1 What is the current global burden of diabetes, and what is its impact on the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease? The International Diabetes Federation has estimated that approximately 1 in 11 adults (415 million adults) has diabetes mellitus globally. The…
1 Who should be screened for dyslipidemias and when should a cholesterol panel be checked? As per the 2018 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines, all adults aged 20 years or older should undergo screening with either a…
1 What is the prevalence of hypertension in men and women and across various ethnic and racial groups? Hypertension affects over 100 million US adults and more than 1.13 billion adults worldwide. Hypertension is the leading cause of death and…
1 What is the first step to do if you are alone and come across an unresponsive adult victim with no signs of breathing? Activate an emergency response system and get an automated external defibrillator (AED) if available in the…
1 What are the components of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)? Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are composed of a pulse generator (typically implanted in the left upper chest) and one or more leads. The generator is composed of the electrical…
1 What is sick sinus syndrome? Sinus node dysfunction, commonly referred to as sick sinus syndrome, refers to a broad array of abnormalities of the sinus node, ranging from atrial impulse formation through propagation of the depolarization impulse. Sick sinus…
1 What is the differential diagnosis of a wide complex tachycardia? A wide complex tachycardia (WCT) is a heart rate greater than 100 beats/min, with a QRS duration greater than 120 milliseconds, and the differential includes: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) (monomorphic…
1 What does the term supraventricular tachycardia mean? By strict definition, supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is any nonphysiological tachycardia with rates in excess of 100 beats/min, whose genesis involves tissue from above the bifurcation of the His bundle. Thus the term…
1 What is the difference between atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter? Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a supraventricular tachyarrhythmia with uncoordinated atrial activation and consequently ineffective atrial contraction with electrocardiogram (ECG) characteristics of (1) irregular R-R intervals (when atrioventricular [AV] conduction…
1 What are believed to be the first steps in the development of infective endocarditis? Infective endocarditis (IE) is believed to occur only after one first develops what is termed nonbacterial thrombotic endocarditis (NBTE). According to the American Heart Association…