Cardiology

The incidence of hypertension, diabetes, certain types ofcancer, and other chronic diseases is disproportionatelyhigher in African Americans than in white Americans. Thestatistics presented in the Table illustrate the magnitudeof this disparity. For other diseases, such as breast cancer,the incidence is lower but mortality is higher in AfricanAmericans.

Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoringis a more accurate predictor of stroke and myocardialinfarction than office BP measurement, according tothe results of the recent Office Versus Ambulatory BloodPressure Study. This prospective trial followed 1963 patientswith treated hypertension for 5 years.

Prolonged exposure to coldtemperatures can have a profoundeffect on the skin.When tissues are exposed toabove-freezing temperatures,localized vasoconstriction and increasedblood viscosity reduce bloodflow and decrease the amount ofoxygen available to tissues. Whentissues are exposed to freezing temperatures,water within those tissueschanges into ice crystals; this resultsin either intracellular or extracellulardamage and tissue necrosis.

A 70-year-old man complains of a sudden, painless loss ofvision in the left eye that occurred several hours earlier. He denies traumaand previous visual disturbances. His history is significant for peripheralvascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A 60-year-old woman reportsthat she has felt intermittent“fullness” in her face for the past day.This sensation is present when sheis supine on the examination table.She denies shortness of breath, dysphagia,and chest discomfort. Thepatient has a 25 pack-year history ofcigarette smoking.

An 84-year-old woman with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus isbrought to the emergency department (ED) after an episode of nearsyncope.When emergency medical service personnel initially assessed her,blood pressure was 96/60 mm Hg and heart rate was “slow”; however, shehad no symptoms.

A 74-year-old man with a history ofatrial fibrillation presents to hisprimary care physician with dyspneaof 4 days’ duration. The dyspnea developedwhile he was walking as partof his recovery from back surgery forspinal stenosis 1 month earlier. Hebecame progressively short of breathand was unable to carry out his exerciseprogram.

What caused these linear, grouped, pigmented papules on a child's back? These symmetrical hyperpigmented patches on a man's face? Test your diagnostic skills.

A 56-year-old man with insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes is hospitalized foroperative debridement of an ulcer on his left heel. During the preoperativeevaluation, atrial fibrillation (AF)-with a ventricular rate of 130 beats perminute-is detected.

During the past few weeks, a 14-year-old boy has noticed blood on the proximalnail folds of the second and third fingers of his dominant hand. He deniesany pain or pruritus. The patient is otherwise healthy and takes no prescriptionmedications.

A 13-year-old boy complains ofpain in his right hip. The pain began3 days earlier after he was tackledseveral times while playing footballwith his friends. He was able to walkhome. The pain has increased sincethat time. Although the patient is stillable to walk, he now has a limp andfavors his left leg. The patient isotherwise healthy and has no significantmedical history.

An 82-year-old man suddenly became extremely short of breath while helpinghis wife wash dishes. The dyspnea was not accompanied by pain, and it was notrelieved by sitting. He was taken to the emergency department after diaphoresisand cyanosis developed.

A39-year-old man is brought to theemergency department (ED)after his car struck a tree. He experienceda transient loss of consciousnesswith a 3-minute episode of retrogradeamnesia at the scene of the accident,despite wearing a seat belt andshoulder harness. He was disorientedto date and place.

A42-year-old man with a history of hypertension presents to an outpatientclinic with chest pain that began the day before, after he had worked outat his health club. The discomfort increases when he walks and worsenssomewhat with inspiration. No associated symptoms are noted. Results of aphysical examination are normal; no chest wall tenderness is evident. Becausecertain features of the presentation suggest an acute coronary syndrome, a12-lead ECG is obtained, which is shown here.

A 51-year-old man with hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemiapresents with a 1-hour history of substernal chest discomfort anddyspnea. He was given sublingual nitroglycerin in the emergency department,but his symptoms did not resolve.

