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NCLEX · Lifestyle Choices and Disease Prevention

A nurse is counseling a client on primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Which recommendation is appropriate?

Reviewed by Jordan Morley, Editorial Lead at 247SimpleTests. Written by the 247SimpleTests Editorial Team from the official source material cited on every question.

Correct answer

Adopt lifestyle measures: regular physical activity, a heart-healthy diet, smoking cessation, and maintaining a healthy weight

  1. A Increase saturated fat intake
  2. B Avoid all physical activity
  3. C Begin taking cardiac medications immediately
  4. D Adopt lifestyle measures: regular physical activity, a heart-healthy diet, smoking cessation, and maintaining a healthy weight

Why this is the answer

PRIMARY PREVENTION of cardiovascular disease (preventing it before it develops) focuses on LIFESTYLE: REGULAR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY (e.g., ~150 min/week moderate); a HEART-HEALTHY DIET (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein; limit saturated/trans fats, sodium, added sugars); SMOKING CESSATION; maintaining a HEALTHY WEIGHT; limiting alcohol; managing stress. NCLEX-RN health promotion.

Prevention levels: PRIMARY (prevent disease — lifestyle, immunizations); SECONDARY (early detection — screening); TERTIARY (manage existing disease, prevent complications — rehab). For a client without disease, lifestyle modification is primary prevention; medications would be later if needed. Promoting heart-healthy lifestyle for primary prevention is a key tested concept.

Source: NCLEX-RN Health Promotion — Cardiovascular Primary Prevention

Practice more questions

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About this topic: Lifestyle Choices and Disease Prevention

Lifestyle and disease prevention questions cover primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, risk-factor modification — diet, exercise, smoking, alcohol — and the counselling techniques that support behaviour change. This is one of 14 RN: Health Promotion and Maintenance questions on lifestyle choices and disease prevention, each with a full explanation on a single study page.

New to this exam? Our NCLEX exam guide explains the format, scoring, and how to prepare.

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