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Saturn Medic

Cardiovascular Diagnosis Cases

Saturn Dx

Think. Diagnose. Learn.

Real clinical cases. Sharpen your reasoning and build confidence for real life.

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* Saturn Dx is for education and entertainment only and is not medical advice.
Better Doctors · Brighter Futures

Saturn Dx is a free medical diagnosis game made by Saturn Medic for medical students, pharmacy students and anyone who enjoys solving clinical puzzles. Read a short patient story, type your diagnosis, and unlock one new hint every time you get it wrong. It is a clinical diagnosis game you can finish in two minutes between lectures, and every case ends with a clear explanation of why the answer fits.

What Is a Medical Diagnosis Game?

A medical diagnosis game turns clinical reasoning into a challenge. Instead of memorising long lists, you start with a history, think about the likely causes, and narrow them down as new findings appear. This is how doctors work at the bedside, a process known as building a differential diagnosis. Saturn Dx lets you practise that skill with realistic teaching cases, with no risk to any patient.

How to Play Saturn Dx

Choose a body system or press Random

Pick one of the seven systems below, or press Random Case to mix them all. You can also set the difficulty to Easy, Medium or Hard, so beginners and senior students both get a fair challenge.

Read the case and name the diagnosis

Each case begins with a short history. Type your diagnosis and the game suggests matching names as you type. If you are wrong, the next hint unlocks: examination findings first, then laboratory results, then imaging or other investigations.

Score points and learn why

The fewer hints you need, the more points you earn. When the case ends you see the correct diagnosis, a short explanation and every clue together, so each attempt teaches you something even when you miss.

The 7 Systems in Our Clinical Diagnosis Game

  • Cardiovascular: chest pain, heart failure, rhythm problems and vascular emergencies.
  • Respiratory: breathlessness, cough, chest infections and lung disease.
  • Gastrointestinal: abdominal pain, bleeding, liver and bowel conditions.
  • Endocrinology: thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and diabetes-related presentations.
  • Hematology: anemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, blood cancers.
  • Renal System: kidney and urinary tract problems, including nephrology and urology.
  • Infectious System: fever, sepsis and bacterial, viral and parasitic infections.

Tips to Solve Cases Faster

  • Start with the age, sex and main symptom, and list three possible causes before you type anything.
  • Look for the one clue that does not fit your first idea; it usually points to the real diagnosis.
  • Read the explanation after every case, even when you were right, because it shows how experts reason through the same clues.
  • Replay the same system on Hard once Easy feels comfortable. A clinical diagnosis game rewards repetition.

Why Play a Medical Diagnosis Game as a Student?

Passive reading rarely trains reasoning. A medical diagnosis game asks you to commit to an answer, gives you feedback straight away and lets you try again. That cycle of thinking, testing and correcting is what makes clinical knowledge stick. Short rounds also fit a busy timetable, so you can practise a little every day instead of cramming before exams.

The game also builds good habits: collect the clues, weigh the alternatives and avoid fixing on the first idea that comes to mind. Accurate diagnosis sits at the heart of safe care, and organisations such as the World Health Organization treat patient safety as a global priority.

Keep Studying with Saturn Medic

Saturn Dx works best together with the rest of the platform. After a case, test your knowledge in the Saturn Medic Question Bank, which offers practice questions organised by subject. Then revise the key facts with our medical flashcards, built for quick, repeated review. When a case introduces a condition you want to understand from the patient’s point of view, the MedlinePlus health library is a clear, reliable place to read more.

Medical Diagnosis Game FAQ

Is this medical diagnosis game free?

Yes. Saturn Dx is free to play, and there is no limit on how many cases you can try.

Do I need an account to play?

No. You can start immediately, and your progress is saved in your browser on the same device.

Are the cases real patients?

No. The cases are original teaching scenarios written to match standard textbook presentations. Our team reviews each case before it goes live, and no real patient records are used.

Is Saturn Dx medical advice?

No. Saturn Dx is for education and entertainment only. If you have a health concern, please speak to a qualified doctor.

