. For a patient in ventricular fibrillation, what is the single most important treatment that improves survival, along with early high-quality CPR?
- A.Sublingual nitroglycerin
- B.High-flow oxygen alone
- C.Early defibrillation✓ Answer
- D.An IV bolus of fluid
For VF and pulseless VT, early defibrillation is the single most effective treatment; survival falls roughly 7–10% for each minute defibrillation is delayed when no CPR is given, so nothing — including vascular access — may push the first shock later.
Source: Chain of Survival — early defibrillation is the most effective treatment for VF/pulseless VTReport a problem with this question
22. Compared with adults, cardiac arrest in children is most often caused by:
- A.A congenital pacemaker defect
- B.A sudden coronary artery clot
- C.A respiratory or hypoxic problem✓ Answer
- D.Ventricular fibrillation (VF)
Pediatric arrests are usually the end result of respiratory failure or hypoxia, so oxygenation and ventilation are emphasized, whereas adult arrests are commonly primary cardiac events (VF).
Source: Pediatric resuscitation — arrest is most often respiratory/hypoxic in originReport a problem with this question
Practice questions modeled on the National EMS Education Standards and NREMT cognitive-exam content areas. Not medical advice and not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) or NHTSA. Always follow your instructor, medical director, and local protocols. Study the official materials at nremt.org. Official NREMT →