Syncope

Question 1

What is the likely diagnosis in a patient that experienced a syncopal episode while urinating with normal cardiac exam?

Answer 1

Situational syncope

Question 2

What is the likely underlying cause of syncope in an elderly patient that stood up after a period of bed rest?

Answer 2

Orthostatic hypotension

Question 3

2 causes of Orthostatic hypotension:

Answer 3

Volume depletion or autonomic nervous system dysfunction

Question 4

Which type of syncope is often preceded by nausea, bradycardia, and/or a feeling of warmth throughout the body?

Answer 4

Neurocardiogenic (vasovagal) syncope

Question 5

What is the likely cause of syncope in a young patient with syncope and occasional chest pain, dyspnea, and a crescendo-decrescendo systolic murmur along the left sternal border without carotid radiation?

Answer 5

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM)

Question 6

The murmurs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and mitral valve prolapse increase with:

Answer 6

standing and the Valsalva maneuver

Question 7

In orthostatic syncope, if nonpharmacological treatment fails, treatment with _____ is indicated

Answer 7

an alpha-1 adrenergic agonist (e.g., midodrine)