5. Atherosclerosis Flashcards
Thrombosis
• > Is a solidification of blood contents that forms within the vascular system.
due to haemodynamic disturbances
What is virchow’s triad
3 factors for thrombosis – need 1 or 2 for thrombosis
3 factors in virchow’s triad
• changes in the intimal surface (tunica intima in contact with lumen and blood) of the vessel
○ Injury to endothelium cells exposing sub endothelial surface (tunica intima in contact with lumen and blood)
• changes in the pattern of blood flow
○ Normal, sluggish, turbulent
• changes in the blood constituents
○ e.g. coagulation factors.
5 injury events
○ Exposing VWD- von willebrand factor
○ Small mass of platlet of accumulation
○ Platlet mass is washed away by blood flow when normal
○ Tubulent blood flow or slugish blood flow – growth of small mass to larger mass
○ Mass can partially occlude lumen
3 factors leading to endothelieum injury
- Hypertension
- Smoking
- Atherosclerosis – atherosclerosis plaque in intima
3 factors in thrombus formation
- Endothelial injury
- Abnormal blood flow
- Hypercoagulability
Arterial thrombosis
– endothelial injury, abnormal blood flow
* Atherosclerotic plaque * Lines of Zahn white layer (platlet) red layer (RBC)
Venous thrombosis
– hypercoagulability, stasis
* Underlying cause due to immobility, muscle contraction * Hypercoagulability, stasis, sluggish blood flow * Gelatinous red mass due to less platlets
Arterial thrombus formation
- Atheroma, with turbulence lipid filled cells
- Ulceration , loss of endothelial cells and exposure of collagen
- Platlet adherence , and activation
- Thrombosis, thrombus formed of alternating layers of platlets, fibrin and red cells
appearance of arterial thrombi
- Pale – due to platlets
- Lines of Zahn
- Lower cell content than venous (venous has high rbc due to stasis)
Appearance of thrombi
- Soft
- Red
- Gelatinous
- Higher cell content
Outcome of thrombosis
5 outcomes
• Depends of size and site
- Lysis
- Propagation
- Organisation
- Recanalization
- Embolization
Lysis
- Eat the small thrombus
- When the thrombus is relatively small
- • Dependent upon fibrinolytic activity (e.g. plasmin).
Propagation
• Progressive spread of thrombosis
Organisation
Ingrowth of fibroblasts and capillaries (similar to granulation tissue)
• lumen remains obstructed – blood cannot pass
Recanalization / canalization
–> restore blood flow, even partially with small blood vessels, angiogenesis
Occurs by the ingrowth of new vessels
• The new vessels join up to restore blood flow, at least partially.
Embolization
Caused by fragmentation of the thrombus
• Results in infarction at a distant site
Large thrombus passes through valve of vein
Causing fragmentation
Mass is released and travels within the vein
Thrombus - definition
Blood clot that forms in a vessel
Embolism - definition
Clot that travels from site where it was formed
Thrombo - emboli
4 examples
- From atheromatous carotid arteries pass to the brain to cause stroke.
- From atheromatous abdominal aorta pass to arteries of the legs
• from systemic veins: pass to the lungs to form
Pulmonary emboli
• from the heart pass via the aorta to renal, mesenteric , and other curteries
Effects of arterial thrombosis
- Ischaemia
- Infarction
- Depends on site and collateral circulation
Effects of thrombosis on the heart
- artheromatous plaque with thrombos Atrial thrombus Valve vegetation Thrombus – old myocardial infarction Thrombus- recent myocardial infarct
4 general effects of thrombosis - arterial
Cerebral infarct
Renal infarct
Ischaemic bowel
Ischaemic foot gangrene - dry
Effects of venous thrombosis
–> stasis, blood is accumulated due to obstruction
- Congestion = causing accumulation of blood
- Oedema
- Skin ulceration
What is an embolus
—> An embolus is a mass of material in the vascular system able to become lodged within a vessel and block its lumen. - obstruction
- Most emboli originate from thrombi Embolism
- The most common type is pulmonary embolism from lower limb deep vein thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis - predisposing factors
---> anything increasing coagulation factors in the blood – contributing to stasis and sluggish blood flow • Immobility/bed rest • Post-operative • Pregnancy and postpartum • Oral contraceptives • Severe burns • Cardiac failure • Cancer
Deep vein thrombosis
- Swelling
- Redness
- Damage small vessel in lung
Can cause Effect of pulmonary embolism
• Depends on the size of the mass
Pulmonary embolism (pe)
Embolus derived from a lower-extremity deep venous thrombus lodged in a pulmonary artery branch.
- embolus from deep vein thrombosis travels in circulation to pulmonary arteries
• Disruption can affect bifurcation
Massive PE
> 60% reduction in blood flow: rapidly fatal
Major pe
medium sized vessels blocked. Patients feel chest pain with shortness of breath +/-cough and blood- stained sputum.
• Corpalmanal, can lead to right side heart failure
Minor pe
-small peripheral pulmonary arteries blocked. Asymptomatic or minimal shortness of breath
• Recurrent minor PEs lead to pulmonary hypertension – that can also lead to right sided heart failure
Pulmonary embolism
Symptoms
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Haemostasis
Saddle embolism
- Embolus disrupts bifurcation of main artery in pulmonary circulation
- Critical condition
5 Other types of embolism
- Paradoxical emboli
- Emboli from atheroma
- Fat and bone marrow emboli
- Amniotic fluid
- Gas embolism
7 types of embolism
- Paradoxical emboli
- Emboli from atheroma
- Fat and bone marrow emboli
- Amniotic fluid
- Gas embolism
- pulmonary embolism
- saddle embolism
Paradoxiacal emboli
• Originate in venous system but damage occurs in arterial system
• Because
○ Embolus is very small so it passess through and is pumped to other organs
○ Embolus is large but is in the right atrium, due to defect it can pass to left atrium (due to atrial septal defect) so mass moves from right atrium to left atrium down pressure gradient through spetum defect
Atheroma
- Vulnerable plaque, large lipid core, thin fibrous cap
* Atheroma fragments and ends up in the lumen act as a source of occlusion
Fat and bone marrow emboli
- Fat droplet
- See bone marrow componets too
- Boen marrow and fat components travel through blood circulation and form a mass