Cardiovascular
Disorders of the pump, the vessels, and the conduction system. The heaviest NCLEX weight lives here: recognizing decompensation, acting on chest pain, and knowing which rhythm kills first.
Heart Failure
HF High-yieldThe heart can no longer fill with or eject enough blood for the body — and the compensation designed to help makes it worse.
Hypertension & Hypertensive Crisis
HTN High-yield in researchThe silent killer — staging, crisis vs urgency, and why adherence teaching is the intervention.
Coronary Artery Disease & Stable Angina
CAD High-yield in researchSupply–demand mismatch, the chest-pain protocol, and the modifiable risk factors.
Acute Coronary Syndrome & MI
ACS High-yield in researchUnstable angina to STEMI — troponin, reperfusion time targets, and the first-minutes nursing sequence.
Dysrhythmias
High-yield in researchAfib, VT/VF, blocks, SVT — lethal vs stable, and defibrillate vs cardiovert.
Venous Thromboembolism (DVT & PE)
VTE High-yield in researchClot formation, why you never massage a DVT, and the bleeding-precautions bridge to anticoagulants.
Valvular Heart Disease
in researchStenosis vs regurgitation, the murmur→symptom link, and post-valve-replacement INR.
Infective Endocarditis
in researchVegetations on valves — the IV-drug-use link and long-course antibiotic adherence.
Pericarditis & Cardiac Tamponade
in researchPositional chest pain vs the Beck’s-triad emergency.
Peripheral Arterial Disease
PAD in researchArterial vs venous disease — the ulcer-comparison table NCLEX loves.
Aortic Aneurysm & Dissection
in researchTearing pain, do-not-palpate, and aggressive BP control.
Cardiomyopathies
in researchDilated vs hypertrophic vs restrictive — and HCM in the young athlete.
Chronic Venous Insufficiency
in researchStasis, edema, and compression therapy — the contrast case for PAD.