Second-Year Medicine

Block 4: Cardiovascular System

The Cardiovascular Block is designed to provide an integrated basic and clinical scientific understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and treatment of major cardiovascular diseases. The block begins with a mini-block of material focused on the pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system that serves as an introduction to the cardiovascular material. Subject topics taught in the block include:

heart failure
cardiomyopathies
myocardial electrophysiology
basic EKG
cardiac imaging techniques
infectious endocarditis
valvular heart diseases
atherosclerosis
ischemic heart disease (coronary artery disease)
acute coronary syndromes
acute myocardial infarction
congenital heart disease
cardiac syncope
dysrhythmias
systolic and diastolic dysfunction
aneurysms
vasculitis and related vascular disorders.

All topics include a discussion of treatment modalities, including a complete review of pharmacologic interventions as well as other medical and/or surgical interventions. In addition, a series of gross cardiovascular pathology and histopathology laboratories are included in the Cardiovascular Block.