ACS Flashcards
How CP works
Visceral pain from vessels or organs
Afferent sensations enter the spinal cord from multiple levels
Poorly localized: chest, arm, back, neck, jaw
Poorly described: ache, heavy, tight, burn, pain
Heart causes of CP
Acute coronary syndrome
Pericarditis
Lung causes of CP
Pleurisy
PE
Pneumothorax
Pneumonia
Vessel causes of CP
Aortic dissection
Aortic aneurysm
GI causes of CP
GERD
Esophageal rupture
Gallbladder
Connective tissue issues of CP
Costochondritis
Fibromyalgia
Wall structures
Skin causes of CP
Herpes zoster
Strategy for CP
Differential mainly based on hx
PE helps
Tests are to prove or reinforce findings from the hx and physical
Possible angina equivalents for CP
SOB
Weak
Poor sleep
Reduced exercise capacity
Visceral etiology of CP
Due to lack of oxygen to myocytes
When are CP sx less likely d/t ischemia?
Lasting few minutes or over 24 hrs
Pleuritic or positional pain
Acute coronary syndrome
Sudden imbalance between myocardial oxygen consumption and demand, usually due to coronary artery occlusion
Other causes of supply/demand imbalance
Vasospastic angina
Coronary embolism, arteritis
Noncoronary causes: hypotension, anemia, HTN, tachycardia, aortic stenosis, severe heart failure
When should an EKG be performed?
Within 10 minutes of pt’s arrival at an emergency facility
May show ST elevation, ST depression, T wave changes, may be nl