Medical Emergencies · patient case question
What is this due to?
Patient case: Athletic patient with a slow pulse
Scenario: An ATHLETIC patient is found to have a SLOW pulse.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Physiologic bradycardia related to athletic conditioning
- A. Correct. Endurance training produces 'athlete's heart' — increased stroke volume and increased resting vagal (parasympathetic) tone. The heart ejects more blood per beat, so fewer beats are required, and resting rates of 40-60 bpm are entirely normal in trained individuals.
- B. Hypothyroidism can cause bradycardia but would come with fatigue, cold intolerance, weight gain and dry skin — none described.
- C. Beta-blockers do slow the heart, but the case attributes the finding to the patient's athleticism and gives no such medication.
- D. An asymptomatic resting bradycardia in a conditioned athlete is a physiologic finding, not pathology. Investigation is warranted only with symptoms — syncope, dizziness, chest pain, exercise intolerance.
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