CC: “I have been having terrible chest and arm pain for the past 2 hours and I think I am having a heart attack.”
HPI: Mr. Hammond is a 57-year-old African American male who presents to the Emergency Department with a chief complaint of chest pain that radiates down his left arm. He states that he started having pain several hours ago and says the pain “it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest”. He rates the pain as 8/10. Nothing has made the pain better or worse. He denies any previous episodes of chest pain. Denies nausea, dyspnea, or lightheadedness. He was given 0.4 mg nitroglycerine tablet sublingual x 1 which decreased, but not stopped the pain.
Lipid panel reveals Total Cholesterol 324 mg/dl, high density lipoprotein (HDL) 31 mg/dl, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) 122 mg/dl, Triglycerides 402 mg/dl, Very Low-Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) 54 mg/dl
His diagnosis is an acute inferior wall myocardial infarction.
1 of 2 Questions:
Why is HDL considered the “good” cholesterol?
2 of 2 Questions:
Explain the role inflammation has in the development of atherosclerosis.
Sample Solution
