Blood Pressure

Also written as BP.

A patient discharged on levothyroxine is re-admitted with heart rate 42, blood pressure 70/56, blood glucose 55 and body temperature 96.8°F.

Blood pressure

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Blood Pressure

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Blood Pressure

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Blood pressure

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Study material on Blood Pressure

Practice questions on Blood Pressure

A 57-year-old woman has had episodes of abdominal pain following meals for the past year. Her BMI is 31 kg/m2. She her blood pressure is 165/110 mg Hg. Her total serum cholesterol is 256 mg/dL. Which of the following types of blood vessel is the most likely location for the pathologic abnormality causing her pain?

Answer: A. She has abdominal angina from vascular insufficiency. She has multiple risk factors for atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis occurs in muscular arteries, because the level of blood pressure in arteries predisposes to endothelial dysfunction. ---

A 57-year-old man has had blood pressure measurements in the range of 160/95 to 180/110 mm Hg for many years. He has taken no medications. A renal scan reveals kidneys of normal size for age. These findings with benign nephrosclerosis are most likely to occur with which of the following vascular changes?

Answer: A. Hyaline arteriolosclerosis is a feature of long-standing hypertension and is part of benign nephrosclerosis which may go on for many years with no complications. The small arterioles are thickened with pink (hyaline) proteinaceous deposits. ---

A 45-year-old man has a traumatic injury to his forearm and incurs extensive blood loss. On physical examination in the emergency department his blood pressure is 70/30 mm Hg. Which of the following cellular changes is most likely to represent irreversible cellular injury as a result of this injury?

Answer: C. The hypotension leads to diminished tissue perfusion with ischemic injury. Nuclear chromatin clumping is reversible, but nuclear pyknosis is not. ---

A 55-year-old woman has had increasing difficulty swallowing over the past year. On exam her blood pressure is 210/110 mm Hg. Testing shows a positive ANA with a nucleolar pattern on immunofluorescence; serum complement levels are normal. Which renal lesion is most likely to be seen on renal biopsy?

Answer: D. * These findings are typical of diffuse scleroderma. Hypertensive emergency (malignant hypertension, systolic ≥180 and/or diastolic ≥120 mmHg with acute or ongoing end-organ damage) can result in this characteristic vascular renal lesion. ---

On a routine visit to the physician, an otherwise healthy 51-year-old man has a blood pressure of 150/95 mm Hg. If his hypertension remains untreated for years, which of the following cellular alterations would most likely be seen in his myocardium?

Answer: E. The pressure load on the left ventricle results in an increase in myofilaments in the existing myofibers. The result of continued stress from hypertension is eventual heart failure with decreased contractility, but the cells do not decrease in size. ---

Which of the following is the neurotransmitter agent normally released in the sinoatrial node (SAN) of the heart in response to an increase in blood pressure?

Answer: A. When blood pressure increases, baroreceptors activate parasympathetic (vagal) output to the heart. The vagus nerve releases acetylcholine at the SA node, which binds to M2 muscarinic receptors, causing bradycardia and reduced cardiac output to lower blood pressure. --- ---

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