A patient with heart failure reports some shortness of breathing with activity, such as cleaning the house or grocery shopping, but no shortness of breath at rest. According to the New York Heart Association staging system, the nurse would classify this patient as:

Question

A) Class I.
B) Class II.
C) Class III.
D) Class IV.

Answer 1

B) Class II.

Explanation: A) In class I, individuals have heart disease that does not affect their daily activities.
B) In class II, individuals with cardiac disease are comfortable when resting, but results in slight limitations of activity. In this case, the patient experiences shortness of breath while cleaning the house and grocery shopping, but not when resting.
C) In class III, individuals with heart disease are markedly limited by physical activity although they are still comfortable at rest.
D) In class IV, individuals with heart disease experience symptoms with any level of activity and even sometimes at rest.