Cardio Flashcards
What is acute coronary syndrome?
- thrombus from an atherosclerotic plaque blocking a coronary artery
What are the main coronary arteries and what do they supply?
- RCA - right atrium, right ventricle, inferior aspect of left ventricle, posterior septal area
- LCx - left atrium, posterior aspect of left ventricle
- LAD - anterior aspect of left ventricle, anterior aspect of spetum
What are the 3 types of acute coronary syndrome?
- unstable angina
- STEMI
- NSTEMI
How is acute coronary syndrome diagnosed?
- patient presents with symptoms
- perform ECG
- ST elevation or new left bundle branch block = STEMI
- No elevation then perform a troponin blood tes
- raised troponin and/or other ECG changes (ST depression, T wave inversion) = NSTEMI
- normal troponin and normal ECG = unstable angina or another MSK cause
Symptoms of acute coronary syndrome
- nausea and vomiting
- sweating
- feeling of impending doom
- SOB
- palpitations
- pain radiating to jaw or arms
- if goes away with rest then consider angina
- be aware that diabetics don’t present with normal chest pain
What would ECG changes would you expect to see in STEMIs and NSTEMIs?
- STEMI: ST elevation or new left bundle branch block
2. NSTEMI: ST depression, T wave inversion, Q waves
Match the ECG leads with the corresponding arteries
- I, aVL, V3-6 = left coronary
- V1-4 = Left anterior descending
- I, aVL, V5-6 = left circumflex
- II, III, aVF = right coronary
What can cause raised troponins?
- MI
- chronic renal failure
- myocarditis
- aortic dissection
- PE
Investigations for Acute coronary syndrome?
- ECG
- troponins
- physical exam
- Bloods
How is acute coronary syndrome managed?
- Acute STEMI: PCI (if available within 2 hours) if not then thrombolysis (significant risk of bleeding, streptokinase, alteplase, tenecteplase)
- NSTEMI: BATMAN (beta blockers, aspirin 300mg, ticagrelor 180mg, morphine, anticoagulant fondaparinux, nitrates to relieve spasm)
- to prevent ACS: aspirin 75mg, clopidogrel or ticagrelor, atorvostatin 80mg, ACE inhibitor, atenolol, aldosterone (if you have heart failure)
What are the 4 different types of MI?
- Due to acute coronary event
- Secondary to increased demand/reduced supply of O2
- Sudden cardiac death suggestive of ischaemic event
- MI associated with PCI/stunting/CABG
How does heart failure present?
- SOB
- looking and feeling unwell
- cough with frothy white/pink sputum)
- orthopnoea
- paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnoea
- peripheral oedema
How is heart failure diagnosed?
- clinical presentation
- N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide
- echocardiogram
- ECG
- listen to lung bases for crackles
What can cause heart failure?
- ischaemic heart disease
- valvular heart disease (aortic stenosis)
- hypertension
- arrhythmias (AF)
How is heart failure managed?
- refer to specialist
- surgical treatment for severe aortic stenosis or mitral regurgitation
- stop smoking
- exercise at tolerated
- treat co-morbidities
- ACE inhibitor
- Beta blocker
- Aldoesterone
- loop diuretics
- if acute then sit patient up, give O2 if sats are low, give furosemide and monitor fluid balance
Signs of heart failure on examination
Left: tachycardia, tachypnoea, displaced apex beat, bilateral basal crackles
Right: raised JVP, hepatomegaly, ascites, ankle/sacral oedema
Signs of heart failure on a CXR
- alveolar shadowing
- kerley B lines
- cardiomegaly
- upper lobe diversion
- pleural effusion
Causes of atrial fibrillation
- thyrotoxicosis
- hypertension
- pneumonia
- alcohol
- hypertension
- mitral valve disease
- ischaemic heart disease
- rheumatic heart disease
- cardiomyopathy
- pericarditis
- sick sinus syndrome
- atrial myxoma
Presenting symptoms of atrial fibrillation
- often asymptomatic
- palpitations
- SOB
- syncope
- symptoms of cause of AF
Signs of atrial fibrillation
- irregularly irregular pulse
- difference in apical beat and radial pulse
Main differential of AF
- ventricular ectopics
- this will disappear when the heart rate goes over a certain threshold
AF on an ECG
- absent P waves
- narrow QRS complex tachycardia
- irregularly irregular rhythm
Valvular vs non-valvular AF
- valvular = mitral stenosis
- non-valvular = anything else (incl. mitral regurg)
How can AF be treated?
- Rate or rhythm control
- Anticoagulation
- Rate control is first-line UNLESS: reversible cause, new onset (within 48 hrs), causing heart failure, symptomatic despite being effectively rate controlled
- Go for beta blocker, calcium channel blocker or digoxin
- Rhythm control if reversible cause, new onset, casing heart failure, symptomatic despite effective rate control
- Cardioversion is used
- Immediate if less than 48 hours or unstable
- Delayed if more than 48 hours and stable
- anticoagulate for 3 weeks before delayed cardioversion
- cardioversion is achieved using flecanide or amiodarone (if structural heart disease)
- or use electrical cardioversion
What is the CHADSVASc score?
- risk of stroke
- used for AF patients, to determine best anticoagulation policy
- Congestive heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, prior stroke, vascular disease, female
- 1 = consider
- 2 or more = offer anticoagulation
What is the HAS-BLED score?
- patients on anticoagulation
- risk of serious bleed each year
- hypertension, abnormal renal and liver function, stroke, bleeding, labile INRs, elderly, drugs or alcohol
What is aortic dissection?
tear in the inner layer of the aorta, allowing blood to flow between the layers of the wall of the aorta (between intima and media)
Which part of the aorta is usually affected by dissection?
- ascending aorta and arch
- right lateral area of ascending aorta is under most stress from blood leaving the heart
What is the Stanford system of classifying aortic dissection?
- Type A = ascending aorta before brachiocephalic artery
- Type B = descending aorta, after subclavian artery
What is the DeBakey system of classifying aortic dissection?
- Type I begins in the ascending aorta and involves at least the aortic arch
- Type II is isolated to the ascending aorta
- Type IIIa begins in the descending aorta and involves only the section above the diaphragm
- Type IIIb begins in the descending aorta and involves the aorta below the diaphragm
Risk factors for developing aortic dissection
- age
- male
- smoking
- hypertension (main one)
- poor diet
- reduced physical activity
- raised cholesterol
- bicuspid aortic valve
- coarction of aorta
- aortic valve replacement
- CABG
- connective tissue disorders
Presentation of aortic dissection
- difficult to spot
- sudden onset, severe ripping or tearing chest pain
- anterior chest when ascending is affected
- back is descending is affected
- some don’t have chest pain
- hypertension
- differences in BP between arms
- radial pulse deficit
- diastolic murmur
- focal neurological deficit
- chest and abdominal pain
- collapse