Patient Care Technician (PCT) AAH Practice Exam

Disable ads (and more) with a membership for a one time $2.99 payment

Prepare for the Patient Care Technician AAH Exam with our comprehensive exam. Use flashcards and multiple-choice questions, each equipped with hints and explanations. Get ready to excel!

Each practice test/flash card set has 50 randomly selected questions from a bank of over 500. You'll get a new set of questions each time!

Practice this question and more.

What term describes a decrease in the force of the heartbeat?

Bradycardia
Hypotension
Arrhythmia
Chronic heart failure

The correct answer is: Bradycardia

The term that describes a decrease in the force of the heartbeat is "Chronic heart failure." Chronic heart failure refers to a long-term condition where the heart is unable to pump sufficiently to maintain blood flow to meet the body's needs. This often results in a decreased cardiac output, leading to a weaker heartbeat. Bradycardia refers specifically to a slower than normal heart rate, which does not necessarily imply a reduction in the force of the heartbeat itself. Hypotension describes low blood pressure, which is not a direct measure of heart force but rather the pressure of blood against the walls of the arteries. Arrhythmia relates to irregular heartbeats, which may vary in force but doesn't specifically denote a decrease in force either. Thus, chronic heart failure is the most accurate term to describe a condition characterized by diminished pumping strength of the heart.