NPTE Cardiopulmonary Practice Questions

10 Free NPTE Cardiopulmonary Practice Questions (2026)

10 NPTE-style cardiovascular and pulmonary practice questions covering 22 to 27 scored items per the official FSBPT blueprint. Heart failure and cardiac rehabilitation, COPD and pulmonary rehab, post-cardiac surgery, peripheral vascular disease, and LVAD management. Written and reviewed by a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy.

Why cardiopulmonary matters

Cardiovascular and pulmonary systems account for 22 to 27 scored items on the NPTE-PT — roughly 11 to 14 percent of the exam. While not the largest content area, cardiopulmonary questions are heavily weighted toward clinical decision-making in high-acuity scenarios: post-cardiac surgery precautions, exercise prescription with comorbidities, and differential diagnosis between cardiac and pulmonary origins of dyspnea. Wrong answers here often involve missing safety considerations, which is exactly what the NPTE is designed to test.

0 of 10 answered
Heart Failure — Assessment
Question 1 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a history of heart failure (NYHA Class III) is referred to physical therapy for cardiac rehabilitation phase III. He reports fatigue and dyspnea with moderate exertion. During the initial evaluation, which of the following is MOST important to assess to guide exercise prescription and determine prognosis?
COPD — Differential Diagnosis
Question 2 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a history of smoking and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) presents to an outpatient physical therapy clinic with complaints of increased shortness of breath, persistent cough with purulent sputum, and lower extremity edema. He reports these symptoms have progressively worsened over the past week. Auscultation reveals coarse crackles in both lung bases, and his oxygen saturation is 88% on room air. Which of the following is the MOST likely primary diagnosis?
Post-Cardiac Surgery
Question 3 of 10
A 68-year-old male is 3 days post-op following a CABG. The physical therapist is initiating Phase I cardiac rehabilitation. The patient has a history of COPD and presents with mild sternal pain (3/10 on NPRS) with coughing. Which of the following interventions is MOST appropriate to initiate during this session?
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Question 4 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a history of smoking and diabetes presents to physical therapy with complaints of leg pain that occurs after walking two blocks. The pain is relieved by 5 minutes of rest. During the initial examination, which of the following tests is MOST important to perform to confirm a diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease?
COPD — Pathophysiology
Question 5 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a 40-year history of smoking presents to physical therapy with complaints of increasing dyspnea on exertion. He reports a chronic cough with sputum production. Auscultation reveals scattered wheezes bilaterally. Resting SpO2 is 92%, decreasing to 88% with minimal exertion. Which of the following is the MOST likely primary cause of his dyspnea?
LVAD — Exercise Prescription
Question 6 of 10
A 68-year-old male with heart failure (HFrEF) and a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is participating in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program. He reports a Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) of 10/20 (“light”) during a 6-minute walk test at a self-selected pace. Auscultation reveals a normal LVAD hum, and Doppler ultrasound indicates a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 75 mmHg. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate intervention to improve his aerobic capacity?
Heart Failure — Assessment
Question 7 of 10
A 68-year-old male is referred to physical therapy following a recent diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). He reports shortness of breath with mild exertion and ankle swelling at the end of the day. During the initial examination, which of the following is MOST appropriate to assess the severity of his dyspnea?
Post-Cardiac Surgery — Complications
Question 8 of 10
A 68-year-old male presents to outpatient physical therapy three weeks following a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. He reports persistent sternal pain with coughing and lifting objects heavier than 5 pounds. During the examination, the physical therapist observes slight gapping at the inferior aspect of the sternal incision. Palpation reveals a subtle clicking sensation upon deep inspiration. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate course of action?
PVD — Intervention
Question 9 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a history of smoking and diabetes presents to physical therapy with intermittent claudication in his left calf, classified as Rutherford Category 2. ABI is 0.65 in the left leg. After a thorough examination, the physical therapist initiates a supervised exercise therapy (SET) program. Which of the following is the MOST appropriate initial intervention to improve his walking distance?
COPD — Examination Findings
Question 10 of 10
A 68-year-old male with a 30-year history of smoking and diagnosed with moderate COPD is referred to physical therapy for pulmonary rehabilitation. During the initial examination, the patient reports significant dyspnea on exertion (DOE). Which of the following examination findings is MOST indicative of a pulmonary, rather than cardiac, origin of the patient’s DOE?
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Cardiopulmonary is 11–14% of the NPTE — clinical reasoning errors here often involve missing safety considerations
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About This Content Area

NPTE Cardiopulmonary Content Breakdown

Cardiovascular and pulmonary systems represent 22 to 27 scored items on the NPTE-PT per the official FSBPT blueprint. While the count is smaller than musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary questions carry disproportionate weight in clinical safety scenarios — patients post-CABG, with LVADs, in acute COPD exacerbation, or with peripheral arterial disease all require precise judgment about exercise prescription, contraindications, and when to escalate care. The NPTE consistently tests whether you can recognize warning signs and respond appropriately, not just whether you know the textbook condition. Try our free 20-question timed NPTE practice test to see how your reasoning holds up across all content areas under exam conditions.

What the cardiopulmonary section covers
→Heart failure (HFrEF, HFpEF) and cardiac rehabilitation phases
→COPD, asthma, and pulmonary rehabilitation
→Post-cardiac surgery (CABG, valve repair) and sternal precautions
→Peripheral arterial and venous disease
→LVAD management and exercise prescription
→Auscultation, ABI, 6MWT, and Borg scale interpretation
→Airway clearance techniques and oxygen therapy
→Differential diagnosis: cardiac vs pulmonary origin of dyspnea

The most commonly missed cardiopulmonary questions involve scenarios where multiple comorbidities collide — a COPD patient post-CABG, an LVAD patient in outpatient rehab, a diabetic with claudication. Standard textbook protocols often need modification when conditions overlap. Knowing the AACVPR guidelines for each population individually is not enough. The NPTE tests whether you can integrate them.

The pattern to recognize

Cardiopulmonary NPTE questions frequently include one answer choice that is correct for a healthier patient but wrong because of a comorbidity or recent surgery. Resisted shoulder exercises are appropriate generally — not 3 days post-CABG. Aggressive interval training builds capacity — not for an LVAD patient at baseline. Read every scenario for what makes this patient different from the textbook case.

For more practice, work through our 10 NPTE musculoskeletal questions (the largest content area on the exam) or read the full NPTE study guide for a complete content-area breakdown.

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