Valvular heart disease and heart failure — MCQs

A 68-year-old man comes to the emergency department because of a 1-week history of difficulty breathing. He has had recurrent palpitations over the past 2 years. During this time, he has also had several episodes of anxiety despite no change in his daily life. He has occasional sharp chest pain localized to the left upper sternal border. He has no abdominal pain or leg swelling. Two years ago, he had streptococcal pharyngitis, which was promptly treated with a 10-day course of penicillin. He has never traveled outside of the country. His temperature is 36.5°C (97.7°F), pulse is 82/min, and blood pressure is 140/85 mm Hg. Physical examination shows a 3/6 holosystolic murmur that is loudest at the apex and radiates to the axilla with a mid-systolic click. Bilateral fine crackles are heard on lung auscultation. Which of the following is the most likely cause of this patient's symptoms?

A 27-year-old woman with a history of a "heart murmur since childhood" presents following a series of syncopal episodes over the past several months. She also complains of worsening fatigue over this time period, and notes that her lips have begun to take on a bluish tinge, for which she has been using a brighter shade of lipstick. You do a careful examination, and detect a right ventricular heave, clubbing of the fingers, and 2+ pitting edema bilaterally to the shins. Despite your patient insisting that every doctor she has ever seen has commented on her murmur, you do not hear one. Transthoracic echocardiography would most likely detect which of the following?

A 50-year-old female presents with a holosystolic murmur heard best over the apex, radiating to the axilla. She has no signs of pulmonary hypertension or edema. What best explains her lack of symptoms?

A 64-year-old woman with a history of rheumatic fever presents to her primary care clinician complaining of excessive fatigue with walking and difficulty lying flat. She had no prior physical limitations, but recently has been unable to walk more than 3 blocks without needing to stop and rest. Her cardiac exam is notable for a late diastolic murmur heard best at the apex in the left lateral decubitus position with no radiation. What is the most likely diagnosis?

An 85-year-old man presents to his primary care provider after feeling "lightheaded." He said he helped his wife in the garden for the first time, but that while moving some bags of soil he felt like he was going to faint. He had a big breakfast of oatmeal and eggs prior to working in the garden. He has no significant past medical history and takes a baby aspirin daily. Physical exam reveals an elderly, well-nourished, well-built man with no evidence of cyanosis or tachypnea. Vital signs show normal temperature, BP 150/70, HR 80, RR 18. Cardiac exam reveals crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur. What is the most likely cause of this patient's diagnosis?

A 36-year-old man presents to his primary care physician because of shortness of breath. He is an office worker who has a mostly sedentary lifestyle; however, he has noticed that recently he feels tired and short of breath when going on long walks with his wife. He also has had a hacking cough that seems to linger, though he attributes this to an upper respiratory tract infection he had 2 months ago. He has diabetes that is well-controlled on metformin and has smoked 1 pack per day for 20 years. Physical exam reveals a large chested man with wheezing bilaterally and mild swelling in his legs and abdomen. The cause of this patient's abdominal and lower extremity swelling is most likely due to which of the following processes?

A 70-year-old male presents for an annual exam. His past medical history is notable for shortness of breath when he sleeps, and upon exertion. Recently he has experienced dyspnea and lower extremity edema that seems to be worsening. Both of these symptoms have resolved since he was started on several medications and instructed to weigh himself daily. Which of the following is most likely a component of his medical management?

A 72-year-old woman comes to the emergency department because of a 2-week history of worsening shortness of breath, lower extremity swelling, and a 3-kg (6.6-lb) weight gain. Crackles are heard on auscultation of the chest. Cardiac examination shows a dull, low-pitched early diastolic sound at the 5th left intercostal space that becomes louder in the left lateral decubitus position at end-expiration. Which of the following is the most likely cause of these auscultation findings?

A 71-year-old woman with a past medical history of type 2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertension was admitted to the hospital 8 hours ago with substernal chest pain for management of acute non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The ECG findings noted by ST-depressions and T-wave inversions on anterolateral leads, which is also accompanied by elevated cardiac enzymes. Upon diagnosis, management with inhaled oxygen therapy, beta-blockers and aspirin, and low-molecular-weight heparin therapy were initiated, and she was placed on bed rest with continuous electrocardiographic monitoring. Since admission, she required 2 doses of sublingual nitroglycerin for recurrent angina, and the repeat troponin levels continued to rise. Given her risk factors, plans were made for early coronary angiography. The telemetry nurse calls the on-call physician because of her concern with the patient's mild confusion and increasing need for supplemental oxygen. At bedside evaluation, The vital signs include: heart rate 122/min, blood pressure 89/40 mm Hg, and the pulse oximetry is 91% on 6L of oxygen by nasal cannula. The telemetry and a repeat ECG show sinus tachycardia. She is breathing rapidly, appears confused, and complains of shortness of breath. On physical exam, the skin is cool and clammy and appears pale and dull. She has diffuse bilateral pulmonary crackles, and an S3 gallop is noted on chest auscultation with no new murmurs. She has jugular venous distention to the jaw-line, rapid and faint radial pulses, and 1+ dependent edema. She is immediately transferred to the intensive care unit for respiratory support and precautions for airway security. The bedside sonography shows abnormal hypodynamic anterior wall movement and an ejection fraction of 20%, but no evidence of mitral regurgitation or ventricular shunt. The chest X-ray demonstrates cephalization of pulmonary veins and pulmonary edema. What is the most appropriate next step in the stabilization of this patient?

Background: Beta-blockers reduce mortality in patients who have chronic heart failure, systolic dysfunction, and are on background treatment with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. We aimed to compare the effects of carvedilol and metoprolol on clinical outcome. Methods: In a multicenter, double-blind, randomized parallel group trial, we assigned 1511 patients with chronic heart failure to treatment with carvedilol (target dose, 25 mg twice daily) and 1518 to metoprolol (target dose, 50 mg twice daily). The patients were required to have chronic heart failure (NYHA II-IV), the previous admission for a cardiovascular indication, an ejection fraction of < 0.35, and to have been treated optimally with diuretics and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors unless not tolerated. The primary endpoints were all-cause mortality and the composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or all-cause admission. The analysis was done by intention-to-treat. Findings: The mean study duration was 58 months (SD, 6). The mean ejection fraction was 0.26 (SD, 0.07) and the mean age was 62 years (SD, 11). The all-cause mortality was 34% (512 of 1511) for carvedilol and 40% (600 of 1518) for metoprolol (hazard ratio, 0.83 [95% CI 0.74-0.93], p = 0.0017). The reduction in all-cause mortality was consistent across pre-defined subgroups. The incidence of side effects and drug withdrawals did not differ significantly between the 2 study groups. Based on the best interpretation of the results of this clinical trial, which of the following statements is most accurate?