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Free NREMT practice questionsFree AEMT practice questions · Cardiology & Resuscitation

10 free AEMT practice questions: Cardiac Arrest Management and Post-Resuscitation Care

These are real questions from the same bank the app draws from. Each one is written to the NREMT AEMT content specifications and kept inside the AEMT scope of practice. Pick an answer and you get the full rationale, including why the other three options are wrong.

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Question 1 of 10

An AEMT team leader is watching a partner compress the chest of a 41-year-old patient in cardiac arrest. The rate is 110 per minute and the depth is 2 inches, but the partner rests both hands on the chest between compressions and the chest does not come all the way back up. What should the team leader coach?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Let the chest come all the way back up between compressions

The partner is leaning on the chest, so the chest is not getting full recoil. The partner rests both hands on the chest between compressions, and the chest does not come all the way back up. The heart fills with blood while the chest comes back up, not while you push down. When the chest stays partly pressed in, the pressure inside the chest stays up. Less blood comes back to fill the ventricle for the next compression. The rate and depth can both be perfect and the compressions still move very little blood. Coach the partner to lift the weight of the hands off the chest between compressions, with the heels of the hands still touching. The chest should rise as far as it went down.

Why the others are wrong

Slow the rate to about 80 per minute so the chest has time to rise: Slowing down would help if the chest just needed more time to rise. Time is not what is missing here. The weight of the partner's hands is holding the chest down. Dropping below 100 per minute cuts blood flow and does nothing about the leaning.

Compress to about 3 inches so each stroke does more work: Depth is the strongest single factor in good compressions, so more depth sounds like more blood flow. This heart is not refilling because of the leaning. Pushing deeper on a heart that never refilled does not help, and 3 inches is past the 2.4 inch limit.

Pause for two seconds after every ten compressions to let the chest refill: Refilling really is the problem here, so a pause to let the chest refill sounds like a fix. Building in pauses throws away the pressure the compressions just created. Recoil is supposed to happen with every compression, not in a break between them.

Question 2 of 10

An AEMT is transporting a 33-year-old patient who had return of spontaneous circulation after a cardiac arrest and is 12 minutes from the hospital. The patient is unresponsive and ventilations are being assisted. Partway through the transport the carotid pulse can no longer be felt. What should the crew do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Stop the vehicle and resume compressions

This patient is back in cardiac arrest. The carotid pulse can no longer be felt, and the patient is still unresponsive. Return of circulation after an arrest does not always last. Once the pulse is gone, you work the arrest where the patient is, and that starts with stopping the ambulance. In a moving ambulance, you cannot get your weight over the chest. Compression depth drops off within a few compressions. The automated external defibrillator also cannot read a rhythm through road vibration. Stop the truck, get back on the chest, let the device analyze, and shock if it advises one. Being 12 minutes from the hospital does not change any of that. Nothing at the emergency department works on a patient who arrives with no circulation.

Why the others are wrong

Start compressions in the back and keep driving: Compressions in a moving ambulance look like compressions but move very little blood. You cannot get over the chest, and the depth drops off fast. You are also unbelted over a patient at road speed. Stopping the truck takes only a few seconds, and after that every compression can reach full depth.

Drive faster, since the hospital is minutes away: Driving faster gets you to the hospital sooner, but speed does not treat anything. This patient needs compressions and a rhythm analysis. Both are already in the back of this ambulance, and both have to start now, not at the ambulance bay.

Pull over and wait for the ALS unit: Waiting never helps a patient in cardiac arrest. Compressions and the automated external defibrillator are already with you and in your scope. Call for ALS while you work the arrest, not in place of working the arrest.

Question 3 of 10

A 7-year-old patient is in cardiac arrest in a school gymnasium. An AEMT has taken the chest, a partner has the BVM device at the head, and no advanced airway is in place. Which compression to ventilation ratio applies?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · 15 compressions to 2 breaths

A 7-year-old with two rescuers gets 15 compressions to 2 breaths. Two things set the ratio: the patient's age and the number of rescuers. A child gets 30 to 2 with one rescuer and 15 to 2 with two rescuers. An infant is the same. An adult stays at 30 to 2 either way. Children usually go into cardiac arrest because their breathing failed first. That's why ventilation gets a bigger share of each cycle once there are enough hands to give the breaths. Here the AEMT has the chest and a partner has the BVM at the head, so use 15 to 2.

