6. Ischemic Heart Disease Flashcards
what is the leading cause of death in industrialised nations?
atheroesclerosis
what is the most common manifestation of ischemic heart disease?
Angina pectoris
What does angina pectoris mean?
Strangling of the chest
what does angina mean?
uncomfortable sensation in the chest and neighbouring structures due to an imbalance between oxygen supply and demand.
Define ischemic Heart Disease
imbalance between myocardial oxygen supply and demand. Results in myocardial hypoxia and accumulation of waste metabolites most commonly caused by CAD.
Define stable angina
Chronic pattern of stable angina pectoris precipitated by physical activity or emotional upset, relieved by rest within a few minutes. Permanent myocardial damage does not result.
Define variant angina
anginal discomfort usually at REST. develops because of artery spasm rather than increase of oxygen demand. Also termed Prinzmetal angina.
Define silent ischemia
Asymptomatic episodes of myocardial ischemia. can be detected by EKG or other lab studies
Define unstable angina
Pattern of increased frequency and duration of angina episodes produced by less exertion or at rest; high frequency of myocardial infarction if untreated.
Myocardial Infarction
Region of myocardial necrosis caused by prolonged cessation of blood supply.
What are the Determinants of Myocardial oxygen Supply?
- oxygen content of the blood
- coronary blood flow
- Coronary perfusion pressure
- Coronary vascular resistance
- external compression
- Instrinsic regulation
- local metabolites
- endothelial factors
- neural inervation
What determines oxygen content?
- hemoglobin concentration
2. degree of systemic oxygenation
Coronary blood flow formula
Q: coronary blood flow
P: vessel perfusion pressure
R: coronary vascular resistance
Q= directly proportional to P/R
The predominance of coronary perfusion takes place during:
Diastole
How can you approximate the coronaries perfusion pressure?
by the aortic diastolic pressure
what type of conditions can decrease coronary artery perfusion pressure?
Conditions that decrease aortic diastolic pressure e.g. hypotension or aortic valve regurgitation.
What modulates coronary vascular resistance?
- forces that externally compress the coronary arteries
2. factors that alter intrinsic coronary tone
What region is the most vulnerable to ischemic damage?
subendocardium, adjacent to the high intraventricular pressure.
how does external compression define coronary vascular resistance?
Compression during sistole augments the CVR especially in the subendocardium.
Can the heart increase oxygen extraction on demand?
NO, it can only augment the blood flow because on its basal state it already removes as much oxygen as posible.
What factors participate in the regulation of coronary vascular resistance?
- external compression
2. Factors that alter intrinsic coronary tone
What is the prime metabolic mediator of the vascular tone?
Adenosine
What are the factors that alter intrinsic coronary tone?
- metabolic factors
- endothelial factors
- neural innervation
What is inhibited in states of of hypoxemia?
- aerobic metabolism
2. oxidative phosphorilation in mitochondria
what comes as a consequence of the inhibition of aerobic metabolism and oxidative phosphorilation?
ATP cannot be formes therefore ADP and AMP accumulates in tissues. These are degraded into Adenosine.
What is Adenosine?
Adenosine is a potent vasodilator, it is though to be the prime metabolic mediator of vascular tone.
Mecanism by which Adenosine causes vasodilation
Adenosine decreases calcium entry into cells
Name all metabolites that act locally as vasodilators:
- Adenosine
- Lactate
- Acetate
- Hydrogen Ions
5 CO2
Name endothelial-dependent vasodilators:
- Nitric Oxide (NO)
- Serotonin
- Histamine
- thrombin
- shear stress
What is another name for nitric oxide?
Endothelium derived relaxing factor (EDRF)
What is the effect of acetilcholine (Ach) in vessels?
- Vasocontriction in normal vessels
2. Vasodilation in vessels with intact endothelium surrounded by Smooth muscle.
What is the mecanism of action of the endothelium dependent vasodilators?
Their binding to endothelial cells catalyses the formation of NO form L-arginine. NO then diffuses to the vascular smooth muscle where it activates guanyl ciclase (G-cyclase) which forms cyclic guanine monophosphate (c-GMP) which results in smooth muscle relaxation due to reduction of cytosolic Ca+.
What agents can cause smooth muscle relaxation independent of the endothelium?
- sodium nitroprusside
3. nitroglycerin
mechanism of action of sodium nitroprusside and nitroglycerin:
provide exogenous NO production and activating G-cyclase and forming cGMP without endothelial participation.
When does IV infusion of Ach cause paradoxical vasoconstriction?
conditions of endothelial disfunction such as:
1. Atheroesclerosis.
or persons with certain cardiac risk factors:
1. elevated LDL
2. Hypertension
3. Smokers
what may be an early detector of later development of atheroesclerotic lesions?
Impaired release of NO.
Vasodilators produced by the endothelium:
- Nitric Oxide
- Prostacyclin
- Endothelium derived Hyperpolarizing Factor (EDHF)
Example of endothelium derived vasoconstrictor
Endothelin 1
What augments NO release from the endothelium?
