Rhythm & Blues (ECGs & Arrhythmias)
This is the most common tachyarrhythmia, classically described on an ECG as having an "irregularly irregular" rhythm and absent P-waves.
What is Atrial Fibrillation?
This condition is characterized by a harsh crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur best heard at the right upper sternal border with radiation to the carotid arteries.
What is Aortic Stenosis?
This type of shock, the most common type of distributive shock, is characterized by low systemic vascular resistance, low pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and a compensatory increase in cardiac output.
What is Septic Shock?
This motility disorder is a complication of diabetes due to autonomic neuropathy and often presents with early satiety, postprandial fullness, and labile blood glucose.
What is Diabetic Gastroparesis?
Infection with this specific bacterium is the most common cause of community-acquired bacterial meningitis.
What is Streptococcus pneumoniae?
Seeing fusion and capture beats within a monomorphic wide-complex tachycardia is highly suggestive of this specific arrhythmia.
What is Monomorphic Ventricular Tachycardia?
A low-pitched mid-diastolic rumbling murmur that follows an opening snap, best heard at the cardiac apex, is classic for this valvular disorder.
What is Mitral Stenosis?
This simple noninvasive test is used to diagnose peripheral artery disease, with values <0.9 indicating significant disease.
What is the Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI)?
This disease is characterized by cobblestoning, transmural inflammation, skip lesions, and noncaseating granulomas on microscopy.
What is Crohn Disease?
In patients taking isoniazid (INH) for tuberculosis, this specific vitamin should be supplemented to prevent the complication of peripheral neuropathy.
What is Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6)?
In the advanced cardiac life support protocol, this is the medication administered every 3 to 5 minutes for patients in Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) or asystole.
What is Epinephrine?
An early diastolic murmur at the right upper sternal border in a tall patient with a pectus carinatum deformity should raise high suspicion for this life-threatening event.
What is an Acute Aortic Dissection (associated with Marfan Syndrome)?
A patient with resistant hypertension presenting with episodic headache, sweating, and tachycardia should have this specific initial test to screen for a pheochromocytoma
What is a 24-hour urine (or plasma) metanephrines and catecholamines test?
A left supraclavicular lymph node enlargement, known by this eponym, receives drainage from the thoracic duct and may signify an occult abdominal malignancy like gastric cancer.
What is a Virchow node?
In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hyperinflation and air trapping lead to an increase in this specific ratio of lung volumes.
What is the RV/TLC ratio (Residual Volume to Total Lung Capacity)?
This classic ECG pattern is caused by an accessory pathway and consists of a short PR interval, a delta wave, and a widened QRS complex.
What is Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) pattern?
In an intravenous drug user, a holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border that increases with inspiration suggests infective endocarditis of this specific valve.
What is the Tricuspid valve?
This condition is defined by a blood pressure ≥180/120 mm Hg without symptoms or evidence of acute end-organ damage, and it can usually be treated with oral medications.
What is Hypertensive Urgency (or Severe Asymptomatic Hypertension)?
Eosinophilic esophagitis, which frequently causes intermittent solid food dysphagia in young adults, is most commonly triggered by this type of exposure.
What is food antigen exposure (allergens)?
This type of acute kidney injury, common after exposure to offending drugs like NSAIDs or antibiotics, presents with pyuria, hematuria, and white blood cell casts.
What is Acute Interstitial Nephritis (AIN)?
Patients taking this long-term Class III antiarrhythmic drug must have baseline pulmonary function testing due to the risk of chronic interstitial pneumonitis.
What is Amiodarone?
This mechanical complication of an acute myocardial infarction usually occurs 3-5 days post-infarct and presents with severe pulmonary edema and a new early systolic murmur.
What is Papillary muscle rupture (leading to acute mitral regurgitation)?
In a patient with hypovolemic shock, rapid infusion of intravenous fluids stretches the myocardium, increasing this specific hemodynamic parameter to rapidly improve cardiac output.
What is Stroke Volume?
In patients with a normal anion gap metabolic acidosis, a negative urinary anion gap suggests this organ system is the source of the bicarbonate loss.
What is the Gastrointestinal tract (diarrhea)?
This syndrome is characterized by hypercalcemia, acute kidney injury, and metabolic alkalosis, usually due to excessive over-the-counter intake of calcium carbonate.
What is Milk-Alkali Syndrome?