Family Practice Exam Cardiovascular Medicine Flashcards

A patient with known CAD develops new-onset dyspnea and orthopnea. Which test best evaluates cardiac function?

Answer: Echocardiogram

Echocardiography directly evaluates ejection fraction, wall motion abnormalities, and valve function to determine the cardiac etiology of dyspnea.

Which drug added to ACE inhibitor and beta-blocker therapy reduces mortality in patients with HFrEF and EF ≤35%?

Answer: Spironolactone

Aldosterone antagonists like spironolactone have proven mortality benefit in HFrEF when added to standard guideline-directed therapy.

A healthy 42-year-old marathon runner has an asymptomatic resting heart rate of 48 bpm and no medications. What is the most likely cause?

Answer: Athletic conditioning

Asymptomatic bradycardia in a healthy, active individual is most commonly due to high vagal tone from aerobic conditioning.

Which peripheral vascular sign is characteristic of severe aortic regurgitation?

Answer: Corrigan pulse (water-hammer pulse)

Aortic regurgitation causes a bounding, rapidly collapsing Corrigan pulse due to the wide pulse pressure from diastolic backflow into the left ventricle.

What is the recommended initial antihypertensive agent in a diabetic patient with microalbuminuria?

Answer: ACE inhibitor

ACE inhibitors are first-line in diabetic patients with microalbuminuria due to proven nephroprotective effects beyond blood pressure lowering.

Which ECG criterion is most commonly used to diagnose left ventricular hypertrophy?

Answer: S in V1 + R in V5 >35 mm (Sokolow-Lyon)

The Sokolow-Lyon criterion (SV1 + RV5 or RV6 >35 mm) is the most widely used voltage-based ECG criterion for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy.