Cardiac Flashcards
What causes the first (S1) and second (S2) heart sound?
1st: closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves at the beginning of systole.
2nd: closure of the aortic and pulmonic valves (semilunar valves) at the beginning of diastole
An S3 heart sound is an indicator of what condition?
An S3 heart sound (gallop rhythm) during mid-diastole is most often heard in the context of CHF.
What is the postulated mechanism (s) that produces an S3 heart sound?
- S3 is thought to reflect a flaccid and inelastic condition of the heart during diastole (Stoelting)
- Guyton says: a logical but unproven explanation of this sound (S3) is oscillation of blood back and forth between the walls of the ventricles initiated by inrushing blood from the atria
*Describe the murmurs heard, and specify the stethoscope location where they are best heard, if the patient has mitral stenosis. If the patient has mitral regurgitation.
- mitral stenosis is recognized by the characteristic opening snap that occurs early in diastole and by a rumbling diastolic murmur, best heard with the chest piece placed over the cardiac apex.
- cardinal feature of mitral regurgitation is a blowing pansystolic (heard throughout systole) murmur, best heard with the chest piece placed over the cardiac apex.
*Describe the murmurs heard, and specify the stethoscope location where they are best heard, if the patient has aortic stenosis. If the patient has aortic regurgitation.
- aortic stenosis is recognized by its characteristic systolic murmur, best heard in the second right intercostal space with transmission into the neck
- aortic regurgitation is recognized by its diastolic murmur, best heard in the second right intercostal space
How is aortic valvular regurgitation graded?
severity is graded angiographically after contrast injection into the aortic root as follows:
1+= small amount of contrast material enters left ventricle during diastole, but is cleared from left ventricle during systole
2+= left ventricle is faintly opacified by contrast media during diastole and not cleared during systole
3+= left ventricle is progressively opacified
4+= left ventricle is completely opacified during the first diastole and remains so for several beats
NOTE: there are 4 grades for aortic valvular regurgitation reflecting the severity of the problem
What left heart valve problems cause diastolic murmurs?
What left heart valve problems cause systolic murmurs?
- aortic regurgitation and mitral stenosis are associated with diastolic murmurs
- aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation are associated with systolic murmurs
Which left heart valve problems can best be auscultated to the right of the sternum in the second intercostal space?
Which valve problems can best be auscultated at the cardiac apex?
- aortic stenosis or aortic regurgitation can best be auscultated in the second intercostal space
- mitral stenosis and mitral regurgitation are best auscultated at the apex of the heart
What is the problem if the newborn has a systolic and a diastolic murmur?
The patient with patent ductus arteriosus has both systolic and diastolic murmur
A patient is in CHF, and you are listening to the heart sounds. What should be heard? Where on the chest should this be heard?
An S3 gallop should be heard if the patient is in CHF. Left sided S3 is best heard with the bell piece of the stethoscope at the left ventricular apex during expiration and with the patient in the lateral position. Right sided S3 is best heard at the left sternal border or just beneath the xiphoid and is increased with inspiration.
What dysrhythmia is most commonly observed in the patient with mitral stenosis?
Atrial fibrillation
What dysrhythmia in the patient is most likely to occur with mitral valve regurgitation?
Premature ventricular beats
*With atrial flutter, atrial fibrillation, or junctional rhythms a portion of left ventricular filling is lost; what percent of left ventricular end diastolic volume is normally contributed by atrial contraction (atrial kick or atrial priming)?
passive diastolic filling usually accounts for 75% of LV filling, with atrial contraction causing an additional 25% filling of ventricles
- Stoelting states: during the latter portion of diastole, the atria contract to deliver about 30% of the blood that normally enters the ventricle during each cardiac cycle
What is the normal range for stroke volume in ml in a 70kg male? Write the formula for stroke index (SI). What is the normal range for stroke volume index?
- normal range for SV is 60-90ml
- stroke index is stroke volume (SV) divided by body surface area (BSA) in meters squared; so, SI= (SV) (BSA)
- normal range for SV index is 40-60 ml/beat/m2
Define ejection fraction, and state its normal range.
EF is the ratio of SV (end-diastolic volume minus end-systolic volume) to end-diastolic volume
- EF= SV/EDV= (EDV-ESV)/EDV
- normal range is 0.6-0.8, or 60-80%
What are the two determinants of cardiac output? If stroke volume is 70ml and HR is 70bpm what is the CO?
