Free DHA Cardiac Perfusionist mock test
12 original exam-style questions from our Cardiac Perfusionist bank, timed at the exam’s own pace, scored against the 50% DHA pass mark. They span 7 of the 8 blueprint domains, so you will see exactly where you are weakest - free, no sign-up.
Sit 12 original exam-style questions at real exam pace
These are 12 original questions taken from our Cardiac Perfusionist bank, spread across 7 of the 8 domains of the published blueprint. You get 72 seconds per question, which is exactly the pace of the real CAR5371 exam (14 minutes for 12). At the end you will see which domains you are weakest in, and the full worked reasoning for every question.
- 12
- questions
- 14:24
- time limit
- 50%
- DHA pass mark
A short diagnostic cannot predict whether you will pass - only the real exam does that. It will show you, honestly, where you currently stand.
What the real Cardiac Perfusionist licensing exam looks like
Candidates for a Cardiac Perfusionist licence in the UAE sit a computer-based multiple-choice examination - DHA exam code CAR5371, delivered through Prometric for DHA, MOHAP and SHA, and through Pearson VUE for DOH Abu Dhabi. The DHA pass mark is 50% (DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026); other authorities set their own, so confirm yours before booking. The result is reported to you as pass or fail only - your score is never released.
Pass marks at a glance: DHA exam codes and pass marks for all written exams in one sourced table.
The paper is built to a published blueprint, which is why a domain-by-domain diagnostic is more useful than a raw percentage. Your questions above were drawn from across Anticoagulation and Hemostasis, Mechanical Circulatory Support, Myocardial Protection, CPB Circuit and Equipment and 3 more - the same areas the real paper weights.
Before you can book the exam at all you need Dataflow primary source verification of your degree, licence and experience, which typically runs several weeks. Candidates routinely underestimate this and end up sitting the exam sooner after study than they planned. Check where you stand with our free eligibility checker or confirm whether your title even requires an exam using the Prometric exam checker.
You get three attempts in total across all UAE authorities - not three each - under the Unified Professional Qualification Requirements. At roughly AED 880 per attempt, plus the licensing delay each failure adds to your visa and start date, the cost of going in underprepared is not really the exam fee.
What is on the Cardiac Perfusionist exam: the full blueprint
The published blueprint splits into 8 domains and 45 testable sub-topics. The diagnostic above samples across them, which is why its breakdown maps onto the structure the real paper is built from.
- CPB Circuit and Equipment~15%7 topics
- Physiology and Hemodynamics on Bypass~15%6 topics
- Anticoagulation and Hemostasis~15%6 topics
- Myocardial Protection~12%5 topics
- Blood Gas Management, Hemodilution and Blood Conservation~12%5 topics
- Pharmacology for Perfusion~8%5 topics
- Perfusion Emergencies and Safety~13%6 topics
- Mechanical Circulatory Support~10%5 topics
- Questions
- 150 multiple-choice (DHA CAR5371)
- Duration
- 3 hours, including registration
- DHA pass mark
- 50% - reported as pass or fail only
Figures for the DHA exam, from the DHA CBT Guideline, Sep 2026. DOH, MOHAP, SCFHS, QCHP, NHRA and OMSB set their own length, timing and pass mark. See the DHA exam guide and pass marks for every DHA exam.
A worked Cardiac Perfusionist exam question
Every question in the diagnostic and in the paid bank is written to this standard: a clinical stem, four plausible options and the reasoning for the answer, with its source.
Anticoagulation and Hemostasis
What ACT value is commonly required before starting CPB with heparin?
- AAt least 200 seconds
- BAt least 480 secondsCorrect
- CAt least 120 seconds
- DAt least 1,000 seconds
Why: An ACT of 480 seconds or more is the traditional minimum to start bypass safely after about 300-400 U/kg heparin. Values around 200 seconds are used for some off-pump or catheter procedures.
Source: STS/SCA/AmSECT Clinical Practice Guidelines on Anticoagulation During CPB 2018
Cardiac Perfusionist sample questions with answers
4 more original exam-style Cardiac Perfusionist questions, worked in full. They are not real or recalled exam questions, and none of them is in the diagnostic above, so sit that first if you have not.
Question 1 · Anticoagulation and Hemostasis
During protamine administration, a patient develops sudden severe pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular failure and systemic hypotension. What type of reaction is this?
- ASimple histamine-related hypotension
- BCatastrophic pulmonary vasoconstriction
- CMild anaphylactoid skin reaction
- DHeparin rebound bleeding
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Catastrophic pulmonary vasoconstriction
Catastrophic pulmonary vasoconstriction (Horrow type III) is a rare, life-threatening protamine reaction that may need return to bypass. Rapid-injection histamine release causes hypotension without severe pulmonary hypertension.
Reference: Gravlee, Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Mechanical Support, 4th ed.
Question 2 · Blood Gas Management, Hemodilution and Blood Conservation
During deep hypothermic bypass in an infant, the team uses pH-stat blood gas management. What does this involve?
- AKeeping values measured and reported at 37 °C normal
- BAdding CO2 to keep temperature-corrected PaCO2 normal
- CIncreasing sweep gas to lower PaCO2
- DGiving bicarbonate to raise pH
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Adding CO2 to keep temperature-corrected PaCO2 normal
pH-stat keeps temperature-corrected PaCO2 and pH normal, which requires adding CO2 and increases cerebral blood flow for more uniform cooling. Alpha-stat manages values uncorrected at 37 °C and is common in adults.
Reference: Gravlee, Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Mechanical Support, 4th ed.
Question 3 · CPB Circuit and Equipment
When vacuum-assisted venous drainage is used with a hardshell venous reservoir, which safety feature is required?
- AA second arterial pump head
- BA positive-pressure relief valve on the reservoir
- CRemoval of the arterial line filter
- DA gravity drainage line left open with no clamp
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. A positive-pressure relief valve on the reservoir
If the vacuum source fails or the vent is blocked, the reservoir can pressurise and drive air retrogradely into the venous line; a positive-pressure relief valve prevents this. Removing the arterial filter would increase embolic risk.
Reference: AmSECT Standards and Guidelines for Perfusion Practice
Question 4 · Blood Gas Management, Hemodilution and Blood Conservation
Which components are largely absent from washed cell-salvaged blood?
- ARed cells and hemoglobin
- BPlatelets and clotting factors
- CSaline and red cells
- DRed cells only
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Platelets and clotting factors
Washing removes plasma, so the product is red cells suspended in saline with few platelets or coagulation factors. Large volumes may therefore need plasma or platelet replacement.
Reference: Gravlee, Cardiopulmonary Bypass and Mechanical Support, 4th ed.
How to use this diagnostic properly
- 1Sit it cold, once. Do not look anything up. A diagnostic you help yourself through tells you nothing. The number you get is only useful if it is honest.
- 2Read every rationale - especially the ones you got right. Getting a question right by elimination is not the same as knowing it. The worked reasoning is free above, whether or not you buy anything.
- 3Work weakest domain first. The breakdown orders your domains worst-first for exactly this reason. Studying what you are already good at feels productive and moves nothing.
- 4Re-sit under full exam conditions later. The real paper is far longer than this and stamina matters. Full-length timed papers are what the paid bank is for.