Key Takeaways

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The patient with an acute coronary syndrome can have unstable angina, a non-

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