Hu Said: Cardiology Board Review Series

In this episode, we review chronic hypertension. How did the the definitions of stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension change in the most recent AHA/ACC/ASH guidelines? What happened to "prehypertension"? …

In this episode, we review the large vessel vasculitides, medium-vessel vasculitides, ANCA-associated small-vessel vasculitides, and immune complex associated small-vessel vasculitides. What is the d…

In this episode, we review carotid artery stenosis (CAS), including its presentation, diagnosis, medical management, and intervention. Do dizziness, presyncope, or syncope count as symptomatic CAS? W…

In this episode, we review limb peripheral artery disease (PAD). What is the difference in management of a marginally threatened limb vs immediately threatened limb? In whom can you order ankle brach…

In this episode, we review aortic intramural hematoma (IMH), penetrating aortic ulcer (PAU), infectious aortitis and aortic atheroemboli. What condition is characterized by a crescentic aortic wall t…

In this episode, we review aortic dissection, its risk factors, presentation, physical exam findings, imaging findings, and management. Other than aortic dissection, what other cardiovascular conditi…

In this episode, we review abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), including its diagnosis, screening, and management. What are the current guidelines for screening and surveillance of AAA, and how do they …

In this episode, we review ascending aorta dilation and ascending aorta aneurysm, including the key syndromes associated. What is cystic medial degeneration? Which diseases cause dilation of the aort…

In this episode, we review left ventricular (LV) thrombus, including its pathophysiology, imaging characteristics, and treatment. How are the components of Virchow's triad disrupted by myocardial inf…

In this episode, we review deep vein thrombosis (DVT). What are the ultrasound features of a DVT? What counts as a proximal DVT? Why are patients with proximal DVT at higher risk, and how does this i…

In this episode, we review how to calculate pulmonary artery pressures (PASP) on echocardiography. How does the simplified Bernoulli equation relate the velocity of flow through the tricuspid valve (…

In this episode, we review the essentials of pulmonary hypertension (PH), including the five groups. What echocardiographic findings allow you to distinguish between pre-capillary and post-capillary …

In this episode, we dive into the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory pericarditis. How do diagnostic criteria differ for first-time pericarditis and recurrent pericarditis? Wha…

In this episode, we review pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. What is the definition of small, moderate, and large pericardial effusion? What is ventricular interdependence? What is pulsus p…

In this episode, we review patient-prosthesis mismatch (PPM) and prosthetic valve stenosis. What cutoffs for indexed effective orifice area (EOA) suggest severe, moderate, or mild PPM of an aortic va…

In this episode, we review anticoagulant targets after valve replacement. What are the anticoagulation goals for mechanical and bioprosthetic valves? Why does a mechanical mitral valve have a higher …

In this episode, we continue our review on infective endocarditis (IE), covering antibiotic prophylaxis, prosthesis-related endocarditis, and device-related infections. Which are the high-risk cardia…

In this episode, we review the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of infective endocarditis (IE). What five cardinal characteristics lead you to suspect a vegetation on echocardiography? Which h…

In this episode, we review how to differentiate the Doppler signals of aortic stenosis (AS), mitral regurgitation (MR), tricuspid regurgitation (TR), and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (L…

In this special episode, we sit down and examine the flowcharts for guideline-based quantification of aortic regurgitation (AR) severity, mitral regurgitation (MR) severity, and tricuspid regurgitati…