A Man Comes into Your Station and Tells You That

question 22

Multiple Choice

A man comes into your station and tells you that he was just diagnosed by his physician as having a syncopal episode the previous week. More specifically, he asks you to explain why he fainted. Which one of the statements that follow would be your best response?

• A) "For some reason, there was a temporary decrease in the flow of blood to your brain."
• B) "A small clot formed in a blood vessel in your brain, but was quickly broken down by the body."
• C) "Your blood sugar most likely dropped very quickly, causing you to faint."
• D) "A syncopal episode is a small seizure that runs its course very quickly."

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Definitions:

Median

A measure of central tendency in statistics, representing the middle value in a set of data when arranged in order.

Standard Deviation

A statistical measure that quantifies the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of data values from the mean value.

Percentile Score

The percentage of people someone scores higher than on a scale or test; a score at the 90th percentile means someone scores higher than 90% of the people who took the scale.

Normal Distribution

A symmetrical bell-shaped distribution in which most of the data points cluster around the mean, with decreasing frequency toward the tails.