OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is tension-type headache. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how tension-type headache will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a traditional question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a disease is quite valuable.
QUESTION EXAMPLES
Question # 1
A 50 year old female comes to the clinic because of episodic headaches. She has had occasional headaches for the past few weeks, although now they have become more frequent in timing. She denies any changes to the quality of the headaches. She describes them as a constant pressure in in her temporal and occipital regions, and they frequently develop in the early afternoon. She is able to carry out her normal daily activities during the headaches, however they are often bothersome so she takes acetaminophen. She denies any cause or visual disturbances during these headaches. Her past medical history is remarkable for: hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and fibromyalgia. She denies tobacco or alcohol usage. Her temperature is 98.7°F, blood pressure is 135/90 mm hg, and pulse is 83 bpm. Her neurological exam is unremarkable. What is the likely diagnosis in this patient?
Page Updated: 02.19.2017