A 78-year-old man complains that he has not “felt well” for several months. Hismajor symptom is profound morning stiffness and achiness, especially in theshoulders and hips. In addition, he has little energy and has difficulty in completingeven routine daily activities.

A major controversyin cardiologytoday iswhether loweringthe level oflow-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C) to substantiallybelow 100mg/dL-the current NationalCholesterol EducationProgram goal for patientswith existing coronaryheart disease1-willfurther reduce the incidenceof cardiovascularmorbidity and mortality.

An 88-year-old woman is admitted for severe dyspnea thathas worsened over the past month. Dyspnea on exertionis now elicited by everyday activities, even walking acrossthe room. Orthopnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspneahave progressed to the point that she has been unable tosleep at all the past several nights. She also tires very easilyand thinks her ankles are more swollen than previously.She denies chest pain or pressure.

For several months, a 16-year-old girl has had an asymptomatic papulosquamousdescending linear eruption on 1 leg.

A 34-year-old man has had Crohn disease for 12years. He presented initially with ileitis and has had 3surgeries for obstructive complications. Ileum resectionhas resulted in bile salt and fat malabsorption. Recently,the Crohn disease has spread to the large bowel. For thelast 2 years, he has also had seronegative spondyloarthropathy-another complication of Crohn disease.

For 3 months, a 57-year-old woman has had a persistent green nail that is occasionallyslightly sore; the nail plate has lifted. Another physician prescribed a7-day course of levofloxacin for a suspected Pseudomonas infection; the treatmenthad no effect on the nail. A subsequent 7-day course of norfloxacin wasalso unsuccessful. The patient is otherwise healthy.

During a routine skin examination,periungual erythema and increasedcurvature of the nail plate are notedin a 78-year-old man. The patient hasemphysema and a smoking historyof more than 50 pack-years. Currently,he requires oxygen support forregular daily activity.

In their “Photoclinic” case of a patient with acute pulmonary embolism(CONSULTANT, December 2003, page 1741), Drs Tapas Bandyopadhyay andIsmael Martin state that the patient’s 12-lead ECG (which accompanies the casediscussion) exhibits right axis deviation.

A 24-year-old woman who is 14 weeks pregnant with her first child is heterozygousfor factor V Leiden. The patient is healthy, has no chronic medical conditions,and takes no long-term medications.

A 24-year-old woman complains ofa pruritic rash that erupted after shesoaked in a hot tub a few days earlier.The patient is otherwise healthy;her only medication is an oralcontraceptive.

A 67-year-old woman who is being treated as an inpatient for head traumacomplains of vague tenderness during an abdominal examination. Othercomplaints are difficult to assess. She had been placed on an oxygen ventilator;however, her cognitive function and pulmonary function are improving, andher cerebral edema is diminished.

A vigorous 61-year-old man presents for a preemployment physical examination.He has no symptoms of angina pectoris or congestive heart failure (CHF).

A 22-year-old man presents to theemergency department with a2-week history of a worsening nonproductive,irritating dry cough andexertional dyspnea. The patient hasbeen otherwise healthy. He deniesfever, rigors, night sweats, hemoptysis,chest pain, palpitations, orthopnea,paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea,ankle edema, and lymphadenopathy.

For 3 days, a 42-year-old man has had episodic dullchest pain. The anterior precordial and retrosternalpain intensifies with inspiration and movement. He has nohistory of recent viral infection, hypertension, coronaryartery disease, cardiac surgery, diabetes mellitus, or hyperlipidemia.There is no family history of cardiovasculardisease.

A 76-year-old woman presents with chest pain-which she describes as“muscle tightness”- that began when she awoke in the morning. Thepain is constant, exacerbated by deep inspiration, and accompanied by asubjective sense of slight dyspnea; she rates its severity as 3 on a scale of1 to 10. She denies pain radiation, nausea, diaphoresis, palpitations, andlight-headedness. Her only cardiac risk factors are hypertension and a distanthistory of smoking.