Cardiology Pharmacy Sample Questions

A patient is brought to the emergency department for an acute ischemic stroke. The patient is considered a candidate for thrombolytic therapy, but has a history of uncontrolled hypertension. What blood pressure level must be achieved before an intravenous thrombolytic can be administered?

A primary care physician asks the pharmacist for recommendations to initiate anti-hypertensive therapy for a 60-year-old with a past medical history of hypertension and dyslipidemia. Vital signs consist of a blood pressure of 172/94 mm Hg and a heart rate of 52 bpm.

Notable laboratory values available are:

Which initial strategy would be the best available option for this patient?

A patient presents for follow up of heart failure. The patient reports feelings of palpitations and increased shortness of breath. Past medical history includes hypertension, NYHA class III heart failure (LVEF 20%), coronary artery disease, and atrial fibrillation.

Medications include:

A 12-lead ECG demonstrates atrial fibrillation with a ventricular rate of 84 bpm and QTc 474 msec with no conduction abnormalities.

Pertinent laboratory values include:

It is felt that atrial fibrillation is contributing to the patient's shortness of breath. Which antiarrhythmic medication should be initiated?

A patient with a history of diabetes mellitus, estimated 10-year ASCVD risk of 14.6%, is currently on simvastatin 40 mg daily for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. After 6 weeks of therapy, LDL-C is 112 mg/dL (baseline LDL-C was 155 mg/dL). Which intervention is most appropriate?

The nurse manager of a cardiovascular patient care area asks a pharmacist to contribute a medication-related section for the monthly newsletter to the nursing staff. Which would provide the most value?

Which statement regarding the use of intention-to-treat analysis within a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial is accurate?

A clinical trial reports that a chi-square test was used to evaluate data. Which type of data would this test most likely compare?

In a large heart failure prevention trial, the following data were obtained: on placebo, 640 out of 2117 (30.2%) patients developed symptomatic heart failure; on enalapril, 438 out of 2111 (20.7%) patients developed heart failure. What is the number of patients that needed to be treated with enalapril to prevent one case of heart failure?

A patient is being discharged from the hospital on warfarin for treatment of a venous thromboembolism (VTE). What must be documented as a part of the discharge instructions for this patient to meet The Joint Commission standards?

A health system is designing patient education materials focused on the primary prevention of ASCVD among patients with hypertension. The focus of these materials is healthy lifestyle interventions. Which concept should be included in these educational materials?