MCQ 1: Mean blood pressure

Q. A young man in late his late 20s, case of rheumatic heart disease has a blood pressure of 160/70 on examination. His mean arterial pressure is:
a. 100 mm Hg
b. 110 mm Hg
c. 90 mm Hg
d. 120 mm Hg
e. Can not be determined without knowing the heart rate

Answer: Option a

Mean arterial pressure= (Systolic blood pressure + 2 x Diastolic blood pressure)/3

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ECG Spotter

What is the diagnosis? Click the button below to view answer: Show Answer

High heart rate

The patient contacts the doctor over phone with this report. Obviously anxious because of his high heart rate (199 beats per minute) as detected by ECG machine. Should he be worried about this and come to emergency department as soon as possible? Correct answer- ECG machine has calculated his heart rate incorrectly. Heart rate is around 100 beats per minute. Other findings in this ECG include ST segment elevation in anterior chest leads along with presence of Q waves, denoting old MI changes with possibly development of LV aneurysm. In such cases, ST segment elevation can persist for long periods. Now, should he come to emergency department? Not because of detection of high heart rate. But, if he is having symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, he should visit emergency department. Otherwise, if he is asymptomatic, he can schedule a regular visit with his cardiologist.

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