A nurse is assessing a client who has bradycardia. Which of the following findings should the nurse expect?

Choice A rationale Elevated temperature (fever) is a sign of an infectious or inflammatory process, which typically increases the metabolic demand and often leads to a compensatory increase in heart rate (tachycardia), not a decrease (bradycardia). Bradycardia, defined as a heart rate <60 beats per minute in an adult, may result from various cardiac or non-cardiac causes but is not typically associated with a fever. Choice B rationale Fluid volume deficit (hypovolemia) typically stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and the baroreceptor reflex, leading to an increase in heart rate (tachycardia) in an attempt to maintain cardiac output and blood pressure. Severe bradycardia would impair cardiac output and perfusion, but it is not a typical finding or cause of a fluid volume deficit. Choice C rationale Lightheadedness, or dizziness, is a common symptom of decreased cerebral perfusion, which occurs when the heart rate is too slow (bradycardia) to maintain adequate cardiac output and blood pressure. Reduced cardiac output directly leads to less oxygenated blood reaching the brain, causing these signs of hypoperfusion. Choice D rationale Anxiety activates the sympathetic nervous system, causing the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine. These catecholamines act on beta-adrenergic receptors in the heart, leading to an increase in heart rate (tachycardia). Therefore, anxiety is generally associated with an elevated heart rate, not the decreased heart rate characteristic of bradycardia.