Cardiovascular Physiology

Pheochromocytoma

I. Setup

Call up case #29 HUMAN (same as case #9, Miss Deborah Nelson, age 24, wt. 54, height 170) but with access to variables allowed.

Call up the person's chart ("Patient Charts....").

II. Characterization of the condition

To characterize the woman as

run the model for brief periods (1-5 min.), resetting up your Tables between runs to characterize/ demonstrate each of the above. This is part of a characteristic physiologic profile for pheochromocytoma. You should be able to explain how the condition causes each of the pieces of this profile.

III. Treatment / Management

Examine the PHARMACY ("Patient Charts....").

- Phenoxybenzamine is an a blocker.

- Hydralazine is a non-specific vasodilator.

- Nitroglycerin is a non-specific vasodilator.

Show that the patient is responsive to an alpha blockade at a level of about 30 mg/day by

- initiating dosing

- running for 12 hours (12 H) w/ one hour between printouts.

IV. Extra credit: characterize and explain the response to Hydralazine.