Cardiovascular diagnosis cases on Saturn Dx let you practise the reasoning behind chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations and collapse. This free cardiology diagnosis game gives you 111 clinical cases. Read the story, name the diagnosis, and unlock one new hint each time you are wrong.

How our cardiovascular diagnosis cases work

Pick a difficulty (Easy, Medium or Hard) and start a case. You see the patient presentation first. Type your diagnosis, and if it is wrong the next hint unlocks: examination findings, then laboratory results, then imaging or other investigations. The fewer hints you need, the more points you earn, and at the end you read a short explanation of why the diagnosis fits.

Why practise cardiovascular diagnosis cases?

Heart and vascular disease sits behind some of the most common and most urgent presentations in medicine. The same symptom, such as chest pain, can come from a harmless muscle strain or from a blocked coronary artery, so the history, the ECG and a small number of tests decide what happens next. Practising cardiovascular diagnosis cases trains you to separate the dangerous from the benign quickly and to explain your thinking.

What you learn from each case

Every one of these cardiovascular diagnosis cases ends with the same three things: the correct diagnosis, a short explanation of the reasoning, and the full list of clues so you can see where your thinking went right or wrong. Over time you start to recognise typical patterns in cardiovascular medicine, you remember the key investigations for each condition, and you become faster at ruling out the dangerous causes first. Use the difficulty setting to begin with classic presentations and then move on to harder, more subtle cases.

Topics in the cardiovascular diagnosis game

This area of medicine covers presentations such as:

  • acute coronary syndromes and angina
  • heart failure
  • atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias
  • valvular heart disease
  • hypertension and its complications
  • cardiomyopathies and myocarditis
  • pericarditis and cardiac tamponade
  • aortic dissection and peripheral vascular disease

How to approach a cardiovascular case

Begin by asking whether the patient is stable. Then fix the time course of the symptoms, the risk factors such as age, smoking, diabetes and hypertension, and any clue about the heart rhythm or the pumping function of the heart. When an ECG or a blood test appears as a hint, ask which diagnosis it supports and which it makes less likely before you answer.

  • Write down two or three possible diagnoses before you type an answer.
  • Use every hint to rule something in or out, not only to confirm your first idea.
  • Read the explanation after each case, even when you were right.

Trusted resources to read next

After a case, deepen your understanding with American Heart Association for information on heart disease and stroke, and MedlinePlus heart diseases for plain-language summaries of each cardiac condition.

Keep studying with Saturn Medic

Test yourself with the Saturn Medic Question Bank, revise key facts with our medical flashcards, or return to the medical diagnosis game home page. You can also practise another system:

Cardiovascular diagnosis game FAQ

Are these cardiovascular diagnosis cases free?

Yes. Every cardiovascular case on Saturn Dx is free to play, and there is no limit on how many you can try. There are currently 111 cardiovascular cases.

How many hints do I get in a cardiovascular case?

Each case has between four and six clues. You start with the history, and every wrong answer unlocks the next hint, such as examination findings, laboratory results or imaging.

Are the cardiovascular cases real patients?

No. They are original teaching scenarios written to match standard textbook presentations. Our team reviews each case before it goes live, and no real patient records are used.

