Ace the PCCN Exam 2026 – Elevate Your Progressive Care Nursing Game!

Patients with right-sided heart failure commonly exhibit peripheral edema due to the accumulation of fluid in the body's tissues. This condition arises when the right ventricle is unable to effectively pump deoxygenated blood into the lungs for oxygenation. Consequently, blood can back up in the veins, particularly in the extremities, leading to fluid leakage into the surrounding tissues and resulting in swelling, or edema, typically observed in the legs, ankles, and sometimes the abdomen.

Pulmonary edema, on the other hand, is more characteristic of left-sided heart failure, where fluid leaks into the lungs due to increased pressure in the pulmonary circulation. Increased exercise tolerance is generally not a characteristic manifestation of heart failure; in fact, patients often experience reduced exercise capacity due to fatigue and weakness. Finally, decreased jugular venous pressure would not correlate with right-sided heart failure; rather, it often suggests better fluid status, which is not common in this condition where jugular venous distention is typically noted due to increased pressure in the venous system.