Rachel Beatty, ARNP
Typical Scenario
Let’s discuss a common scenario. You have a 50 year old male who has not been seen by a PCP in two years. His past medical history includes arthritis and hypertension. He does not smoke and has an occasional beer on the weekend. He has been off his medications for his hypertension for over a year. His BP in office is 182/110, HR 70, Temp 97.6, Respirations 16, 02 saturation 98%. His physical exam is unremarkable and he is asymptomatic. Your medical assistant asks you if you would like her to give him clonidine and do an EKG. She then asks if we will be sending him to the emergency room. The patient is now anxious and is wondering if he is going to have a stroke. What would you do?
[Read more…] about Primary Care: Should we throw away the clonidine?