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