Cardiac Failure Flashcards
What are the 3 categories for causes of LHF?
- Valvular
- Muscular
- Systemic
What is cardiac failure also called?
- Chronic congestive heart failure
- Congestive heart disease
What are some key RF for cardiac failure? (lots of others to)
- History of MI
- DM
- Dyslipidaemia
- Old age
- Male sex
What are some differential diagnosis of cardiac failure?
- Ageing/physical inactivity
- COPD/pulmonary fibrosis
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary embolism (PE)
- Post-partum cardiomyopathy (PPCM)
- Cirrhosis
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Pericardial disease
- Venous stasis
- Deep venous thrombosis
What special test is used to diagnose heart failure?
transthoracic echocardigrsm
What might you see on a transthroacic echocardiogram in systolic heart failure?
depressed and dilated left and/or right ventricle with low ejection fraction
What might you see on a transthroacic echocardiogram in diastolic heart failure?
- LVEF normal but LVH
2. abnormal diastolic filling patterns
What imaging is used to investigate in cardiac failure?
- ECG
2. CXR
What may you use in an ecg in cardiac failure?
- evidence of underlying coronary artery disease
- left ventricular hypertrophy, or atrial enlargement
- may be conduction abnormalities and abnormal QRS duration
What might the CXR show in cardiac failure?
- Alveolar oedema
- B lines (kerley)
- Cardiomegaly
- Dilated upper lobe vessels
- Diverted upper lobe
- Effusion (transudative pleural effusion)
What bloods would you order for cardiac failure?
- BNP/NT-pro-BNP levels
- FBC
- Serum electrolytes (inc calcium and magensium)
- Serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen
- Blood glucose
- LFT
- TFTs + TSH
- Blood lipids
- Serum ferritin
- Transferrin saturation
What might you find BNP/NT-pro-BNP levels in cardiac failure?
elevated
Why do you do an fbc for cardiac failure?
anaemia and high lymphocyte percentage – strong RF and show poor prognostic
What would you find in serum electrolytes with cardiac failure?
decreased sodium and altered potassium
What would you find in serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen in cardiac failure?
normal to elevated can show:
- tissue perfusion
- fluid status
- rules out renal disease
Why do you measure blood glucose in cardiac failure?
see if diabetes
Why do you measure LFTs in cardiac failure?
can show abdominal congestion
Why do you measure TFTs and TSH in cardiac failure?
as hypo/hyperthyroidism can cause heart failure
Why do you measure blood lipids in cardiac failure?
- elevated in dyslipidaemia
- decreased in end-stage heart failure, especially in the presence of cardiac cachexia
Why do you measure serum ferritin and transferrin saturation in cardiac failure?
evaluation of cardiomyopathy due to iron overload cardiomyopathy/haemochromatosis
What is the ejection fraction like in systolic heart failure?
low (less than 50%)
What is the ejection fraction in diastolic heart failure?
normal (50-70)
In heart failure what happens with left or right?
where primary issue is, as one can cause the other as it is a system
What type of heart failure is left sided mostly?
systolic
What is the most common cause of left sided heart failure (systolic)?
- ischaemic heart disease
- long standing hypertension
- dilated cardiomyopathy
What is the most common cause of left sided heart failure (diastolic)
- long standing hypertension
- aortic stenosis
- hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- restrictive cardiomyopathy
Why is there fluid build up in cardiac failure?
- less blood to kidneys
- renin-angiotensin system activated
- fluid retention
- leaks from blood vessels
- fluid build up
Why do patients with cardiac failure have dyspnea and orthopnea and crackles?
pulmonary odema
What type of cells may be seen with a cardiac failure patient?
hemosiderin-laden macrophages
What is right sided heart failure usually caused by?
left sided heart failure (becomes biventricular heart failure)
What is isolated right sided heart failure causes by?
- left to right cardiac shunt (e.g. atrial septal defect, ventircular septal defect)
- cor pulmonale (chronic lung disease lead to right sided hypertrophy and failure)
Why does a left to right shunt cause isolated right side heart failure?
- high pressure to low pressure
- increased fluid volume on right side
- lead to concentric hypertrophy
What would concentric hypertrophy cause?
- ischaemia (systolic dysfunction)
2. smaller volume (diastolic dysfunction)
Where does the fluid go in left and right sided heart failure?
- left: lungs
2. right: body
How can you tell if right sided failure?
- systemic vein congestion
- JVP distention (enlarged)
- Hepatospenomegaly
- Cardiac cirrhosis and liver failure
- Ascites
- Pitting edema in leg or sacrum
What can heart failure lead to? How is this treated?
arrhythmias (cardiac resynchronisation therapy or VAD)
How do you treat end stage heart failure?
transplant
What is a severe left ventricular heart failure sign?
pulsus alternana
What does left sided heart failure causes?
dyspnoea and orthpnoea
What is the 1st line treatment for cardiac failure with tolerance to ACE inhibitors and then if don’t tolerate?
- ACE inhibitor or sacubitril / valsartan
- Can switch to ARB if not tolerable (cough)
What would you add to the treatment of cardiac failure with tolerance to ACE inhibitors and why?
beta blockers to reduce O2 demand on heart
-bisoprolol, carvedilol
What adjunct may you use for the treatment of cardiac failure with tolerance to ACE inhibitors?
- diuretic
- aldosterone antagonist
- hydralaxine + isosoribide dinitrate
- Digoxin
- Ivabradine
- Vasopressin antagonist
What is the 1st line treatment for cardiac failure with intolerance to ACE inhibitors?
