RCS Flashcards
7 cards from real CCI practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 RCS flashcards as text
During a transesophageal echocardiogram, at approximately what depth (omniplane angle ~0°) is the four-chamber view typically obtained?
Answer: 30–35 cm from incisors
The midesophageal four-chamber view is obtained with the probe approximately 30–35 cm from the incisors at 0–20° omniplane angle.
The continuity equation for aortic valve area (AVA) is: AVA = (LVOT area × LVOT VTI) ÷ AV VTI. Which measurement is most susceptible to error due to geometric assumptions?
Answer: LVOT diameter
LVOT area is calculated as π(d/2)², so any error in the LVOT diameter is squared, making it the dominant source of error in the continuity equation.
A patient presents with hypotension, jugular venous distension, and muffled heart sounds. The echocardiogram shows right ventricular diastolic collapse. What is the diagnosis?
Answer: Cardiac tamponade
Right atrial systolic collapse and RV diastolic collapse are the most specific echocardiographic signs of hemodynamically significant cardiac tamponade.
Which echocardiographic parameter BEST distinguishes constrictive pericarditis from restrictive cardiomyopathy?
Answer: Respiratory variation in mitral E velocity >25% with septal bounce
Constrictive pericarditis demonstrates >25% respirophasic variation in mitral E velocity and interventricular septal bounce due to enhanced ventricular interdependence, unlike restrictive cardiomyopathy.
Which finding is MOST consistent with severe aortic regurgitation on continuous-wave Doppler?
Answer: Pressure half-time <250 ms
A short pressure half-time (<250 ms) indicates rapid equalization of aortic and LV diastolic pressures, consistent with severe aortic regurgitation.
In hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), systolic anterior motion (SAM) of the mitral valve results from which mechanism?
Answer: Venturi effect drawing the mitral leaflet toward the septum during systole
High-velocity systolic flow through the narrowed LVOT creates a Venturi effect that draws the anterior mitral leaflet toward the hypertrophied septum, causing dynamic obstruction.
Which artifact on echocardiography is caused by two strong specular reflectors and produces a false image at twice the true depth of a structure?
Answer: Reverberation artifact
Reverberation artifacts occur when the ultrasound beam bounces repeatedly between two strong reflectors, generating false echoes at multiples of the true depth.