All 111 cardiovascular cases

  1. Cardiovascular case #101 - A 28-year-old man has had central chest pain for 2 days.
  2. Cardiovascular case #102 - A 38-year-old woman has had slowly worsening breathlessness on exertion over several years.
  3. Cardiovascular case #103 - A 19-year-old male footballer fainted during a match 2 weeks ago.
  4. Cardiovascular case #121 - A 56-year-old man who smokes has had chest discomfort for 3 weeks.
  5. Cardiovascular case #122 - A 62-year-old man has had severe central chest pain for 90 minutes.
  6. Cardiovascular case #123 - A 71-year-old woman has had a racing, irregular heartbeat for 6 hours.
  7. Cardiovascular case #124 - A 68-year-old man developed sudden severe breathlessness at rest 2 hours ago.
  8. Cardiovascular case #125 - A 74-year-old man has become breathless when climbing stairs over the past year.
  9. Cardiovascular case #126 - A 45-year-old woman with a known heart valve defect has had fever on and off for 4 weeks.
  10. Cardiovascular case #127 - A 10-year-old girl has had fever and painful joints for 4 days.
  11. Cardiovascular case #128 - A 55-year-old woman with known breast cancer has become increasingly breathless over 2 days.
  12. Cardiovascular case #129 - A 58-year-old man has had sudden severe pain in the upper back for 1 hour.
  13. Cardiovascular case #130 - A 49-year-old man has had progressive ankle swelling and abdominal distension for 6 months.
  14. Cardiovascular case #191 - A 58-year-old woman has had breathlessness on exertion, tiredness and occasional palpitations for 4 months.
  15. Cardiovascular case #192 - A 45-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis has become short of breath on exertion over several months.
  16. Cardiovascular case #193 - A 38-year-old man has had increasing breathlessness and ankle swelling for 5 months. He drinks heavily.
  17. Cardiovascular case #194 - A 22-year-old male footballer developed a sore throat and aching muscles. Two weeks later he has chest pain and breathlessness.
  18. Cardiovascular case #195 - A 28-year-old woman has had mild breathlessness and occasional palpitations for 2 years. She was well as a child.
  19. Cardiovascular case #196 - A 6-week-old baby is breathing fast and tiring during feeds. Weight gain is poor.
  20. Cardiovascular case #197 - A 4-year-old boy has a blue tinge to his lips and is smaller than his classmates. He tires easily.
  21. Cardiovascular case #198 - A 3-year-old girl has been breathless on playing and has not grown as well as her siblings.
  22. Cardiovascular case #199 - A 24-year-old man has frequent headaches and cramping pain in the legs when he runs.
  23. Cardiovascular case #200 - A 26-year-old woman has sudden episodes of a very fast, forceful, regular heartbeat that start and stop abruptly. She is otherwise well.
  24. Cardiovascular case #201 - A 19-year-old man has had several episodes of sudden rapid palpitations since childhood. Each one ended abruptly.
  25. Cardiovascular case #202 - A 77-year-old woman has had dizzy spells for 6 months and fainted once while sitting. She also has episodes of rapid palpitations.
  26. Cardiovascular case #276 - A 63-year-old man with diabetes has had chest tightness at rest for 2 days, each episode lasting about 20 minutes. Two weeks ago it came on…
  27. Cardiovascular case #277 - A 71-year-old man who had a heart attack 5 years ago has had increasing breathlessness over 6 months. He sleeps on three pillows and wakes…
  28. Cardiovascular case #278 - A 66-year-old smoker with diabetes has had pain in the right calf whenever he walks about 150 metres. It goes within 3 minutes of standing…
  29. Cardiovascular case #279 - A 72-year-old man who has smoked for 50 years has had vague central abdominal and back discomfort for 3 weeks.
  30. Cardiovascular case #280 - A 22-year-old woman has had episodes in which her fingers turn white, then blue, then red when she goes out in cold weather, for 3 years.
  31. Cardiovascular case #281 - A 52-year-old man is found to have high blood pressure at a routine check. He feels well and has no headache. His mother had a stroke at…
  32. Cardiovascular case #282 - A 68-year-old man with COPD has had 2 days of palpitations and mild breathlessness. His heart rate has been steady at about 150 beats/min.
