Hypertension

Levofloxacin, 500 mg/d, had been prescribed for a 74-year-old woman who had a urinary tract infection. The patient had type 2 diabetes and hypertension. She was allergic to sulfa drugs.

A 73-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with pain in his hands, feet, and elbows. The patient, an alcoholic, had a 20-year history of hypertension and diabetes. Deformities of the hands and feet had developed during the past 5 years. Tophi were present over both ear lobes. The serum uric acid level was 15 mg/dL.

A 65-year-old woman with a long history of hypertension treated with metoprolol and felodipine complained of dizziness, headache, nausea, and vomiting of acute onset. Her blood pressure was 220/110 mm Hg. She was drowsy and unable to stand or walk.

A 64-year-old woman with a history of diabetes, hypertension, and lymphoma was admitted to the hospital with a dull headache, conjunctival congestion, and slight dyspnea. Her pulse rate was 96 beats per minute; blood pressure, 146/68 mm Hg; and respiration rate, 22 breaths per minute. She also had increased jugular venous distention; cardiovascular and chest examination findings were normal. Edema of both arms and dilated blood vessels on the anterior chest wall were noted.

A 72-year-old woman who had fallen and injured the left side of her chest came to the emergency department complaining of pain in that area. She was physically stable and not short of breath. A soft systolic murmur was heard over the left precordium; the lungs were clear. A posteroanterior chest film showed no rib fracture but it did show an enlarged heart and a large, calcified ventricular aneurysm.

A 97-year-old woman with a history of hypertension and a paraesophageal hiatal hernia presented with abdominal distention and shortness of breath. Three days earlier, she had fallen and sustained a hairline pelvic fracture; she was evaluated in the emergency department and given narcotics for the pain. Subsequently, the patient's abdomen became increasingly distended, and she had no bowel movement for 3 days.

A 79-year-old nursing home resident was hospitalized for evaluation of hyperkalemia and leukocytosis. Her medical history included hypertension, respiratory failure with subsequent tracheostomy placement and ventilator dependency, and anemia. Both of her legs had been amputated above the knee secondary to complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

An 85-year-old white woman was brought to the emergency department (ED) with acute, severe left posterolateral chest wall pain of several hours' duration. The nonradiating pain was accompanied by shortness of breath. She denied palpitations, diaphoresis, syncope, or dizziness.

A 60-year-old comatose man was brought to the emergency department (ED). He had a history of diabetes, hypertension, and alcohol abuse. Relatives reported that the patient was noncompliant with his antihypertensive medication regimen.

A 46-year-old woman sought treatment of vaginal pruritus of 6 months' duration. She also was bothered by generalized skeletal aching that was most prominent in her legs. The patient had a history of hypertension.

Cirrhosis and ascites developed in a 52-year-old man with a history of chronic hepatitis C and ethanol abuse. He was hospitalized because of bleeding esophageal varices, which were successfully treated with elastic band ligation.

The initial complaint of a 79-year-old woman was of mild headache, neck pain, and sore throat. She had a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heavy cigarette smoking. Examination by an otolaryngologist, which included laryngoscopy, revealed no abnormalities. Three weeks later, the patient's throat and neck pain became more severe. She had no arthralgias, visual loss, fever, or worsening head pain.

The parents of a 10-year-old boy of normal intelligence brought him for evaluation because of his tall stature. He was 154 cm tall (3 cm above 97th percentile) and weighed 34.3 kg (50th percentile). He exhibited significant arachnodactyly, with an upper to lower segment ratio of 0.8 and an arm span to height ratio of 1.1. He had a long, angular face with a high arched palate and crowded dentition, ptosis, myopia, superior lens subluxation, pectus excavatum, widely spaced and low-set nipples, grade 2/6 ejection systolic murmur at the left sternal border, midthoracic scoliosis, joint hypermobility, positive thumb sign and wrist sign, and pes planus.

For 36 hours, a 75-year-old woman had experienced weakness of the right side of the face. She was unable to close the right eye and drooled from the right side of the mouth. There was no weakness, numbness, or tingling of the extremities. The patient's medications included insulin for type 2 diabetes, furosemide and spironolactone for hypertension, aspirin, alendronate, calcium, vitamin D, and tramadol for occasional pain from osteoarthritis.

A 50-year-old man with a history of diabetes, hypertension, seizure disorder, and alcohol abuse sought treatment for a rash and painful ulcerations of the hand, face, and scalp, which had bothered him for 1 month. The patient also complained of pruritus.

An 18-month-old girl was noted to have somatic overgrowth, macroglossia, macrostomia, fading telangiectatic nevi over the glabella and eyelids, vertical creases on the earlobes, a short nose with anteverted nares, and a long philtrum. She also had an ejection systolic murmur best heard at the left mid- and upper sternal border, compatible with an atrial septal defect.

A 20-year-old woman, who had been confused and delirious for 2 days, was brought to the emergency department (ED). She had no significant past medical history and was taking no medication but had recently returned from a trip to Southeast Asia. In the ED, the patient had several convulsions and rapidly became comatose. She was unresponsive; her temperature was 37.9°C (100.3°F), and her blood pressure measured 80/50 mm Hg. The neurologic examination showed no signs of meningeal irritation. Cranial nerve examination was normal and showed mild, bilateral, symmetric increase in deep tendon reflexes. All other physical examination findings were normal.

A 73-year-old man who had a history of long-standing essential hypertension, congestive heart failure, mild renal insufficiency, atrial fibrillation, and a mitral valve replacement presented with refractory hypertension. His medications included labetalol, irbesartan, and furosemide.

A 64-year-old asymptomatic woman with a 10-year-history of hypertension was referred for blood pressure control. She had no other significant medical history. The patient denied exertional chest discomfort or dyspnea. Her medications included atenolol, lisinopril, and hormone replacement therapy.

For 2 years, a 60-year-old woman with long-standing hypertension had experienced worsening dizzy spells, fatigue, and chest discomfort. She also had cold extremities, significant dyspnea on exertion, and orthopnea. The patient was taking amlodipine and furosemide.

For several weeks, a 78-year-old woman had an intensely pruritic, diffuse, raised, slightly scaly, erythematous rash that persisted despite the use of several over-the-counter topical medications (such as hydrocortisone and clotrimazole cream). Since her last visit about 3 months earlier for a blood pressure reading, she had been well except for 2 episodes of night sweats. For several years, she had been taking levothyroxine and reserpine/hydrochlorothiazide; about 6 months ago, valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide had been prescribed.

A 57-year-old man with a history of venous stasis leg ulceration wondered about the “white spots” on his leg.

For 2 months, a 31-year-old woman had had dyspnea and dull, continuous retrosternal pain. She was admitted to the hospital, and a helical CT scan of the thorax identified a saddle pulmonary embolism. An ultrasonogram revealed deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in the left leg. Intravenous heparin was given; the patient was discharged, and warfarin was prescribed.

After suffering with a severe, disabling headache for 2 weeks, a 20-year-old soldier sought medical treatment. He had no significant medical history other than his 6-year history of smoking.

After more than 15 years of wondering what the “white specks” on his legs were, a 64-year-old man consulted his physician. The patient was taking medication to control hypertension; he was otherwise healthy.