Cardiology Flashcards
What are the atria and ventricles separated by?
Annulus fibrosus
Normally, the heart occupies ???% of the trans-thoracic diameter
<50%
Which structure form the cardiac silhouette?
Aortic arch Pulmonary trunk Left atrial appendage Left ventricle Right atrium SVC and IVC Right ventricle
What is the most common cause of angina and acute coronary syndrome, and the most common cause of death worldwide?
Coronary artery disease
What is coronary artery disease usually caused by?
Atherosclerosis
List 3 causes of coronary artery disease, other than atherosclerosis
- Vasculitis
- Aortitis
- Autoimmune connective tissue disease
List the features of an unstable atherosclerotic plaque
Lipid-rich core Fibrocellular cap Speckled calcification Increased inflammatory cells Few crosslinks
List the risk factors for atherosclerosis
Age Male Family history of early-onset coronary artery disease Smoking Familial hyperlipidaemia Hypertension T2DM Platelet activation/high plasma fibrinogen Antiphospholipid antibodies Inactivity Obesity/high fat diet Alcohol Social deprivation
Describe the classification system for atherosclerosis
Type 1 - isolated macrophage foam cells
Type 2 - ‘fatty streak’ of intracellular lipid accumulation
Type 3 - type II changes + small extracellular lipid pools
Type 4 - Atheroma
Type 5 - Fibroatheroma (lipid core with fibrotic layer, or multiple lipid cores with fibrotic layers
Type 6 - complicated fibroatheroma e.g. surface defect, haematoma, haemorrhage, thrombus
What lifestyle advice would you give to help prevent atherosclerosis?
Quit smoking
Take regular exercise (20 mins 3x weekly)
Maintain a healthy body weight
Eat a mixed diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables
Aim to get no more than 10% of energy from saturated fats
What two conditions are considered acute coronary syndromes?
Unstable angina
Myocardial infarction
Define unstable angina
New-onset or rapidly worsening angina (crescendo angina), angina on minimal exertion or angina at rest in the ABSENCE of myocardial damage
Define myocardial infarction
Angina with evidence of myocardial necrosis
What is the most common cause of acute coronary syndromes?
Atherosclerosis
Describe the typical clinical features of acute coronary syndrome
Severe, long-lasting tight/heavy/constricting chest pain at rest Radiation of pain to neck/arms/epigastrium/back Anxiety/distress Breathlessness Nausea/vomiting Collapse/syncope Pallor Sweating Changes in heart rate Hypotension Cold peripheries Oliguria
Which patients are more likely to experience a ‘silent’ MI?
Older patients
Diabetics
What investigations would you perform in a patient presenting with chest pain?
- History & examination
- 12-lead ECG
- Serum Troponin I or T
- Repeat ECG & Troponin (6-12 hours after presentation)
Describe the changes typically seen in an ECG of a patient with a STEMI?
- Hyperacute T waves
- ST elevation
- Progressive loss of R waves
- T wave inversion
- Q wave development
What ECG pattern would make you think a patient had an old or established infarct?
Presence of Q waves and T wave inversion
Describe the changes typically seen in an ECG of a patient with an NSTEMI?
ST depression and T-wave changes
Describe the typical pathology of an non-ST acute coronary syndrome
Partial occlusion of a major vessel OR
Complete occlusion of a minor vessel
ECG changes in leads V1-6 and aVL would indicate ischaemia in which region?
Anterior heart
ECG changes in leads V1-4 would indicate ischaemic in which region?
Anteroseptal
ECG changes in leads V4-6 and aVL would indicate ischaemia in which region?
Anterolateral
ECG changes in leads II, III and aVF would indicate ischaemia in which region?
Inferior
A person with chest pain but no raise in cardiac troponin would be diagnosed with ???
Unstable angina
Levels of troponin will increase within ?-? hours, peak at ? hours and may remain elevated for up to ? weeks.
Levels of troponin will increase within 3-6 hours, peak at 36 hours and may remain elevated for up to 2 weeks.
What features would indicate that a patient is at high risk of a further cardiac event?
- Failure of symptoms to settle on medical therapy
- Extensive ECG changes
- Elevated plasma troponin
- Severe pre-existing stable angina
What is the criteria used to diagnose an MI?
- Detection of a rise and/or fall in cardiac biomarkers with at least 1 value >99th centile upper reference limit with at least one of the following:
- Symptoms of ischaemia
- New or presumed new significant ST-T changes or new left bundle branch block
- Development of pathological Q waves
Imaging evidence of new loss of viable myocardium or regional wall motion abnormality
- Identification of intra-coronary thrombus with angiography or post mortem
What is the criteria used for diagnosis of a prior myocardial infarction?
- Pathological Q waves with/without symptoms in the absence of non-ischaemic causes
- Imaging evidence of a region of loss of viable myocardium that is thinned and fails to contract, in the absence of a non ischaemic cause
- Pathological findings of a prior myocardial infarction
How would you manage a high risk patient presenting with acute coronary syndrome?
- Early inpatient coronary angiography
How would you manage a low risk patient presenting with acute coronary syndrome?
- Exercise tolerance test approximately 4 weeks after event
How would you manage a patient presenting with an acute coronary syndrome?
