AMI- Presentation and Investigation Flashcards
What are the 4 most common presentation of coronary heart disease in the community?
- New exertional angina
- Acute MI
- Unstable angina
- Sudden cardiac death
Stable angina
If myocardial blood flow is reduced with increased demand then ischaemia occurs
What is the classic presentation of stable angina?
Central chest tightness often with radiation to neck and/or arms
What are aggravating factors of stable angina?
- Exertion
- Stress
What are relieving factors for stable angina?
- Stopping activity
- Rapid improvement with sublingual nitrate
What causes stable angina?
- Fatty streak becomes a non-obstructive plaque
- When it becomes an obstructive plaque >70% obstructed then stable angina occurs
What process is responsible for stable angina?
Atherosclerosis
When do acute coronary syndromes occur?
When there is spontaneous plaque rupture and local thrombosis with degrees of occlusion
What does plaque rupture lead to?
Plaque disruption leads to atherothrombosis formation
What 3 conditions make up ACS?
- Unstable angina
- NSTEMI
- STEMI
What is atherothrombosis caused by?
Unstable plaques
What type of plaques result in stable angina?
- Fibrous plaque
- Atherosclerotic plaque
Why do plaques rupture?
-Inflammation is important determinant in plaque stability, along with other mechanisms including shear stress
What is the main difference between the presentation of ACS and stable angina?
ACS symptoms will almost always give symptoms at rest in contrast to stable angina which is only on exertion
When taking a history, why is it important to establish the characteristics of the patients pain?
To differentiate from other causes of chest pain
What is the history of pain relating to ACS?
- Retrosternal pain
- Character is tight band/pressure/heaviness
- Radiates to neck and/or jaw and/or down arms
- Aggravated by exertion, emotional stress
- Relieved by, incomplete improvement with GTN or physical rest, remain ongoing
What are the non-modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease?
- Age
- Gender
- Creed
- Family history
- Genetics factors
- Previous angina, cardiac events or interventions
- Race
What are the modifiable risk factors for coronary artery disease?
- Smoking
- Diabetes mellitus
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Hypertension
- Lifestyle
Unstable angina pectoris
Angina on effort, but of progressive increasing frequency and severity often provoked by less exertion and/or then at rest
NSTEMI
Starts with myocardial ischaemia symptoms occurring at rest
Examination of unstable angina and NSTEMI.
- May look very unwell
- May look completely fine
- Often no specific features to fins
- Ensure you check HR, BP, murmurs and crackles in the chest
ECG of unstable angina and NSTEMI.
May be normal but:
- Commonly ST depression, transient ST elevation and/or T wave inversion
- More often in UAP changes resolve after pain and in NSTEMI they tend to persist
- Serial ECGs to detect delayed changes is essential
What is important to remember when making a diagnosis of UAP or NSTEMI?
- Typical symptoms are not always present in ACS cases
- Atypical ACS presentation is more often seen in women: the elderly or diabetics, influenced by reduced pain sensation
What are some atypical symptoms of UAP and NSTEMI?
- Breathlessness alone +/- signs of heart failure
- Nausea+ vomiting +/- other autonomic symptoms
- Epigastric pain +/- recent onset indigestion
What is the main biomarker used in UAP and NSTEMI?
-Cardiac troponin
Why is troponin useful to look at when making a diagnosis?
- Helpful in risk stratification
- Elevated cTn suggest high risk of adverse events
- Not all troponin elevations are ACS and caused by atherothrombosis
What is cardiac troponin?
Contractile apparatus of myocytes thin filaments
When is cardiac troponin elevated?
With compromise of myocyte integrity
What is troponin a marker of?
Cardiac myocyte damage
When does myoglobin peak after AMI?
<0.5 days
When does cardiac troponin peak after AMI?
1-2 days
When does CK-MB peak after AMI?
Around 1 day
When does cardiac troponin peak after UAP?
Around 1 day
What is the immediate treatment for UAP and NSTEMI?
- ABCDE approach
- Followed by MONAC
What is the MONAC approach?
- Morphine
- Oxygen
- Nitroglycerine
- Aspirin (300mg orally)
- Clopidegrol
What anti-platelet therapy should all ACS patients receive?
Both aspirin and a ADP receptor blocker such as clopidegrol
What anti-thrombotic therapy should ACS patients receive?
IV unfractionated heparin or low molecular weight heparin
What are the advantages of low molecular weight heparin?
- Improved clinical outcome
- Easier to administer
- Given subcutaneously
- Does not need to be monitoredd