Cardio station Flashcards
Why check for anaemia in aortic stenosis
Heydes syndrome
AS + Angiodysplasia
[also anaemia of chonic disease esp if elderly
-Very rare haemolysis through native valve ]
When is AS murmur loudest
held expiration
over aortic area
Pulse in AS?
Slow rising / weak
Key thing to look for on exam if suspected AS?
Signs of cardiac decompensation
- Raised JVP
- Bibasal crackles
- Peripheral oedema
Key DDx of AS murmur
Systolic murmur
- Mitral regurg - should radiate to axilla
- HOCM
- Aortic sclerosis
- VSD especially if young
- Pulmonary stenosis - very rare and should be louder on inspiration
Ix AS
ECG - ?LVH / strain
Echo - confirm gradients and function
Bloods - Full blood count - anaemia / WCC
Inflam markers - CRP
Blood cultures ?IE
Chest xray ? overload
Difference between murmur between AS and aortic sclerosis
Usually shorter and softer
Should not radiate to carotids
Aetiology of AS
80% degenerative calcific
congenital bicuspid valve
rare but possible - rheumatic fever
How to confirm severe aortic stenosis on exam? history? ix?
Exam
Nature of murmur - obliterates s2
slow rising pulse
evidence of cardiac decompensation
History
Angina and syncope
Ix
Echo
LVH on ECG / LBBB
[history of decompensation]
Why ECG pre TAVI
10% go on to have PPM
?Pre existing conduction disease
How to tell AS on echo
Peak gradient across valve >64
or mean gradient >40
[best measure is ratio of velocity over AV vs LVOT dimentional index]
When TAVI vs AVR
> 75 - likely TAVI
<75 - likely surgical - unless not fit
TAVI - more PPM, less bleeding risk
quicker recovery
less AF, Less CKD
Who is not suitable for a TAVI
Bad PVD
Malignant features of annulus
Bad CAD - would be too hard for stents
in <75 Who might the surgeons not want to operate on for AVR
Previous chest radiotherapy
Previous sternotomy
patient LIMA to LAD
Pulm HTN
Severe LVSD
Work up for a TAVI
Bloods - routine
Echo
ECG
If smoker - LFTs
Angio
TAVI CT
Consider carotid doppler
Key complications of TAVI
PPM - 10%
Vascular issues - Fem artery
Stroke / coronary blockage
Life expectancy AS with decompensation
50% at 1 year
Murmurs louder when?
Right-sided murmurs
- Louder during inspiration.
- inspiration increases blood flow to the vena cava, which increases venous return to the right side of the heart.
Left-sided murmurs
- louder during expiration.
- expiration increases blood flow to the left side of the heart by constricting pulmonary vessels.
What is / When do you get paradoxical splitting of s2?
How to make it more obvious?
Paradoxical splitting of S2
This occurs when the pulmonary valve (P2) is heard before the aortic valve (A2).
This is caused by conditions like severe aortic stenosis or left bundle branch block.
During inspiration, paradoxical splitting causes narrow splitting of S2, and during expiration, it causes wide splitting
Cardio exam
Hands
-Endocarditis / clubbing
- Brusing / bleeding - anticoagulated
Pulse
- AF, Radial-radial delay
- Any radial artery harvest
- collapsing pulse
Face
- Pallor
- corneal arcus
JVP
Back
-Lung bases
-sacral oedema
Chest
- Scar sternotomy
- Hickman scar
- PPM
- Audible click
- Palpation + apex
Auscultate
- include carotid
- turn to left side and bell for mitral valve
Failure
- Oedema
- Pulm odema
What does a sternotomy scar mean
Valve replacement
CABG
Loud s2 but no sternmotomy scar
Pulm HTN
Ix in endocarditis
Bloodfs
FBC CRP - infection
Coag / INR - if anticoagulated
Blood cultures x3
Imaging
CXR - failure
Echo +/- TOE
ECG - cardiomyopathy / LVH
Mechanical vs bioprosthetic valves
Mechanical
- More durable - lasts life
- Lifelong WARFARIN only
(NOACs get thrombosis)
bio valve
- lasts 10-15 years
- Short duration anticoag post op
Endocarditis no difference between
Syncope History
What do you mean?
What happened Before,
- Need to get the activity preceding
- Prev epsodes - any fainting
During
- Any witnesses
- Rigid?
- Tongue biting
After
- Recovery
Chest pain / haemoptysis
Drug history
-Any recent changes
- Hypertensives
- Drugs for arrhythmia
PMH
- Parkinsons - autonomic / postural
- Structural heart disease eg AS
Social history
- Roofers
- HGV / drive for work
Family history
- Sudden death / cardiomyopathy
- Anyone with collapses / devices in chest
Syncope vs seizure
Syncope - sudden onset
Cardiogenic - no prodrome
Quick recovery post
Does presence of abnormal movements mean seizures?
Incontinence?
Tongue biting?
No common in syncope
- Usually fairly random and short lived
- Usually flaccid rather than rigid
Incontinence happens with all syncope
Tongue biting - particularly side and back of tongue - likely seizure
- Represents clonus of jaw
Cardiac sounding syncope red flags
LOC without prodrome
Occurring on exertion
History of strucutal heart disease / family sudden death
Investigations in syncope
Pulse
Lying standing bp
Fingerprick glucose
12 lead ECG - structural / LVH / ectopy / QT interval / heart block / ion channel opathy
Bloods
HB - anaemia
WCC / CRP - infection
renal / liver - starting medications
Electrolytes / TFTs
Possible 24hr tape
Consider ECHO but not in first instance
What are you looking for with 24 hr tape
Symptom rhythm correlation
3 aspects of Management of vasovagal / neurogenic syncope
Patient education
- Avoid precipitants / triggers
Drink plenty of fluid
- Bolus water drinking
High sodium diet
Consider compression garments
Target blood pressure
<140/90 in clinic
<135/85 at home
Hypertension history
How long
Secondary causes
TOPCCAC
- Thyroid hyper
- OSA - daytime drowsiness
- Phaeo - hot flushes, palps,
chest pain, anxiety
- Cushings - steroids
- Carcinoid - flushing / diarrhoea
- Acromegaly - changes in appearance / hands
- Conns
End organ damage
- Kidney - frothy urine, kidney problems
- Brain - headaches, blurred vision, TIA / strokes, nose bleed
- Heart - chest pain, fluid overload
Social
- Liquorish - aldosterone effect
- Alcohol
- Ilicit drugs - cocaine
- Smoking
Meds
- Steroids for chronic conditions
- COCP
- Are they taking antihypertensives
PMH
- Surgery when young - coarctation
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Asthma / COPD / IBS - steroids -> cushings
- CKD
FamHx
- Family history
- High cholesterol
- Fam Hx RRT / CVA ?ADPCKD
Hypertension investigations
Target organ damnae
Kidneys
- Renal function - end organ damage and K+ for conns
- Renal dip for proteinuria + Albumin creatinine ratio
- Preg test
- If worried about renal artery stenosis need to do a CT
Heart
- ECG - LVH
- Consider Echo for LV mass
- CXR / BNP if any evidence of failure
Bloods
TFTs
HBa1c
Lipid profile
Aldolsterone renin ratio
QRISK score
Ambulatory BP monitoring
Hypertension exam
Check BP
Hands Radial-radial delay
Radial femoral delay
Perform fundoscopy
Look at back of neck for buffalo hump
Carotid / femoral bruis
Abdo
Any striae - cuhings
Polycystic kidneys
Renal bruis
Urine Dip
Simple things you might see on fundoscopy in HTN
AV nipping
flame haemorrhages
HTN given ACE and then significant deterioration in renal function
Renal artery stenosis
- would expect a doubling in creatinine
Conns Ix? what do you need to do prior
Aldosterone renin ratio
Need to stop antihypertensives that affect RASS
- Basically only one that doesnt is doxasosin
Phaeo Ix? what affects this
Urinary / blood catecholamines
-Paracetamol on urine
Cortisol excess test
Low dose dexamethasone suppression test
OSA ix
sleep study looking at saturations
Raised aldosterone - what ix now
Renal vein sampling for aldosterone
CT scan
Admit vs discharge hypertensive patient
Split into
Hypertensive urgency - sustained hypertension without end organ damage
- Aim to reduce diastolic pressure to <110
- Reduce MAP by no more than 25%
Hypertensive emergency - with end organ damage
- Aim to reduce diastolic to <115
-Use IV labetalol / GTN in a HDU environment
Drug for phaeo emergency
Phentolamine
- alpha blocker
Acute pulm oedema secondary to hypertension management
IV labetalol + GTN
Support to help patients with medication compliance
Education
Dossett box
Hypertension treatment
Lifestyle
- Salt - especially bread
- Weight loss
- Excercise
- Alcohol and smoking
ACEi /ARB or CCB if >55 / Black
Both
Thiazide
Already on ACE / CCB / Thiazide
Next steps
Compliance issues
Add in spironolactone
B blockers/ Alpha blockers if tachy
Are HCM and HOCM the same
No - one is non obstructive
how is HCM inherited ?
Autosomal dominant
- Most commonly (total 75%)
MYH7 gene - beta myosin heavy chain (MYosin Heavy)
MYBPC gene - Cardiac myosin binding protein C
HCM exam findings
Young
Hands
-nil
- Pulse - AF most common arrhythmia / ectopics
Arms
-Nil
Neck
- Large a waves in JVP -
Chest
- Scars for myectomy / ICD (check sub cut in left axilla)
- Palpation left axilla, Heave, apex
Auscultate
- Often outflow murmur
- Mitral murmur
-Get patient do do Valsalva -> does it extenuate murmur
Heart failure
- Lung bases
- Pedal oedema
Young patient for cardio exam
HCM
Cardiomyopathy / channelopathy
Congenital heart disease
Young person with syncope likely cardiac causes
Long QT
WPW
Brugada
HCM
What causes the a waves seen on JVP eg in HCM
forceful atrial contraction against non compliant RV
- due to septal hypertrophy