  33. Cardiovascular case #283 - A 74-year-old woman has had three episodes of sudden collapse without warning in the last month. She went pale and still for a few seconds…
  34. Cardiovascular case #284 - A 58-year-old man had a large anterior myocardial infarction treated with a stent 5 weeks ago. He now has fever, sharp chest pain worse on…
  35. Cardiovascular case #285 - A 66-year-old man has had severe central chest pain for 5 hours. He now feels faint, cold and confused.
  36. Cardiovascular case #286 - A 59-year-old man who had a heart attack 3 years ago has had palpitations for 20 minutes and feels dizzy and short of breath.
  37. Cardiovascular case #287 - A 24-year-old woman has fainted twice. The first time was when an alarm clock rang suddenly, and the second while swimming. Her brother…
  38. Cardiovascular case #288 - A 70-year-old woman had a large inferior myocardial infarction 4 days ago and was recovering. Overnight she became acutely breathless and…
  39. Cardiovascular case #289 - A 68-year-old man had an anterior myocardial infarction 3 days ago. This morning he suddenly deteriorated with breathlessness and faintness.
  40. Cardiovascular case #290 - A 64-year-old woman developed crushing chest pain and breathlessness the day after her husband died suddenly.
  41. Cardiovascular case #291 - A 45-year-old woman has had 4 months of fever, weight loss, fatigue and aching joints, with episodes of breathlessness and near-fainting…
  42. Cardiovascular case #292 - A 63-year-old woman with long-standing severe lung disease now has abdominal swelling, ankle oedema and discomfort over the right upper…
  43. Cardiovascular case #293 - A 19-year-old man has a murmur found at a sports medical. He feels well but is slightly short of breath at high exertion.
  44. Cardiovascular case #294 - A 20-year-old student has always been unusually tall and thin. His father died suddenly at 38 from a ruptured aorta, and he had a collapsed…
  45. Cardiovascular case #295 - A 28-year-old man who smokes 30 cigarettes a day has had cramping pain in both feet on walking and painful fingertips in cold weather for 6…
  46. Cardiovascular case #296 - A 26-year-old woman was told as a child that she had a heart murmur and never had follow-up. Over the past years she has become…
  47. Cardiovascular case #297 - A 30-year-old man from a rural tropical area has had 8 months of breathlessness, abdominal swelling and ankle oedema without chest pain.
  48. Cardiovascular case #298 - A 38-year-old woman with long-standing rheumatic mitral valve disease has developed abdominal discomfort, ankle swelling and fatigue but is…
  49. Cardiovascular case #299 - A 38-year-old man has had severe headaches for 2 weeks with blurred vision. This morning he vomited and felt confused. He has never taken…
  50. Cardiovascular case #300 - A 62-year-old man had a large anterior myocardial infarction 8 months ago. Since then he has had progressive breathlessness, episodes of…
  51. Cardiovascular case #449 - A 58-year-old man with 2 years of chest tightness on hill-walking now gets it climbing a single flight of stairs, and last night it woke…
  52. Cardiovascular case #450 - A 74-year-old woman with palpitations on and off for years develops sudden severe pain in her left leg 2 hours ago, then numbness.
  53. Cardiovascular case #451 - A 27-year-old woman has had occasional sharp left chest pains at rest and intermittent palpitations for several years. Exercise tolerance…
  54. Cardiovascular case #452 - A 46-year-old man has had increasing breathlessness and ankle swelling for 4 months. He drinks around a bottle of spirits most days.
  55. Cardiovascular case #453 - A 61-year-old woman with breast cancer reports a sense of retrosternal pressure and growing tiredness over 3 weeks.
  56. Cardiovascular case #454 - A 34-year-old woman, 6 weeks after delivering her fourth child, has progressive breathlessness on lying flat and swollen ankles. She was…
  57. Cardiovascular case #455 - A 3-year-old boy of East Asian descent has had a high fever for 6 days that has not responded to paracetamol.
  58. Cardiovascular case #456 - A 74-year-old man has had three episodes of sudden dizziness and near-fainting in the past month, each lasting a few seconds.
  59. Cardiovascular case #457 - A 67-year-old woman on treatment for atrial fibrillation had a vomiting illness for 2 days and now has repeated brief blackouts.
