A 45-year-old male, a smoker (10 pack-years), with well-controlled essential hypertension (on a single medication, BP 135/85 mmHg), is scheduled for elective appendectomy. He has no other medical history. What is his ASA physical status classification?

Explanation

ASA II describes a patient with mild systemic disease. Both smoking and well-controlled essential hypertension (without end-organ damage) are considered mild systemic diseases. The presence of one or more such conditions places the patient in ASA II. An ASA I patient would be completely healthy without any systemic disease or risk factors like smoking.