Why the others are wrong

30 compressions to 2 breaths: Thirty to 2 is the right ratio for this child with only one rescuer. Thirty to 2 is also the adult ratio. This child has a second rescuer at the head. A child's arrest usually starts as a breathing problem, so more frequent breaths matter more than they do in an adult.

10 compressions to 2 breaths: Ten to 2 falls between the two real ratios, so it can look like a middle option for a school age child. No age group uses 10 to 2. Making up a ratio costs compressions without adding breaths.

Continuous compressions with 1 breath every 3 seconds: correct for a child once an advanced airway is in place. This child has no advanced airway, only a BVM. With a mask, the crew still has to stop compressions to seal the mask and give the breaths. That's why the 15 to 2 cycle stays.

Question 4 of 10

During the resuscitation of an adult patient in cardiac arrest, a newer provider is delivering about 20 breaths a minute with a BVM device, squeezing between compression cycles whenever there is room. The AEMT coaches the rate back down. Why does the extra ventilation work against this resuscitation?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · It raises pressure inside the chest and cuts the blood returning to the heart

This provider is over-ventilating, giving about 20 breaths a minute during CPR. Every breath you squeeze in with a BVM raises the pressure inside the chest. That pressure presses on the vena cava, where blood is trying to get back to the heart. With breaths stacked close together, the pressure in the chest never comes back down. Less blood gets back to the heart, so the ventricle has less blood in it when you compress. The compressions look the same, but they move less blood. The fix is fewer breaths, not gentler ones.

Why the others are wrong

It washes carbon dioxide out faster than the compressions can deliver it: Over-ventilating does wash out carbon dioxide, and you will see a low end-tidal number in a patient getting too many breaths. The harm here comes from pressure in the chest, not from the carbon dioxide level. The low end-tidal number is a sign of the problem, not the problem itself.

It tires the provider at the head before the compressor needs relief: Provider fatigue is a real concern on a long resuscitation, and squeezing the bag that often is tiring. The patient is hurt within seconds of the first extra breath. That harm comes long before anyone at the head gets tired.

It drives the oxygen saturation higher than the tissues are able to use: Too much oxygen does have downsides. A patient in cardiac arrest is not oversaturated, though. The damage here comes from pressure in the chest, not from how much oxygen is in the blood.

Question 5 of 10

An AEMT crew is resuscitating a 10-year-old patient in cardiac arrest at a soccer field. The patient is about average size for that age. The kit carries both adult pads and pediatric attenuated pads, and the crew has to choose before the first analysis. Which pads should go on?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Adult pads, since this patient is past the age the attenuator is meant for

Use adult pads. The pediatric attenuator lowers the energy of the shock for small patients. The cutoff is about 8 years of age or about 25 kilograms. This patient is 10 years old and about average size for that age. Above the cutoff, the lower energy is too little to count on. The patient gets adult pads and the normal energy the device delivers. Below the cutoff, use attenuated pads if you have them. Never hold back or lower a shock because the patient looks young.

Why the others are wrong

Pediatric attenuated pads, since the patient has not reached adult size: Pediatric attenuated pads are for a child under about 8 years or about 25 kilograms. This patient is 10 years old and average size. Attenuated pads would give this patient too little energy to reliably stop the rhythm.

Pediatric attenuated pads for the first analysis and adult pads after that: Raising the energy shock by shock is a real idea in manual defibrillation. An AEMT does not pick the energy at all. Starting with too little energy wastes the first shock, which is the best shock of the resuscitation.

Adult pads trimmed down so they fit the chest without touching: Adult pads are the right pads for this patient. A pad is never cut, though. Trimming a pad changes the surface that conducts the shock and the energy that actually reaches the heart.

