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← Theoretical B

Q39 — Intermittent Claudication and Cardiovascular Drug Treatments

Theoretical B Real exam question — full text reproduced under IBO's CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Cardiovascular Physiology

A 65-year-old man with increased plasma cholesterol levels presented with severe pain in his left leg that occurred after walking for 15 minutes and was relieved by rest. Repeated pulse pressure measurements showed significantly lower pressure in the left leg compared to the right leg and left arm, both of which were within the normal range. He was diagnosed with intermittent claudication (a symptom of a range of diseases) — intense pain due to the build-up of metabolic acids. Treatments for cardiovascular diseases include:

  1. Beta-1 blockers — systemically reduce tension in smooth muscles of blood vessels.
  2. Aspirin — inhibits prostaglandin synthesis (Table 1) and blood clot formation.
  3. Statins — decrease blood cholesterol.
Receptor type Sensitivity threshold without PGs Sensitivity threshold with PGs
Peripheral chemoreceptors pH below 6.9 pH below 6.9
Heat receptors 46°C 38°C
Mechanoreceptors 8 millinewton 3 millinewton

Table 1. Thresholds (in respective units of measurement) of pain receptors with and without prostaglandins (PGs).

On your answer sheet, indicate “T” for true statements and “F” for false ones.

A. Aspirin and statins can be used to minimize further progression of the condition, but not to completely cure it.
B. Aspirin is not an efficient painkiller for episodes of intermittent claudication.
C. Intermittent claudication is a direct result of systemic hypertension in this patient.
D. If the patient had a chronic heart failure (reduced pumping ability of the heart), beta-1 blockers might have been used as a long-term treatment.
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Question reproduced from IBO 2024, Theoretical Exam Part B, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF