Cardio Flashcards
What growth factor is elevated in the blood within an hour after exercise?
VEGF
What does a diastolic murmur on the lower left sternal border suggest?
Aortic regurgitation
Why is enlargement of the azygos vein particularly dangerous in patients with portal hypertension?
Excess flow through the vessel results in congestion of the esophageal venous plexus which increases the risk of variceal rupture
Describe what happens to blood flow above and below an aortic coarctation and why.
In compensated aortic coarctation, BP above and below will be equal even though the pressures are vastly different. This is because of increased resistance above the coarctation.
What does the mitral valve look like following damage from rheumatic fever?
Thickened, blunted cardiac valve leaflets, often with fibrous bridging between valve leaflets and calcification
What class of drugs activate PPAR-alpha (proliferator activator receptor)?
Fibrates (e.g. gemfibrozil, fenofibrate, clofibrate)
What are some adverse effects of fibrates?
Gallstones and muscle toxicity
Why is acebutolol contraindicated in angina patients?
- Has intrinsic sympathomimetic activity and thus acts as a partial beta-1 agonist
- More importantly: does not cause a significant decrease in heart rate and maintains a high myocardial oxygen consumption
-Young patient (
Prinzmetal angina - coronary artery spasm
What is epinephrine reversal?
Epinephrine increases BP (from action on alpha receptors)
Give phentolamine (alpha antagonist) leading to unopposed vasodilatory action of beta receptors - decrease in BP
What is the most common etiologic cause of acute infective endocarditis in IV drug users?
Staph aureus
What is suggested by a holosystolic apical murmur radiating to the axilla and followed by a thrill? (Can also often hear wide splitting of S2.)
Mitral regurgitation
What class of drugs are first line for treating hypertension in patients with diabetic nephropathy and hyperuricemia?
ACE inhibitors - shown to slow the progression of renal disease
What drug decreases the hepatic production of VLDL and lipolysis in adipose tissue?
Niacin - vitamin B3
What is the most common side effect associated with niacin?
Facial flushing
How does severe anemia affect arteriolar diameter?
Increases arteriolar diameter
How do amphetamines produce hypertension?
Cause release of the mobile pool of norepinephrine
What does a systolic apical murmur suggest?
Mitral regurgitation
What is a common mechanism by which rheumatic fever causes mitral regurgitation?
Damage to the chordae tendinae –> rupture of those muscles
What is the inheritance of familial hypercholesterolemia?
Autosomal dominant
How can you distinguish Goodpasture syndrome from Wegener’s granulomatosis in a patient with hematuria and hemoptysis?
Check for nasal symptoms (e.g. rhinitis) - Wegener’s patients will have nasopharyngeal involvement whereas Goodpasture patients will not
When the ventricular muscle contracts, what happens to the flow in the left coronary artery?
Abrupt decrease (isovolumetric contraction) followed by gradual recovery
How does coarctation of the aorta lead to increased blood pressure?
Activation of the renin-angiotensin system
What is the underlying cause in abdominal aortic aneurysm?
Atherosclerosis
What peripheral finding is associated with aortic stenosis?
Weak peripheral pulses
What is the first step in the proposed mechanism of atherosclerosis pathogenesis?
Endothelial cell dysfunction
What is alprostadil?
PGE1 analog
What should you be suspicious of in a patient with an isolated AST increase and epigastric pain?
Ischemic heart disease
Which valve is commonly affected in acute infective endocarditis?
Tricuspid
Why is rheumatoid arthritis associated with restrictive cardiomyopathy?
Long-standing inflammatory conditions lead to deposition of a form of amyloid called AA –> deposition in the myocardium –> stiffened walls
What cardiac side effect can beta blockers cause?
AV block
A fracture of the supracondylar surface of the femur will cause compression or injury of what vessel?
Popliteal artery
What does an S3 sound suggest?
Look for right (tricuspid regurgitation) or left (mitral regurgitation) ventricular overload
What antihypertensive medication can exacerbate CHF in patients?
Verapamil
What lab value do we want to look at in trauma situations to assess possible damage to cardiomyocytes?
Ratio of CK-MB to total creatinine kinase because there may be a large amount of skeletal muscle damage
What kind of murmur does aortic regurgitation produce?
Diastolic murmur that is most intense in the precordium
What does the body constrict to maintain mean systemic filling pressure after major hemorrhage?
Veins and venules
80% of cases of aortic dissection are caused by what?
Uncontrolled hypertension
Describe the pulse pressure in extremely anemic patients.
Wide pulse pressure
What is the smooth part of the right atrium derived from?
Sinus venosus
What might a chest x-ray show on an infant with a patent ductus arteriosus
Enlargement of the left atrium and ventricle, as well as dilatation of the aorta
What does biopsy of temporal arteritis show?
Focal granulomatous inflammation with giant cells
How does sepsis cause pulmonary edema?
Alveolar injury from the damaging effects of LPS endotoxin leads to an inflammatory response in the lungs leading to increased microvascular permeability leads to pulmonary edema
What is the diagnosis for linear calcifications along small to medium arteries found in the elderly often asymptomatically/incidentally?
Monckeberg arteriosclerosis
Describe what happens in long-standing stable angina.
Loss of myocytes with fibrosis and vascuolization of myocytes in the subendocardium because of sustained ischemia
What gene product is abnormal in Marfan’s?