Question 6 of 10

An AEMT crew is resuscitating a 2-year-old patient who stopped breathing during a severe asthma attack and then lost a pulse. The automated external defibrillator has advised no shock and compressions have resumed. Which reversible cause should this crew work on first?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Hypoxia, managed with ventilation and high-concentration oxygen

Work on hypoxia first. This child stopped breathing during a severe asthma attack and then lost a pulse. Children mostly go into cardiac arrest because of their lungs. An adult usually drops into a shockable rhythm from a problem in the coronary arteries. A child gets more and more hypoxic until the heart stops. That's why a child's arrest so often shows a rhythm the device will not shock. Hypoxia, hypovolemia, and hypoglycemia are the three reversible causes an AEMT can actually fix in the field. In a child who stopped breathing first, ventilation and high concentration oxygen are the treatment, not just support.

Why the others are wrong

Hypovolemia, managed with a weight-based non-medicated crystalloid bolus: Hypovolemia is a cause an AEMT can fix in the field, and hypovolemia is high on the list for a child in arrest. Nothing in this question describes fluid loss or bleeding. A fluid bolus does not help lungs that stopped moving air.

Hypoglycemia, managed with dextrose once vascular access is in place: A low blood sugar is worth checking in any child in arrest, and an AEMT can correct it. Hypoglycemia is something you rule out here, not what this history points to. Dextrose does nothing for a child who arrested from breathing failure.

Hypothermia, managed with blankets and warm packs to the trunk: Hypothermia is on the reversible list, and a small child loses heat fast during a resuscitation. Nothing here describes cold exposure. Warming is supportive care, not the fix for what stopped this child's heart.

Question 7 of 10

An AEMT has return of spontaneous circulation on a 24-year-old patient after a cardiac arrest. The patient is unresponsive with a strong carotid pulse and is on an NRB at 15 L per minute. The vital signs are BP 112/68, P 104, R 14, and SpO₂ 100%. What should the AEMT do about the oxygen?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Titrate the oxygen down to hold the saturation between 94 and 99 percent

This patient has return of spontaneous circulation and an SpO₂ of 100% on an NRB at 15 L per minute. A saturation of 100 percent means the blood is already fully loaded with oxygen. Any oxygen above that point does nothing for the patient. After an arrest, the target is a saturation of 94 to 99 percent. Once the patient is inside that range, turn the oxygen down to keep them there. Step the flow down a little, check the saturation, and repeat after each change.

Why the others are wrong

Leave the mask at 15 L per minute, since the brain has just been without flow: A brain that just went without blood flow does need oxygen. This patient's saturation is already 100 percent, so the blood cannot carry any more. Leaving the mask at 15 L per minute keeps the patient above the post-arrest target.

Remove the supplemental oxygen entirely, since the saturation is 100 percent: Reacting to the 100 percent reading is better than ignoring the number. Going from a full NRB to no oxygen at all is not titrating. The 100 percent reading is on 15 L per minute. It does not tell you what the saturation will be with no oxygen at all.

Switch to a nasal cannula at 2 L per minute and recheck in 10 minutes: A nasal cannula at 2 L per minute is a step down, in the right direction. It drops the oxygen in one big jump instead of small steps. Waiting 10 minutes to recheck the saturation is far too long right after a pulse comes back.

Question 8 of 10

An AEMT crew has return of spontaneous circulation on a 25-year-old patient after a cardiac arrest at a worksite. Ventilations are running at 1 breath every 6 seconds, the oxygen is titrated, and the blood pressure is being rechecked. The patient remains unresponsive. Which additional check belongs in the next few minutes?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · A blood glucose level, since a low sugar can both cause and follow an arrest

Check a blood glucose. Ventilation, oxygen, and blood pressure are already being handled. The next step is to look for something else you can find and fix. A low blood sugar can be the reason the heart stopped in the first place. A low blood sugar can also show up as a result of the arrest. Either way, the glucose number changes what you do, and checking a glucose is in your scope.

Why the others are wrong

A core temperature, since the patient may have cooled during the resuscitation: Temperature is worth knowing, and heat loss during a long resuscitation is real. A core temperature rarely changes what an AEMT does in the next few minutes. A low blood sugar can be found and corrected right now.

A pupil measurement in millimeters, since the size predicts the recovery: Pupils get checked on almost every unresponsive patient, and the pupil size goes in the report. Pupil size a few minutes after an arrest predicts very little. Nothing an AEMT does changes based on that measurement.

A capillary refill time at both feet, since it tracks perfusion better than a pressure: Capillary refill is a quick perfusion check, and it is useful in children. In a cold adult with tight blood vessels right after an arrest, capillary refill is unreliable. The blood pressure is already being rechecked, and the refill time adds nothing the blood pressure does not already tell you.

Question 9 of 10

An AEMT crew is resuscitating a 22-year-old patient in cardiac arrest with a supraglottic airway in place and capnography attached. During compressions the EtCO₂ reads 12 mmHg. What does that number tell this crew?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · How much blood the compressions are moving through the lungs

During a cardiac arrest, the EtCO₂ tells you how much blood the compressions are moving through the lungs. Carbon dioxide is made in the tissues. Carbon dioxide only reaches the lungs to be breathed out if blood carries it there. With the ventilations held steady, the EtCO₂ goes up and down with how much blood your compressions move. The EtCO₂ is the one live reading of compression quality you have. Read the 12 mmHg as a measure of blood flow, not as a comment on the breaths or the airway device.

Why the others are wrong

How much oxygen the ventilations are delivering into the alveoli: Capnography sits in the ventilation circuit, so it looks like a breathing measurement. Capnography measures the carbon dioxide coming back out. In an arrest, the amount coming out is limited by blood flow, not by the oxygen going in.

How much heart muscle is still able to respond to a shock: The EtCO₂ does carry some information about outcome. Right now, the reading shows the blood flow your compressions are making. A reading of 12 mmHg says nothing about whether a shock will convert the rhythm.

How well the supraglottic airway is sealing in the hypopharynx: Capnography does confirm and monitor a supraglottic airway, so this is a real use of the same tool. Placement shows up in whether a waveform appears at all. The value itself, 12 mmHg here, is reporting circulation.

Question 10 of 10

An AEMT crew reaches a 21-year-old patient thrown from a motorcycle who is unresponsive, apneic and pulseless. Bright blood is pumping from a mid thigh wound, a tourniquet is in the open bag, and there are two crew members plus a first responder on scene. Compressions have started and the automated external defibrillator has advised no shock. What should the crew do?

Show the answer and rationale

Correct answer · Apply the tourniquet to the thigh and ventilate while compressions continue

This is a traumatic cardiac arrest from bleeding. Bright blood is pumping from the thigh wound, and the AED advised no shock. Trauma patients arrest from blood loss, from hypoxia, or from a mechanical problem in the chest. A heart with no blood to pump has nothing electrically wrong with it. That's why the AED so often advises no shock in these patients. Stopping the blood loss and moving air is what changes the outcome. You have two crew members and a first responder, so there are enough hands to do that while compressions continue. Put the tourniquet on the thigh, ventilate, and keep moving toward the hospital.

Why the others are wrong

Let the device analyze again now that the bleeding has been found: Rhythms do change, and analyzing again sounds like following the arrest algorithm. The no shock advisory was valid, and the next analysis belongs at the two minute mark. The rhythm did not cause this patient's blood loss, and analyzing again does nothing for the bleeding.

Load the patient and drive, since the bleeding is repaired at the hospital: Surgery for this patient is at the hospital, and transport time matters in trauma. A tourniquet can stop this bleeding in fifteen seconds, so you fix it here. If you drive with the wound still pumping, the patient keeps losing blood every minute of the trip.

Hold compressions while the wound is packed and the tourniquet is applied: Stopping the bleeding is the right priority on this call. You have enough hands on scene to do both at the same time. Holding compressions to work on the leg gives up blood flow for a task that did not need the pause.

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