  60. Cardiovascular case #458 - A 44-year-old woman, a smoker, wakes at around 4 am several mornings a week with severe central chest tightness lasting 10 minutes. She has…
  61. Cardiovascular case #459 - A 32-year-old man from a high-prevalence area has had weight loss, night sweats and a low-grade fever for 2 months, with dull central chest…
  62. Cardiovascular case #460 - A 27-year-old woman has had fever, weight loss and joint aches for 3 months, and now notices her left arm tires quickly when she uses it.
  63. Cardiovascular case #461 - A 78-year-old man has had three falls with brief loss of consciousness, each time while shaving or turning his head, with no warning.
  64. Cardiovascular case #462 - A 63-year-old heavy smoker with intermittent leg claudication reports dizziness and a feeling of near-collapse whenever he uses his left…
  65. Cardiovascular case #463 - A 66-year-old man with long-standing smoking has noticed painful, bluish discolouration of two fingers on his right hand that appeared over…
  66. Cardiovascular case #464 - A 52-year-old woman has had typical chest tightness on climbing stairs for a year. It eases within minutes of stopping.
  67. Cardiovascular case #465 - A 23-year-old man with a past history of sudden-onset episodes of regular palpitations suddenly collapses during an episode of very rapid…
  68. Cardiovascular case #466 - A 36-year-old man collapsed suddenly while asleep and was resuscitated by his wife. He has no previous cardiac history; his brother died…
  69. Cardiovascular case #467 - A 77-year-old diabetic man with a long smoking history has severe burning pain in his right foot each night. It wakes him and eases only…
  70. Cardiovascular case #468 - A 69-year-old hypertensive smoker has had a hoarse voice for 6 weeks and mild noisy breathing at night.
  71. Cardiovascular case #469 - An 11-year-old girl is brought by her mother because for 3 weeks she has been dropping things, grimacing and has become clumsy at writing.
  72. Cardiovascular case #470 - A 44-year-old man is referred after a murmur was found at a routine insurance medical. He is asymptomatic and plays squash twice a week.
  73. Cardiovascular case #471 - A 28-year-old man has had palpitations on exertion and one episode of fainting while playing football. His uncle died suddenly at 35.
  74. Cardiovascular case #472 - A 19-year-old woman has been breathless on exertion and has had palpitations for the past year. She was found to have a murmur as a child.
  75. Cardiovascular case #473 - A 41-year-old man, 5 months after a heart transplant for dilated cardiomyopathy, feels tired and breathless and has noticed palpitations.
  76. Cardiovascular case #474 - A 57-year-old man has had blood pressure of about 170/100 mmHg for 2 years despite taking three antihypertensive drugs, including a…
  77. Cardiovascular case #475 - A 72-year-old man with known coronary disease develops palpitations on the second day after major abdominal surgery. He is breathless and…
  78. Cardiovascular case #476 - A 63-year-old man who was treated for a genital ulcer decades ago has had a dull chest ache and a persistent cough for months.
  79. Cardiovascular case #477 - A 45-year-old man from a region where hepatitis B is endemic has had fever, muscle and joint pains and weight loss for 3 months.
  80. Cardiovascular case #478 - A 26-year-old woman has had episodes of rapid regular palpitations since adolescence and has tired easily since childhood.
  81. Cardiovascular case #479 - A 78-year-old woman is admitted with bleeding from a gastric ulcer. On day 2 she has central chest tightness while her haemoglobin is…
  82. Cardiovascular case #480 - A 52-year-old man, 6 years after a heart transplant for dilated cardiomyopathy, has gradually worsening breathlessness and ankle swelling.
  83. Cardiovascular case #481 - A 82-year-old woman with heart failure and paroxysmal atrial fibrillation has had nausea, poor appetite and visual disturbance for a week…
  84. Cardiovascular case #482 - A 68-year-old man has had worsening breathlessness and leg swelling over a year, with tingling in both hands. His exercise tolerance is…
  85. Cardiovascular case #483 - A 73-year-old man with a previous anterior myocardial infarction has exertional breathlessness and tiredness, but no chest pain or syncope.