- Ach
- thrombin
- products of aggregating platelets (serotonin and ADP)
- shear stress of blood flow
what is prostacyclin?
- Arachidonic acid metabolite
- vasodilator
- uses cAMP dependent mechanism
What is EDHF?
- vasodilator
- difusible to smooth muscle
- hyperpolarizes smooth muscle
- appears more important in small arterioles
What is Endothelin 1?
potent vasoconstrictor
At normal circumstances what type of neural innervation is more prominent?
Sympathetic
stimulation of alfa adrenergic:
vasoconstriction
Stimulation of B adrenergic:
Vasodilation
What happens with catecolamine stimulation of the heart?
- initial vasoconstriction due to alfa adrenergic-r stimulation
2 vasodilation due to B adrenergic stimulation and accumulation of metabolites.
What are the three major determinants of myocardial oxygen demand?
- ventricular wall stress
- heart rate
- contractility
What are the syndromes of ischemic heart disease?
- ischemic heart disease
- angina pectoris
- stable angina
- variant angina
- silent ischemia
- unstable angina
- myocardial infarction
- X syndrome
what is the formula for wall stress?
wall stress= (PxR)/ 2h
P:IV pressure
R: Radius of the ventricle
H: Ventricular wall thickness
What increases wall stress?
- aortic stenosis
- hypertension
- mitral or aortic regurgitation
What decreases wall stress?
- Antihypertensive therapy
- nitrate therapy
3 hypertrophied heart
how does nitrate therapy reduce wall stress?
By reducing LV filling and size
What increases the heart rate?
- physical exertion
What decreases the heart rate?
B blockers
What increases the contractility?
Cathecolamines
What decreases the contractility?
B blockers
What is the lowest pressure value of aortic percussion pressure that guarantees a constant rate of coronary flow?
60mmHg
recent study found that myocardial ischemia results from:
- fixed vessel narrowing
2. abnormal vascular tone
the hemodynamic significance of a stenotic lesion depends on:
- its length
2. the degree of vessel narrowing
the coronary arteries consist of:
- epicardial segments
2. arterioles
where can we usually find flow limiting plaques?
proximal vessels
On what depends the hemodynamic significance of a coronary artery narrowing?
- degree of stenosis
2. amount of compensatory vasodilation of distant resistance vessels
if stenosis narrows the lumen diameter
maximum blood flow is not altered
If stenosis narrows the lumen diameter >70%:
- resting blood flow is normal
2. maximum blood flow is reduced
If stenosis narrows the lumen >90%:
blood flow is inadequate to meet basal requirements
How can abnormal endothelial cell function contribute to the pathophysiology of ischemia?
- inappropriate vasoconstriction of the coronary arteries
2. through loss of normal antithrombotic properties
in normal persons, physical activity or mental stress cause:
vasodilation
what factors released form endothelial cells exert antithrombotic properties?
- NO
2. Prostacyclin
What are other causes of Myocardial isquemia apart from Endothelial disfunction and vessel narrowing?
- decreased perfusion due to hypotension
- severely decreased blood oxygen content (anemia/impaired oxygenation)
- profound increase in oxygen demand (tachycardia/aortic stenosis)
What pain receptors are activated by the metabolic products of the heart during ischemia?
C7 to T4
Which metabolic products are thought to activate pain receptors?
- lactate
- serotonin
- adenosine
what symptom can be found when there is elevation of the LV diastolic pressure due to ischemia?
Dyspnea
Arrhythmias during ischemias can be seen due to:
- accumulation of local metabolites
2. transient abnormalities of myocyte ion transport
The ultimate fate of the myocardium subjected to ischemia depends on:
- the duration of ischemia
2. severity of imbalance between oxygen supply and demand.
What is a stunned myocardium?
myocardial tissue that after suffering severe, acute, transient schema presents prolonged systolic function even after the return of normal blood flow.
The abnormalities following the ischemia are reversible and contractility gradually recovers.
Mecanism responsible for stunned myocardium
- myocite calcium overload
2. accumulation of oxygen-derived free radicals.
What is hibernating myocardium?
Tissue that manifests chronic ventricular contractile disfunction due to persistent reduced blood supply. Ventricular function can promptly improve with restored blood supply.
Stable angina is generally caused by:
a fixed obstructive atheromatous plaque
what is the pattern of symptoms of a stable angina?
- increased heart rate
- increased blood pressure
- increased contractility
what can worsen ischemia during an angina?
paradoxical vasconstriction
what is a fixed threshold angina?
an angina in which alterations in tone play a minimal role in the ischemia. The level of physical activity required to precipitate the angina is fairly constant.
What is a variable threshold angina?
vasoconstriction or vasospasm plays a mayor role. The same degree of physical exertion sometimes produces symptoms and sometimes doesn’t.
symptoms of unstable angina:
a patient with a history of chronic stable angina may experience a sudden increase in tempo and duration of ischemic episodes occurring with lesser degrees of exertion even at rest.
What are the acute coronary syndromes?
- unstable angina
2. acute MI
what is the mecanism of an acute coronary syndrome?
rupture of an unstable plaque and subsequent platelet aggregation and thrombosis.