21 - Heart Failure Flashcards
What is heart failure and what are the primary manifestations?
- Progressive clinical syndrome that can result from any changes in cardiac structure or function that impair ability of ventricle to fill or eject blood
- Primary manifestations = dyspnea, fatigue, fluid retention
Cause of HF
- Abnormality in systolic function, diastolic function, or both
- Leading causes = coronary artery disease & HTN
Major cause of death in people w/ HF?
- Sudden cardiac death (ventricular arrhythmia)
- Stable px are at risk across all stages of disease
What is CO? What determines it?
- Amount of blood pumped out of left ventricle in 1 minute
- HR * SV
What affects HR?
- Autonomic innervation
- Hormones
- Fitness levels
- Age
What affects SV?
- Heart size
- Fitness levels
- Gender
- Contractility
- Duration of contraction
- Preload and afterload
What is SV? What determines it?
- Volume ejected from ventricles in each beat
- EDV - ESV
- EDV = end diastolic volume
- ESV = end systolic volume
What is preload? When is it increased?
- Volume of blood in ventricles at end of diastole (EDV)
- Increased in hypervolemia, regurgitation of cardiac valves, HF
What is afterload? When is it increased?
- Resistance left ventricle must overcome to circulate blood
- Increased in HTN & vasoconstriction
What is BP? What determines it?
- Measure of force being exerted on walls of arteries as blood is pumped out of heart
- SVR * CO
What is SVR?
- Systemic vascular resistance
- Squeeze of the blood vessels outside the heart resisting blood flow
What are the compensatory mechanisms in HF?
- Increased HR (symp activation) – one of the “first responders” to reduced CO
- Increased preload using RAAS (Na & H2O retention)
- Peripheral vasoconstriction
- Ventricular hypertrophy & remodeling (this is what really causes progression of the disease)
Describe the Frank-Starling mechanism
Force of heart contraction is directly proportional to initial length of muscle fiber (w/in physiological limits); greater the stretch of the ventricular muscle, the more powerful the contraction is
What are the neurohormonal factors involved in HF and what does each do?
- Angiotensin 2 – vasoconstriction, activates SNS, sodium retention, aldosterone release
- Norepi – tachycardia, vasoconstriction, increased contractility
- Aldosterone – RAAS sodium & water retention, contributes to ventricular remodeling
- Natriuretic peptides (atrial ANP, brain BNP) – BNP most important; both ANP & BNP increased in HF
- Arginine vasopressin (aka antidiuretic hormone ADH) – increases water retention, vasoconstriction, & contributes to ventricular remodeling
What is the difference between myocardial and non-myocardial heart disease?
- Myocardial = ischemia, inflammation, dilated cardiomyopathy, familial; can be systolic and/or diastolic
- Non-myocardial = vascular (HTN), valvular (mitral/aortic insufficiency or stenosis), electric (A. fib, heart block), pericardial (tamponade, constriction)
What are some precipitating factors that lead to acute decompensation?
- Increased circulating volume (increased preload) – high salt intake, noncompliance w/ fluid restriction or diuretics, NSAIDs, renal failure
- Conditions that increase afterload – uncontrolled HTN
- Conditions that impair contractility – MI, negative inotropic medications (diltiazem, verapamil)
- Increased metabolic demand – infection, pregnancy, anemia, hyperthyroidism, tachyarrhythmias
- Non-compliance w/ medications
- Bradyarrhythmias
Describe ejection fraction
- % of blood ejected from heart w/ each contraction
- Normal ~ 60%
- EF < 40% referred to as HR w/ reduced left ventricular function (HRrEF) – systolic dysfunction
- EF >/ 40% referred to as HR w/ preserved left ventricular function (HFpEF) – diastolic dysfunction