Angina Flashcards
What is stable angina pectoris?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD9aXZY0pdY
It is a discomfort in the chest and/or adjacent areas associated with myocardial ischaemia but without myocardial necrosis
What percentage of coronary artery stenosis needs to be present for angina to occur?
>70%
What is the pathophysiology of stable angina?
A mismatch between the supply and demand of O2 and metabolites to the myocardium. This is primarily due to a reduction in coronary blood flow due to:
- Obstructive coronary atheroma (very common)
- Coronary artery Spasm (uncommon)
- Coronary inflammation/arteritis (very rare)
It can also be due to anaemia of any cause and increased myocardial O2 demand:
- LVH
- Thyrotoxicosis
On activity, increased oxygen demand by the myocardium leads to myocardial ischaemia, and subsequently the symptoms of angina.
What are non-modifiable risk factors for the development of angina?
- Age
- Sex - male
- Family history
- Ethnicity/Race
- Genetics
What are modifiable risk factors of angina?
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
- Hypertension
- Dyslipidaemia
- Diabetes mellitus
- High calorie intake
- Psychological stress
What is the difference between stable and unstable angina?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD9aXZY0pdY
Stable angina causes pain during exercise and stress, whereas unstable angina causes this as well as pain at rest (doesn’t go away).
Unstable angina is classed as one of the acute coronary syndromes
What are the symptoms experienced in someone with stable angina?
Symptoms present on exertion and relieved by rest
- Chest pain
- Dyspnoea
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Faintness
What are characteristic features of chest pain experienced in those with stable angina?
- Retrosternal pain - tight band across the chest/pressure
- Radiates to the neck +/- jaw +/- arms
- Worse on exertion or stress
- Rapidly improved with GTN spray
When someone presents with chest pain, what would you want to distinguish?
Typicality of the chest pain
- Anginal - Typical, atypical
- Non-anginal - Gastro, Respiratory, MSK, Pschological
- ACS?
What systems would you consider as part of a differential diagnosis for chest pain?
- Cardiovascular
- Respiratory
- GI
- MSK
- Psychiatric
What are cardiac causes of chest pain?
- ACS
- Aortic dissection
- Pericarditis
- Stable angina
- Endocarditis
- Cardiac tamponade
What are respiratory causes of chest pain?
- PE
- Pneumothorax
- Pneumonia
- Lung Cancer
- Bronchiectasis
- Pleural disease - pleurisy
- Pulmonary hypertension
What are GI causes of chest pain?
- Oesophageal spasm/rupture
- GORD
- Peptic ulceration
- Acute pancreatitis
- Cholecystitis
- Biliary colic
What MSK problems could present with chest pain?
- Rib fracture
- Costochondritis
- Muscle spasm/strain
What psychiatric problems can present with chest pain?
- Anxiety
- Panic attack
What signs might you see in someone with angina?
Evidence of risk factors
- Tar staining
- Obesity
- Xanthalasma and corneal arcus
- Hypertension
- Arterial disease signs - AAA bruit, Absent peripheral pulses
- Diabetic/hypertensive retinopathy
- Pallor/anaemia
- Hyperthyroid signs - tachycardia, tremor, hyper-reflexia
- Signs of HF - basal crackles, elevated JVP, peripheral oedema
What are the following, and what are they a sign of?
Xanthalesmata - well demarcated, yellow plaques of cholesterol most often seen around the eyes. Caused by lipid abnormalities and other factors.
Seen in hyperlipidaemia, diabetes
What is the following, and what might it indicate?
Corneal arcus - may indicate the presence of hyperlipidaemia
If someone presented suffering from what seems like stable angina, what investigations would you consider as part of a full investigation for angina?
Intial
- Bloods - FBC, Lipid profile, fasting glucose, U+Es, LFTs, TFTs
- Consider CXR - other causes of Chest pain
First line diagnostic process - In NHS scotland
- Baseline function - ECG + ETT
- Myocardial perfusion scan - if unable to perform ETT
- Coronary angiography - considered after non-invasive testing where patients are identified to be at high risk or where a diagnosis remains unclear.
Others to consider - not routinely used in NHS scotland
- Stress echocardiography
- Magnetic resonance perfusion imaging (MRI)
- Multislice computed tomography (CT) scanning
Why would you do an FBC as part of your initial investigation of someone with stable angina?
Check for anaemia
Why would you do a lipid profile in someone with suspected stable angina?
Assess for hyperlipidaemia
Why would you do a fasting glucose in someone with suspected angina?
Check for diabetes - vascular risk factor
Why would you do TFTs in a person with suspected stable angina?
Look for thyrotoxicosis
Why might you do a CXR in someone with suspected stable angina?
Rule out other causes of chest pain
Why would you perform an ECG on someone with suspected stable angina?
To investigate for signs of ACS, previous MI, LVH or LBBB