A nurse is performing a physical assessment on a patient taking a beta blocker. The patient ...

B
The signs and symptoms describe left-sided heart failure, in which the blood normally handled by the left ventricle and forced out through the aorta into the body backs up into the lungs, pro-ducing respiratory or lung signs and symptoms.
The patient's signs and symptoms are not indicative of pneumonia.
The patient's signs and symptoms are not indicative of a pulmonary embolus.
The patient's signs and symptoms are consistent with left-sided heart failure, not right-sided heart failure, which would present with more systemic signs and symptoms, such as jugular vein distension, ascites, pitting edema, hepatomegaly, and splenomegaly, among others.