A very physically active 49-year-old male with a history of labile hypertension and hypercholesterolemia with an LDL cholesterol of 126 mg%. He underwent an exercise stress test which revealed reversible inferoseptal ischemia at a peak heart rate of 171 bpm and peak blood pressure of 195/85. In the expert's opinion, the results suggest that the patient has silent myocardial ischemia and may be at risk for sudden cardiac death, especially in light of the marked exertional level of activity.
51-year-old female with vitamin D deficiency among other medical problems: high blood pressure, episodes of transient syncope, and sleep apnea. In the expert's opinion frequent changes and discontinuations of drugs as well as big intervals between one dose to another, can be responsible for hypertensive crisis. Therefore the expert recommends to stop too frequent investigations , and instead focus on appropriate treatment, that should be combination of Angiotensin Receptor Blocker and diuretics.
62-year-old female with systolic heart murmur for 6 years. Her first echocardiogram showed mild to moderate LV dysfunction with regional wall motion abnormality. The second echocardiogram the left ventricular function was interpreted as normal, there was left ventricular hypertrophy and severe aortic stenosis. The expert recommends to perform another third echocardiogram. If the patient has truly left ventricular function and severs aortic stenosis then aortic valve replacement surgery is recommended, even if she is asymptomatic.
47-year-old female with a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis ,who suffers from progressive tetraparesis, more pronounced in the lower extremities. Her treatment included mitoxantrone and Interferon-beta treatment, both were discontinued because of side effects. Her movement difficulties, due to the left lower limb rigidity, are increasing progressively.
41 year-old male was recently diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis (MS) after episodes of leg and shoulder weakness and parasthesis. Lately he experiences dizziness. His MRI showed several demyelinating lesions, other ancillary tests showed demyelinating damage to the auditory and visual pathway. Currently he has no functional or sensorial deficiencies. He was offered several immunomodulatory treatment options: Rebif, Betaferon and Copaxone, and asks about their pros, cons and complications, and about the differential diagnosis.
