Question 11 - Physiological Adaptation Practice Test for the NCLEX-RN Exam

A nurse is caring for a patient who just had an arterial line surgically placed in the femoral artery. Preoperative vitals showed a normal heart rate and blood pressure. The nurse knows that if the patient were to suffer the unexpected complication of an inadvertent puncture of the artery, she would most likely see which of these changes in this patient’s vital signs?