  86. Cardiovascular case #484 - A 37-year-old woman, 34 weeks pregnant with her third child, has sudden severe central chest pain radiating to the jaw. She is a non-smoker…
  87. Cardiovascular case #780 - A 2-day-old term boy was born after an uneventful pregnancy. By the second day his lips and tongue have become blue and he feeds poorly.
  88. Cardiovascular case #781 - A 24-year-old woman has had several episodes of rapid regular palpitations lasting minutes to hours. They start and stop abruptly, and she…
  89. Cardiovascular case #782 - A 66-year-old woman has had a painless, weeping sore above her right ankle for 4 months. She had a deep vein thrombosis in that leg many…
  90. Cardiovascular case #783 - A 28-year-old man with hay fever eats a satay dish at a restaurant. Within minutes his lips tingle, he feels his throat tightening and he…
  91. Cardiovascular case #784 - A 30-year-old man was found on a floor after a night of heavy drinking, lying on his left arm for several hours. He now has severe pain in…
  92. Cardiovascular case #785 - A 32-year-old man develops crushing central chest pain and sweating about an hour after smoking crack cocaine at a party. He has no…
  93. Cardiovascular case #786 - A 40-year-old climber spent a night in a bivouac at high altitude in very low temperatures, wearing damp gloves after drinking alcohol. His…
  94. Cardiovascular case #787 - A 52-year-old woman completed chemotherapy for breast cancer 8 months ago. She is now increasingly breathless on exertion and tired, and…
  95. Cardiovascular case #788 - A 75-year-old woman living alone is found on her kitchen floor in January with the heating off. She is drowsy and cold to touch, and the…
  96. Cardiovascular case #789 - A 38-year-old teacher was told her blood pressure was high at three clinic visits. She feels well, has no family history of hypertension…
  97. Cardiovascular case #790 - A 66-year-old hypertensive man has had a sudden onset of severe pain between the shoulder blades for 3 hours. He has no previous chest…
  98. Cardiovascular case #791 - A 58-year-old man had a mechanical aortic valve replaced 5 weeks ago. He now has fever and night sweats and feels increasingly weak.
  99. Cardiovascular case #792 - A 29-year-old woman with a photosensitive facial rash and joint pains has no fever or chills. A murmur was noted at a recent clinic visit.
  100. Cardiovascular case #793 - A 74-year-old woman has had 3 weeks of a new severe headache over her right temple, tiredness and a low-grade fever. Her jaw aches when she…
  101. Cardiovascular case #794 - A 31-year-old man from Turkey has had recurrent painful mouth ulcers lasting 2-3 weeks for 3 years. He now has a painful red eye and a…
  102. Cardiovascular case #795 - A 34-year-old hiker returned from a forest area 3 weeks ago, where he noticed a tick on his leg and a spreading red patch that faded. He…
  103. Cardiovascular case #796 - A 28-year-old woman with Sjögren syndrome has a routine antenatal scan at 24 weeks showing a fetal heart rate of 55/min. The fetus is…
  104. Cardiovascular case #797 - A 19-year-old man has had progressive clumsiness and an unsteady gait for 4 years. More recently he has noticed exertional breathlessness…
  105. Cardiovascular case #798 - A 52-year-old man who grew up in a rural area of Brazil in a mud-walled house has had 6 months of breathlessness and episodes of fainting…
  106. Cardiovascular case #799 - A 28-year-old man had an operation in infancy for a blue-baby condition and has been well for years. Over the past 6 months he has become…
  107. Cardiovascular case #800 - A 6-year-old boy has had a systolic murmur since infancy and an episode of dizziness on exertion. He was a feeding problem as a baby and…
  108. Cardiovascular case #801 - A 19-year-old man developed chest pain, fever and tiredness 3 days after receiving his second dose of a messenger RNA vaccine. He is an…
  109. Cardiovascular case #802 - A 38-year-old man from Nigeria has had 4 months of fatigue, cough and increasing exertional breathlessness. He has also had an itchy rash.
  110. Cardiovascular case #803 - A 3-week-old girl is increasingly blue and feeds poorly. Her pregnancy was uneventful and she was healthy at birth.
  111. Cardiovascular case #804 - A 26-year-old woman had an operation as a baby for a narrowing of the aorta. She is well but had borderline blood pressure at a recent…

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