- beta blocker
2. angiotensin-II receptor antagonist
What would you add to the treatment of cardiac failure with intolerance to ACE inhibitors?
lifestyle changes
What adjunct would you use with the treatment of cardiac failure with intolerance to ACE inhibitors?
- Diuretic
- aldosterone antagonist
- hydralazine + isosorbide dinitrate
- digoxin
- ivabradine
- vasopressin antagonist
What is the 2nd line treatment for cardiac failure with intolerance to ACE inihibtors?
2nd line: hydralazine + isosorbide dinitrate Plus: beta blocker + lifestyle changes Adjunct: 1. diuretic 2. aldosterone antagonist 3. digoxin 4. ivabradine 5. vasopressin antagonist
What is the treatment for ongoing cardiac failure with LVEF <35% with no LBBB?
1st line: implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)
2nd line: mechanical circulatory support
3rd line: cardiac transplantation
What is the treatment for ongoing cardiac failure with LVEF <35% with LBBB?
1st line: cardiac re-synchronisation therapy with biventricular pacemaker (CRT-P) / cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillator (CRT-D)
2nd line: left ventricular assist device (LVAD)
3rd line: cardiac transplantation
What are the possible complications of cardiac failure?
- Pleural effusion
- Chronic kidney disease
- Anaemia
- Acute decompensation of chronic heart failure
- Acute kidney injury
- Sudden cardiac death
What criteria and classifications are used for cardiac failure?
- Framingham criterion
2. New York Heart Association classification
What is the prognosis like for cardiac failure?
25-50% dying within 5 years of diagnosis
What are the valvular causes of left heart failure?
- Aortic stenosis
- Aortic regurgitation
- Mitral regurgitation
What are the muscular causes of left heart failure?
- Ischaemia (IHD)
- Cardiomyopathy
- Myocarditis
- Arrythmias (AF)
What are the systemic causes of left heart failure?
- Hypertension
- Amyloidosis
- Drugs (coke, chemo)
What are the 2 categories for causes of right heart failure?
- lungs
- valvular
What are the lung causes of RHF?
- Pulmonary hypertension (cor pulmonale)
- PE
- Chronic lung disease e.g. interstitial lung disease, cystic fibrosis
What are the valvular causes of RHF?
- Tricuspid regurg
2. Pulmonary valve disease
What two types of things can result in cardiac failure?
- low output state
- high output state
What is a low output state?
heart fails to pump in response to normal exertion – low cardiac output
What is a high output state?
cardiac output normal but metabolic needs change e.g. preggers, anaemia, hyperthyroidism
Where does the left side of the heart recieve blood from?
pulmonary vein
What type of symptoms are in LHF?
fluid accumulate in lungs so likely to get RESP symptoms – PULMONARY SYSTEM
What are symptoms for LHF?
- Dyspnoea
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea (PND)
- Exertional Dyspnoes
- Orthpnoea
- Nocturnal cough (PINK FORTHY SPUTM -PULMONARY OEDEMA)
- Fatigue
What are the heart signs in LHF?
- Increased HR and RR
- Irregularly irregular heartbeat
- Pulsus alternans
- Displaced apex beat
- S3 gallop rhythm,
- S4 in severe HF
- Murmur: AS, MR, AR
What are the lung signs in LHF?
- Fine-end inspiratory crackles at lung bases (pulmonary oedema)
- Wheeze (cardiac asthma)
Where does the right side of the heart receive blood from?
vena cava
What type of symptoms are in RHF?
fluid accumulate peripheries so SWELLING signs – as receives from Vena Cava - SYSTEMIC
What are symptoms of RHF?
- Fatigue
- Reduced exercise tolerance
- Anorexia
- Nausea
- Nocturia
What are signs for RHF?
- Face: neck swelling
- Neck: increase JVP
- Heart/chest: TR murmur, increase HR and increase RR
- Abdomen: ascites, hepatomegaly
- Other: ankle and sacral pitting oedema
Why do you do a transthroacic ecocardiogram?
- Visualise structure and function of heart(can show cause of HF)
- Can calculate ejection fraction (EF): % of blood present in LV that gets pumped during systole
Normal is 50-70%
What is HF with EF<40%?
HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (previously called systolic HF), indicated inability of ventricle to contract normally)
What is HF with EF>50%?
HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), previously called diastolic HF, indicates inability of ventricle to relax and fill normally
How is the diagnosis of HF made?
clinical diagnosis made using Framingham Criteria
2+ majors or 1 major and 2 minors
What is some of the major criteria?
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
- Bibasal crepitations
- S3 gallop
- Cardiomegaly
- Increased central venous pressure
- Weight loss
- Neck Vein distension
- Acute Pulmonary oedema
- Hepatojugular reflex
What is some of the minor criteria?
- Bilateral ankle oedema
- Dyspnoea on ordinary exertion
- Tachycardia
- Decrease in vital capacity by 1/3
- Nocturnal cough
- Hepatosplenomegaly
- Pleural effusion
When do you use diuretics and which ones?
- use if evidence of fluid retention
- Loop diuretics e.g. furosemide
- Aldosterone antagonists e.g. spironolactone
When do you use hydralazine + nitrates in heart failure?
afro-caribeban patients
How does digoxin help with cardiac failure?
positive inotrope (strengthen heart contraction), improve symptoms BUT NOT MORTALITY
How is cardiac resynchronisation therapy is used?
aims to improve timings of contraction of atria and ventricles
What is the treatment for acute HF?
- Sit patient upright
- 60-100% oxygen
- IV diamorphine 2.5-5mg
- GTN infusion
- IV furosemide 40-80mg (can alleviate pulmonary oedema if they have that)