Fibrillin
Baby girl with neck mass
- Just below the skin
- Transilluminates
- Biopsy shows clear fluid and lack of abnormal cells
What is it and what disease is it associated with?
Cystic hygroma - associated with Turner syndrome (will become the webbed neck)
What cardiac defect is associated with Turner syndrome?
Coarctation of the aorta
Describe the murmur associated with aortic stenosis.
Harsh, crescendo-decrescendo midsystolic murmur that radiates to the neck
What second messengers are used to stabilize blood pressure changes in the baroreceptor reflex?
IP3 and DAG via norepinephrine - smooth muscle vascular constriction
What happens to blood flow during ventricular fibrillation?
Blood flows from arterial to venous system until pressure has equalized
What is the cardiac output during ventricular fibrillation?
0
What is dextrocardia a sign of?
Situs inversus
Dextrocardia = apex of the heart points to the right and auscultation of the heart is best over the right chest
What measure of cardiac performance reaches its maximum value during isovolumetric contraction?
Positive rate of change of pressure
What is suggested by a restrictive heart disease with endomyocardial fibrosis and associated eosinophilia?
Loeffler endocarditis
What is the primary/first consequence of sepsis?
Increase in vascular permeability
What rib abnormality can be observed in coarctation of the aorta?
In postductal coarctation of the aorta, you will see rib notching.
This is because the descending thoracic aorta is supplied by reverse flow by the intercostal arteries which run in the inferior aspect of the ribs. Increased flow to these arteries causes erosion of the inferior aspect of the ribs.
How does digoxin affect conduction in the heart?
Decreases conduction through the AV node
Which blood vessels have the highest ratio of wall cross-sectional area to lumen cross-sectional area?
Arterioles
What happens to stroke work and tissue oxygen concentration in aortic stenosis?
Stroke work increases
Tissue oxygen concentration decreases
What causes a widened pulse pressure?
A decrease in vessel compliance making them stiff (e.g. arteriosclerosis) will lead to increased systolic and decreased diastolic - widened pulse pressure
How does aortic stenosis affect coronary blood flow during diastole/systole?
Decreased coronary blood flow during systole (because of compression of the vessels due to increased systolic pressure) –> leads to increased coronary blood flow during diastole
How does atropine affect heart rate?
Atropine - muscarinic receptor blocker
Increases HR by blocking M2 receptors on the SA node
On EKG, what is a QRS not preceded by a P wave?
Premature ventricular contraction
Why does premature ventricular contraction result in decreased left ventricular end-diastolic volume?
Reduced filling time so preload (i.e. left ventricular EDV) is reduced
Compare and contrast what happens to blood flow in skeletal muscles in high intensity static exercise (e.g. weight lifting) vs. dynamic endurance exercise (e.g. long runs).
High intensity static exercise - blood vessels are compressed by skeletal muscle, thus increasing vascular resistance and decreasing blood flow
Dynamic endurance exercise - blood flow increases due to metabolic vasodilation of arterioles
Describe what happens in long-standing stable angina.
Loss of myocytes with fibrosis and vascuolization of myocytes in the subendocardium because of sustained ischemia
Presentation: Chronic chest pain which occurs with moderate exertion and is relieved by rest.
Diagnosis?
Stable angina
What is suggested by a holosystolic apical murmur radiating to the axilla and followed by a thrill? (Can also often hear wide splitting of S2.)
Mitral regurgitation
What drug is able to both vasodilate and to decrease the release of insulin in response to glucose?
Diazoxide - K+ channel opener
What drugs are preferred for rapid rate control in patients with atrial fibrillation?
Which one is preferred in patients with pulmonary disease?
Calcium channel blockers and beta blockers are superior to digoxin
Calcium channel blockers preferred in patients with pulmonary disease because beta blockers may cause bronchospasm
What type of collagen is present in mature scars?
Type I (it is the most prevalent collagen in the human body)
Echocardiogram of an infant shows aorta lying anterior and to the right of the pulmonary artery. Diagnosis?
Transposition of the great vessels
What fails to develop in DiGeorge syndrome?
3rd and 4th branchial pouches
What pulse finding suggests cardiac tamponade?
Pulsus paradoxus - decrease in the systolic pressure of 10 mm Hg or more during inspiration vs. expiration
What does autopsy of the heart after MI look like within the first 4 hours?
Normal myocardium (signs of coagulative necrosis start after 4 hours)
How do beta blockers affect the EKG?
Prolong the PR interval because they slow AV conduction (PR interval is the time between atrial and ventricular depolarization)
The severity of cyanosis in patients with Tetralogy of Fallot depends on what?
Pulmonic stenosis - this would promote the right to left shunt leading to deoxygenated blood reaching the systemic circulation (i.e. cyanosis)
Which gram positive cocci produces dextrans from glucose and why?
Strep viridans - the dextrans aid these organisms in colonizing host surfaces (e.g. dental enamel and heart valves)
What do you need to maximize if you want to find a true relationship between two groups?
Power (1 - beta)
Describe how pregnant women can become hypotensive when they are pregnant.
Baby compresses IVC leading to reduced venous return
A patient being treated for MRSA develops myopathy and CK level elevation - which antibiotic are they being treated with?
Daptomycin (not vanc based on this toxicity profile)