- SV and HR are the two determinants of CO
- CO= SV x HR
- with a stroke volume of 70ml and a HR of 70bpm, CO is 70ml/beat x 70bpm= 4900ml/min-4.9liters/min
What is the cardiac output in liters/min for a healthy 70kg person? In mL/kg/min?
CO is normally 5L/min
-CO in mL/kg/min is calculated as follows:
5L/min= 5,000ml/min= 5,000ml/70kg/min (assume 70kg person)= 71.43ml/kg/min
Remember you may be asked to convert a normal value to a per kg.
What is cardiac index? What is the normal range for cardiac index?
CI is CO divided by body surface area in meters squared. CI= CO/BSA
-normal CI ranges from 2.5-4.0 l/min/m2
Starlings law of the heart relates ventricular filling during diastole to what?
Starlings law of the heart relates ventricular filling during diastole to the amount of blood ejected during systole.
-the greater the ventricular filling during diastole (> the preload), the greater the quantity go blood pumped into the aorta during systole.
Describe the process at causes ventricular myocyte relaxation (lusitropy).
Ventricular myocyte contraction requires increased intracellular calcium.
Thus, for the ventricular myocyte to relax, intracellular calcium must be reduced back to resting levels.
-calcium is sequestered in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) through energy-dependent processes.
Name the five organs in the vessel rich group. What percent of cardiac output goes to each of these organs?
1- brain (15%) 2- kidney (20%) 3- liver (25%) 4- lungs (100%) 5- heart (4-5%, 225ml/min)
What percent of the right hearts CO traverses the pulmonary circulation? Bronchial circulation?
100% of blood pumped by the right heart traverses pulmonary circulation and 0% traverses the bronchial circulation
What percent of the left hearts output traverses the bronchial circulation? Vessels delivering blood to the bronchial circulation arise from what arteries?
1-2% of the left hearts output traverses the bronchial circulation.
The bronchial circulation arises from the thoracic aorta and intercostal arteries.
In words, describe where isovolumetric relaxation occurs on the left ventricular pressure volume loop.
Isovolumetric relaxation occurs from the closure of the aortic valve to the opening of the mitral valve on the left ventricular pressure volume loop.
In words, describe where isovolumetric contraction occurs on the left ventricular pressure volume loop.
Isovolumetric contraction occurs from closure of the mitral valve to opening of the aortic valve on the left ventricular pressure volume loop
What is the range of normal pressures in each chamber of the heart?
RA: 1-8mmHg
RV: 15-30/0-8mmHg
LA: 2-12mmHg
LV: 100-140/0-12mmHg
What is the normal range of values for pulmonary capillary wedge pressure?
normally, PCWP= 5-15mmHg
What is the normal value for mean pulmonary artery pressure? For pulmonary artery systolic and diastolic pressures?
mean pulmonary artery pressure normally is about 16mmHg; systolic/diastolic pressures average 25/8mmHg
What is the normal value for mean systemic arterial pressure?
80-120mmHg
What are the two determinants of arterial blood pressure?
2 determinants of systemic arterial BP are SVR and CO; this is called Ohm’s law.
What most determines SVR?
SVR is determined by the tone (degree of constriction) of arterioles and small arteries.
What is the normal range of values for SVR?
1200-1500 dynes-sec-cm-5 is the normal range for SVR
How do you calculate SVR?
SVR= [(MAP-CVP)/CO] x 80, where MAP is mean arterial pressure, CVP is central venous pressure, and CO is cardiac output. The units for SVR are the dynes-sec-cm-5
If MAP is 80mmHg, CO is 9 L/min, and CVP is 8mmHg, calculate SVR.
SVR= [(MAP-CVP)/CO] x 80 = [(80-8)/9] x 80= 640 dynes/sec/cm-5
In what segment of the systemic circulation is resistance greatest? The greatest decrease in BP in the arterial tree occurs where?
The resistance to blood flow is greatest in the arterioles, accounting for about half the resistance in the entire systemic circulation. The greatest decrease in BP in the arterial tree occurs in the arterioles.
What maintains systemic arterial BP during diastole?
Elastic recoil of arterial blood vessels during diastole keeps systemic arterial BP from falling precipitously during diastole.
What is pulse pressure? The patient’s arterial BP is 160/90mmHg. What is the patient’s pulse pressure?
