Risk Assessment & Management Flashcards
7 cards from real ECC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Risk Assessment & Management flashcards as text
A patient with known HFrEF presents in decompensated heart failure. Which risk stratification tool is specifically designed to predict 60–90 day mortality and rehospitalization in acute HF?
Answer: GWTG-HF risk score
The GWTG-HF (Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure) risk score uses admission variables to predict in-hospital and post-discharge mortality in acute HF.
In the pre-hospital setting, which factor is most critical in determining time-to-reperfusion risk for STEMI patients?
Answer: First medical contact to balloon time
First medical contact (FMC) to balloon time (goal ≤90 minutes) is the key metric; delays beyond this benchmark dramatically increase infarct size and mortality.
Which finding on echocardiography performed after ROSC most directly guides risk stratification and prognosis in post-arrest care?
Answer: Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)
Post-arrest LVEF reflects overall myocardial damage and is the strongest echo predictor of short-term mortality and need for mechanical circulatory support.
Which combination of findings best defines a 'high-risk' non-ST-elevation ACS patient who should undergo invasive strategy within 2 hours?
Answer: Refractory angina, hemodynamic instability, or new sustained VT/VF
Refractory ischemia, hemodynamic instability, or life-threatening arrhythmias in NSTEMI mandate an immediate invasive strategy (within 2 hours per ACC/AHA guidelines).
A patient's 10-year ASCVD risk is calculated at 12% using the Pooled Cohort Equations. This result is best used to guide which clinical decision?
Answer: Whether to initiate statin therapy for primary prevention
The Pooled Cohort Equations estimate 10-year ASCVD risk to inform the initiation of statin therapy and lifestyle modifications for primary prevention.
What is the clinical significance of transient ST elevation that spontaneously resolves and recurs (Prinzmetal variant angina) in risk stratification?
Answer: It indicates coronary vasospasm and carries risk of VF and sudden death during episodes
Prinzmetal (vasospastic) angina can cause transient total occlusion leading to ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death during spasm episodes.
In pediatric cardiac arrest risk assessment, which congenital heart disease carries the highest risk of sudden cardiac death due to outflow obstruction?
Answer: Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
HOCM causes dynamic outflow obstruction and is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes and pediatric patients.