KEY TAKEAWAYS •
The patient with an acute coronary syndrome can have unstable angina, a nonST-segment myocardial infarction, or a transmural, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
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The patient with an arrhythmia can be divided into an irregular or regular rhythm with a narrow or wide-complex QRS.
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The patient with atrial fibrillation needs anticoagulant therapy in order to prevent thromboembolic disease.
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Angina is generally a chronic heart condition that itself is a risk factor for a myocardial infarction.
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Dyslipidemia can be primary or secondary but is generally treated the same way, according to the type of dyslipidemia they have.
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Peripheral vascular disease leads to claudication and is a marker for more diffuse cardiovascular disease.
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Heart failure is divided into those cases with preserved ejection fraction and those with reduced ejection fraction.
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Aortic dissection usually involves the ascending aorta and can affect vessels coming off the aorta itself.
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Pericarditis is due to a variety of conditions and may include a pericardial effusion that causes cardiac tamponade.
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Endocarditis is usually fatal without treatment and involves bacterial or fungal infections of the valves of the heart.
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