ACS

Question 1

What is Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)?

Answer 1

an umbrella term used to cover any group of clinical symptoms resulting from acute myocardial ischemia.

Question 2

What causes ACS?

Answer 2

rupture of atherosclerotic plaque which creates an injured area on the endothelium (inner cell layer of vessels)

Question 3

What is the most common symptom associated with cardiovascular system pathology? Others?

Answer 3

chest pain.

Others dyspnea, nocturia (wake up to pee), cough, fatigue, syncope, dependent edema, leg pain.

Question 4

How might patients qualify pain?

Answer 4

patients describe the discomfort as:

dull, aching, squeezing, pressure, heaviness, tightness, radiating, or localized

Question 5

Questions asked to differentiate the chest pain?

Answer 5

Associated symptoms.
What precipitated, aggravated and alleviated?
Time of onset, location, frequency, duration.
What was taken to treat the pain.

Question 6

True cardiac chest pain location and symtpoms?

Answer 6

Typically sternal, left of sternum, or epigastric and not well localized.

Assoc. w/: dyspnea, diaphoresis, nausea, vomiting, or palpitations.

triggered by exertion, strong emotion, or exposure to heat or cold.

May improve with rest or Nitro
if it lasts >20min, greater risk of infarction