7. A 50-year-old male has a three year history of hypertension. He has been on several
medications without ever having good blood pressure control. He has been off
medications entirely for the last six months. He complains of fatigue and occasional
muscle cramps. There is no family history of hypertension. The patient has not had any
other significant medical problems in the past. Examination reveals a blood pressure of
168/104 mmHg. Additional laboratory tests indicate that the patient has primary
hyperaldosteronism. Which of the following set of findings would be most likely
expected in this man with primary hyperaldosteronism?
Extracellular Fluid Plasma Renin Activity Plasma K
Volume Concentration
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Questions 8-9: A 40-year-old female with a history of diabetes mellitus for 16 years visited
the emergency room with a blood pressure of 270/110. She had her blood pressure measured
many times in the past and has never been noted to be hypertensive. She also complains of
pedal edema which has been gradually progressive. She denies polyuria, polydypsia or
symptoms of hypoglycemia. Her insulin regimen is Humulin, 20 units in the morning and 10
units in the afternoon. Laboratory tests revealed the following values (range of normal values
in parentheses):
BUN 33 (9-20 mg/dl)
Creatinine 2.7 (0.7-1.4 mg/dl)
Glucose 296 (74-106 mg/dl)
Total protein 6.2 (6.3-8.2 g/dl)
Albumin 3.0 (3.5-5.1 g/dl)
Cholesterol 320 (120-199 mg/dl)
Urinalysis 3+ proteinuria
8. A decrease in which one of the following would best explain the increase in blood
pressure in this patient?
A. Angiotensin II
B. Aldosterone
C. Sympathetic nerve activity
D. Glomerular filtration rate
E. Endothelin