Which complication does the nurse recognize as a risk for a patient during insertion and removal of a Swan-Ganz catheter?

A. Decrease in cardiac output: A Swan-Ganz (pulmonary artery) catheter rarely causes an immediate decrease in cardiac output unless complications like arrhythmias or pulmonary artery rupture occur. Monitoring hemodynamics helps detect changes, but this is not the most common risk during insertion or removal. B. Damage to the mitral valve: The catheter passes through the right atrium and right ventricle into the pulmonary artery, so the mitral valve is not in the pathway. Injury to the mitral valve is unlikely, making this a low-risk complication. C. Myocardial infarction: Myocardial infarction is not a typical complication of Swan-Ganz catheterization unless coronary perfusion is severely compromised by another underlying condition. It is not directly caused by the catheter itself. D. Ventricular dysrhythmias: As the catheter passes through the right ventricle, it can mechanically irritate the ventricular myocardium, leading to premature ventricular contractions, ventricular tachycardia, or other dysrhythmias. This is the most common and expected complication during insertion and removal, requiring continuous ECG monitoring.