alterations- heart Flashcards
what are under the umbrella of atherosclerosis?
peripheral artery disease
coronary artery disease
cerebral artery disease
what are coronary arteries?
arteries on the heart that travel along the epicardial surface (outside layer) and then branch into the myocardium (heart muscle) and then to the endocardium
what is angina?
“chest pain” - is a symptom and diagnosis
- due to ischemia of myocardial cells
- cells temporarily deprived of adequate blood supply
- is due to anything that causes imbalance between myocardial O2 supply and demand
what can cause angina?
1) obstruction:
- vessel spasm
- atherosclerosis (stable plaques)
- atherosclerosis (unstable complicated plaques)
2) other:
- hypotension
- anemia (not enough O2 to the heart
- hypoxemia
- increased demand for O2
manifestations of angina?
Chest pain:
- tends to be SUBSTERNAL (below sternum, center of chest)
- pressure, tightness, squeezing, ache
- “elephant on my chest”
- may radiate to neck, arm, jaw
how is angina pain differ from chest pain from pulmonary origin?
-pulmonary pain tends to be sharper, stabbing, changes with breathing
what are some associated manifestations of angina?
- diaphoresis
- dyspnea
- pallor
- nausea
- vomiting
How does angina differ in women and elderly?
- women have smaller coronary arteries, dont feel it as much, tend not to feel it substernal, overwhelming manifestation is fatigue
What are the three types of angina?
- categories are according to what impairs the blood flow to heart muscle
1) Variant Angina (Prinzmetal’s Angina) -Vessel spasm
2) stable angina (atherosclerosis- stable plaques)
3) unstable angina (atherosclerosis-unstable complicated plaques)
what is variant (prinzmetal) angina?
- vasospasm
- no evidence of coronary artery disease
- due to spasm of coronary artery-cuts off blood flow
- pain is cyclical, often at night (follows sleep-wake pattern)
Tx for varient (prinzmetal) angina?
-treated with calicum channel blocker medications (helps with arteries relax and open up)- will put in angiogram to diagnose (dye in arteries)
what is stable angina?
- narrowing of the vessel lumen because of atherosclerosis = cornonary artery disease
- events that increase myocardial O2 demand can trigger chest pain
- vessels cannot dilate to increase oxygen delivery during exercise or stress (increase myocardial demand)
- pain predictable, relived by rest or nitroglycerin
how can a person manage stable angina?
- reduce risk factors
- nitroglycerin
- may require interventions to open up or bypass obstruction
what falls into the category of unstable angina?
Acute Coronary Syndrome
what is unstable angina?
- also caused by atherosclerosis, but this happens when plaque are unstable (complicated), and tend to crack, bleed, and cause a clot (coronary artery disease)
- there is no warning when clot will crack, can happen at anytime, not related to excercise
- plaque is unstable/ complicated and prone to rupture
what is myocardial infraction?
- a heart attack (death of cardiac muscle cells)
- similar etiology to unstable angina, only difference is time span- takes longer
- plaque is unstable / complicated and prone to rupture, thrombus impedes blood flow
what does prolonged (20 to 30 min) ischemia do to the heart? (irreversible hypoxia)
- cellular death
- scar formation
- surrounding area also affected
what are some manifestations of MI?
- prolonged angina (20-30min) = start getting dead cells
-nausea
-diaphoresis
-pallor
cool, clammy
-tachycardia
-dyspnea
-apprehesnion, feeling of doom (death)
-some have no pain (silent MI)
-in women and elderly: symptoms are more mild
what are diagnostic tools for MI?
-physical assessment
-Electrocardiogram (ECG) changes
if ST is elevated = STEMI
if ST is not elevated= NSTEMI
-Caridac biomarkers (troponin, creatine kinase)- these substances leak into circulations when cell death occurs, when these marksers are elevated, works as an indicator)
what does the ST segment on the electrocardiogram help indicate?
helps to tell how mich the myocardial wall is dead
what are the risk factors for an MI?
diabetes, smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia