Pathophysiology Flashcards
7 cards from real ACSM practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Pathophysiology flashcards as text
Which pathophysiological mechanism primarily underlies type 2 diabetes mellitus?
Answer: Insulin resistance combined with relative insulin deficiency
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance combined with progressive beta-cell dysfunction leading to relative insulin deficiency.
A patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is most at risk for sudden cardiac death during exercise due to which mechanism?
Answer: Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and ventricular arrhythmias
HCM can cause dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and fatal ventricular arrhythmias during high-intensity exercise.
In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which pathological process is responsible for air trapping and hyperinflation?
Answer: Loss of elastic recoil in alveolar walls due to emphysema
Destruction of alveolar walls in emphysema eliminates elastic recoil, causing airways to collapse during expiration and trap air.
Which finding is most consistent with left ventricular heart failure during exercise?
Answer: Elevated pulmonary capillary wedge pressure
Left heart failure causes blood to back up into the pulmonary circulation, elevating pulmonary capillary wedge pressure.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) causes exercise-induced leg pain (claudication) primarily through which pathophysiological mechanism?
Answer: Ischemia distal to atherosclerotic arterial stenosis
Atherosclerotic plaques narrow arterial lumen, limiting blood flow to exercising muscles and causing ischemic pain that resolves with rest.
What is the primary cardiac adaptation that distinguishes pathological hypertrophy from exercise-induced physiological hypertrophy?
Answer: Fibrosis and impaired diastolic function in pathological hypertrophy
Pathological hypertrophy features fibrosis, cardiomyocyte death, and diastolic dysfunction, whereas physiological hypertrophy maintains or improves cardiac function.
In metabolic syndrome, which combination of risk factors is required for diagnosis according to ATP III criteria?
Answer: Three or more of: abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, low HDL, hypertension, elevated fasting glucose
ATP III requires three or more of five criteria: waist circumference >102 cm (men)/88 cm (women), triglycerides ≥150 mg/dL, HDL <40/50 mg/dL, BP ≥130/85 mmHg, fasting glucose ≥110 mg/dL.