Essentials 1 Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) generally expand slowly and are asymptomatic. 2 Screening programs aim to detect their presence prior to rupture and promote early elective repair once their size is ≥5.5 cm. 3 Abdominal pain/back pain with hypotension…
Essentials 1 Untreated aortic dissection has a mortality rate of approximately 1% per hour for the first 48 hours and 90% at 3 months. Early diagnosis and aggressive management improve mortality rates to 20% to 40%. 2 Aortic dissection is…
Essentials 1 Hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg and/or a diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg. 2 Hypertensive crises include both hypertensive emergencies and hypertensive urgencies. 3 A hypertensive emergency is characterized by end-organ damage…
Essentials 1 With the continuing rise in the elderly population, the incidence of peripheral arterial and venous disease in the developed world continues to increase significantly. 2 Claudication is the most important symptom of arterial disease in an extremity, although…
Essentials 1 Infective endocarditis is effectively a multiorgan disease and is an often missed diagnosis. 2 There has been a shift in the predominant organism in infective endocarditis from Streptococcus viridans to Staphylococcus aureus , and nosocomial infections are becoming…
Pericarditis Essentials 1 Myocarditis is often associated with pericarditis. This has important clinical implications. 2 Pericarditis is diagnosed based on history and findings on both electrocardiography (ECG), and echocardiography. The diagnosis is based on two of the four criteria outlined…
Essentials 1 Venous thromboembolism (VTE) has protean clinical manifestations and is a continuum from deep venous thrombosis (DVT) to the main life-threatening complication of pulmonary embolism (PE). 2 Left untreated, patients with a diagnosis of PE have a significant recurrence…
Essentials 1 Cardiac arrhythmias require urgent attention, as some are life-threatening and can lead to sudden death. 2 The most important initial evaluation is for haemodynamic stability. Patients who are hemodynamically stable should have a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), whereas unstable…
Essentials 1 Severe acute pulmonary oedema (APO) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. 2 APO is a pathophysiological state characterized by a maldistribution of fluid; most patients do not have fluid overload. 3 Diagnosis relies on a thorough history,…
Essentials 1 Every patient with possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS) must have a 12-lead ECG performed and interpreted as soon as possible, ideally within 10 minutes after arrival, to identify whether he or she may benefit from reperfusion therapy. 2…