| Re: A patient with syncope -
02-06-2007, 09:31 AM
i agree with jnus to some extent.. i think the question itself creates some confusion.. it seems that the patient is having aortic stenosis, though the murmur of AS is audible mostly in right upper sternal border rather than LSB and significant AS will cause either fixed or low cardiac output and hence normal (or in severe AS, decreased) blood pressure.. (hypertension and AS in elderly is not uncommon though!) the pulse pressure is also narrow unlike in this case where it is quite wide (70 mmHg)..
the simplest rule to follow in AS is either do nothing if asymptomatic, or go for surgery if symptomatic.. ACE inhibitors are not recommended in AS while they are cornerstone of therapy for other cardiac failures.. and diuretics also should be used with extreme caution as they cause significant hypotension..
i would go for echocardiography and look for the left ventricular function and pressure gradient which wud guide to decide the severity of the disease.. and till then, manage hypertension (which i think is quite unlikely) with diuretics.. otherwise, in a diabetic patient with hypertension or if associated with nephropathy, ACE inhibitors would be preferable.
Last edited by rajupangeni; 02-06-2007 at 11:41 AM.
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