- pulse pressure is the difference between the systolic and diastolic arterial pressures during the cardiac cycle
- the patient with a BP of 160/90 has a pulse pressure of 160-90= 70mmHg
What are two determinants of pulse pressure? What changes can increase pulse pressure? Decrease pulse pressure?
- two determinants are CO and SVR
- pulse pressure increases when either CO or SVR increases
- pulse pressure decreases when either CO or SVR decreases
Define compliance. When peripheral vessels become less compliant (as would occur in the patient with atherosclerosis), does the pulse pressure increase or decrease?
- compliance is defined as a change in volume for a given change in pressure
- when compliance of arterial vessels decreases, pulse pressure increases
Where are arterial baroreceptors located? To what do the baroreceptors respond?
- baroreceptors are located in the aortic arch and carotid sinus
- respond to stretching caused by MAP > 90mmHg
When BP increases and the baroreceptors are stimulated, what happens reflexly (baroreceptor reflex) to myocardial contractility, venous tone, HR, SVR, and BP?
- when stretched, baroreceptors fire and reflexly inhibit the sympathetic nervous system outflow resulting in a decrease in myocardial contractility, a decrease in HR, a decrease in venous tone, decrease in SVR, and a decrease in BP.
- parasympathetic outflow is simultaneously increased, which also decreases HR
Where are venous baroreceptors located, how do they work, and what is the reflex called?
- venous baroreceptors are located in the right atrium and great veins
- they produce increase in HR when the right atrium or great veins are stretched by increased vascular volume
- this is called the Bainbridge reflex
What happens to HR during inspiration and during expiration in the spontaneously breathing individual? Explain.
- HR increases with inspiration and decreases with expiration
- during inspiration, the pressure within the thorax decreases (becomes more negative) and venous return increases; the increased venous return stretches the right atrium leading to a reflex increase in HR
- the opposite occurs during expiration
- this is the Bainbridge reflex
*What nerves carry the afferent and efferent signals of the Bainbridge reflex? What does the Bainbridge reflex help prevent?
- when the great veins and RA are stretched by increased vascular volume, stretch receptors send afferent signals to the medulla via the vagus nerve
- the medulla then transmits efferent signals via the sympathetic nerves to increase HR (by as much as 75%) and myocardial contractility
- Bainbridge reflex helps prevent the pooling of blood in veins, the atria, and the pulmonary circulation
What happens to arterial BP during inspiration in the spontaneously breathing individual? Why?
- arterial BP normally decreases several mmHg during inspiration
- with inspiration, pulmonary venous capacitance increases and venous return to the left heart decreases
- according to Starling’s law, with a decrease in venous return (preload) to the left ventricle, SV, CO, and arterial BP all decrease (even though HR may increase b\c of the Bainbridge reflex)
How does a normal dorsalis pedis arterial waveform differ from the waveform found in the aorta in the supine or prone patient?
- pulse pressure undergoes a natural amplification during transit through the arterial tree
- compared with the aortic pressure waveform, systolic pressure is greater and diastolic pressure is lower in the dorsalis pedis
- pulse pressure is, therefore, greater in the dorsalis pedis than in the aorta
Angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II in what organ?
-angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II in the pulmonary vasculature of the lung
*Which is the more potent vasoconstrictor, angiotensin II or antidiuretic hormone (ADH)?
ADH–also called vasopressin–is even more powerful than angiotensin II as a vasoconstrictor
-has been a controversial topic
How do you estimate MAP?
Use the 1, 2, 3 rule.
MAP= (1 x SBP + 2 x DBP)/3
Alternatively, MAP can be calculated as follows: MAP= DBP + (1/3) (pulse pressure) = DBP + (1/3) (SBP-DBP)
If arterial BP is 150/90, what is the MAP?
MAP = [1 x 150 + (2 x 90)]/3 = [150+180]/3= 330/3 = 110mmHg
What causes a change in BP when changing the patient’s position?
-altered preload (altered venous return) is most responsible for a change in BP when the patient is repositioned
The arterial system contains what percent of the total blood volume? The capillary system contains what percent? What percent is found in the venous segment of the circulation?
- arterial blood vessels contain 13% TBV
- capillaries contain 7% TBV
- venous side contains 64% TBV
What is the function of the capillaries?
-capillaries allow exchange of oxygen, fluid, nutrients, electrolytes, hormones, and other substances between the blood and the interstitial space