Cardiac Vascular Nursing Certification Practice Exam 2026 – Your All-in-One Guide to Exam Success!

Systolic murmurs are the correct choice when discussing murmurs associated with aortic and pulmonic stenosis. These types of murmurs occur during the contraction phase of the heart cycle, where blood is ejected from the ventricles into the aorta and pulmonary artery. In cases of aortic or pulmonic stenosis, there is a narrowing at the valve levels, which creates turbulence as blood flows through the restricted space. This turbulence generates a characteristic sound, appreciated as a systolic ejection murmur, typically heard best at the right second intercostal space for aortic stenosis and the left second intercostal space for pulmonic stenosis.

Diastolic murmurs, on the other hand, occur during the filling phase of the heart when blood flows from the atria into the ventricles and are typically associated with conditions like aortic regurgitation or mitral stenosis. Functional murmurs are usually benign and result from increased blood flow states rather than structural abnormalities of the heart valves, making them less relevant in this context. Continuous murmurs are present throughout the cardiac cycle and are often associated with conditions like patent ductus arteriosus, but they do not relate specifically to aortic or pulmonic stenosis.