Assessment:
- History & examination
- ECG
- Troponin
- Oxygen
- Morphine
- Nitrates
- Aspirin
- Clopidogrel/Ticagrelor
- Metoprolol
- PCI (within 120 mins) if STEMI or new bundle branch block + GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists
OR - Thrombolytic therapy IV + fondaparinux OR LMWH
- Consider coronary angiography + GP IIb/IIIa receptor antagonists
Long-term management: Aspirin Tricagrelor Fondaparinux/LMWH Statin Beta-blocker ACE inhibitor
List the potential complications of acute coronary syndrome
- Ventricular fibrillation
- Atrial fibrillation
- AV block
- Recurrent angina
- Pericarditis
- Dressler’s syndrome
- Papillary muscle rupture
- Ventricular septal rupture
- Ventricular wall rupture
- Embolism
- Ventricular remodelling
- Ventricular aneurysm
How do you minimise the risk of arrhythmias after acute coronary syndrome?
- Adequate pain relief
- Rest
- Hypokalemia correction
Describe the Universal Definition of MI
Type 1: MI caused by acute atherothromboembolism
Type 2: MI caused by imbalance between myocardial oxygen demand and supply unrelated to atherosclerosis
Type 3: Cardiac death in patients with symptoms suggestive of myocardial ischaemia and presumed new ECG changes before cardiac troponin becomes available
Type 4: MI related to PCI (a) or stenting (b)
Type 5: MI related to CABG
A 54 year old woman presents with central chest pain after having an argument with a neighbour. She is usually well, she is a non-smoker with a history of mild anxiety and depression over many years. On examination she looks well, BP 140/90mmHg and pulse 100/minute. ECG shows T-wave inversion in the anterior chest leads. Plasma troponin is elevated at 100ng/litre (normal <16ng/l). Echocardiogram shows an apical akinetic segment in the left ventricle.
What is the likely diagnosis? A. Acute ST elevation myocardial infarction B. Acute pulmonary embolism C. Takatsubo cardiomyopathy D. Coronary artery spasm E. Acute pericarditis
C Takasubo cardiomyopathy
A 65yr old lady returns to the clinic 1 year following treatment for a type 2 MI. She complains of gradually increasing shortness-of-breath on exertion and when lying down over the past few months. Clinical examination shows only some mild ankle oedema. Following further investigation spirometry and chest X-rays are normal. You are suspicious of heart failure. What of the following would be the most appropriate next investigation?
A- Coronary angiography B- B- type natriuretic peptide C- Echocardiogram D- Troponin 1 E- Holter monitoring
C. Echocardiogram (due to previous heart failure). If there has been NO previous heart failure then BNP should be used.
Risk factors for persistent hypertension
- Alcohol excess
- Smoking
- High cholesterol
- Genetics
- Age
- Ethnicity e.g. African American, Japanese
- High salt intake
- Obesity/lack of exercise
- Impaired intra-uterine growth
Secondary causes of hypertension
- Renal disease
- Diabetes
- Coarctation of the aorta
- Renal artery stenosis
- Primary hyperaldosteronism
- Phaeochromocytoma
- Acromegaly
- Hypo/hyperthyroidism
- Drugs: alcohol, ciclosporin, cocaine, COCP, corticosteroids, erythropoeitn, leflunomide, liquorice, NSAIDs,
How would you manage a patient with a QRISK2 score <10%?
- Lifestyle advice
- Further risk assessment in 5 years
How would you manage patient with a QRISK2 score >10%?
- Atorvostatin 20mg
- Lifestyle advice
- Consider testing for familial disorders or secondary causes of hyperlipidaemia
What investigations would you consider in a patient with hypertension?
- Fundoscopy - looking for hypertensive retinopathy
- Serum cholesterol and HDL cholesterol
- QRISK2 assessment
- ECG - assess cardiac function and detect left ventricular hypertrophy
- Urinalysis - haematuria, urin albumin:creatine ratio
- Bloods: glucose, U&Es, creatinine, eGFR - exclude adrenal disease, CKD and diabetes
How would you manage a patient <40 with no evidence of organ damage, CVD, renal disease of diabetes with hypertension?
- Consider specialist evaluation of secondary causes of hypertension
How would you manage a patient with hypertension who had signs of papilloedema or retinal haemorrhage, or suspected pheochromocytoma?
- Refer for same-day specialist care
How would you manage a patient with stage 1 hypertension (no other features)?
Lifestyle advice
How would you manage a patient under 55 with stage 1 hypertension and one or more of target organ damage/CVD/renal disease/diabetes/QRISK score >20%?
1) ACE inhibitor OR ARB OR B-blocker
4) Add a calcium-channel blocker
5) Add a thiazide diuretic
How would you manage a patient <55 with stage 2 hypertension?
1) ACE inhibitor OR ARB OR B-blocker
2) Add a calcium channel blocker
3) Add a thiazide diuretic
When would a beta-blocker be indicated as the 1st line treatment in a patient <55 with stage 1 or stage 2 hypertension which required treamtent?
- Younger patients
- Intolerance to ACEi/ARBs
- Pregnancy
- Increased sympathetic drive
How would you manage a patient >55 with stage 1 hypertension and one or more of target organ damage/CVD/renal disease/diabetes/QRISK2 score >20%?
1) Calcium channel blocker
2) Thiazide-like diuretic e.g. chlortalidone or indapamide
3) Add an ARB
4) Add low-dose spironolactone OR increase thiazide dose OR add an alpha- or beta-blocker
How would you manage patient >55 with stage 2 hypertension?
1) Calcium channel blocker
2) Thiazide-like diuretic e.g. chlortalidone or indapamide
3) Add an ARB
4) Add low-dose spironolactone OR increase thiazide dose OR add an alpha- or beta-blocker
How would you manage an Afro-Carribena patient with stage 2 hypertension
1) Calcium channel blocker
2) Thiazide-like diuretic e.g. chlortalidone or indapamide
3) Add an ARB
4) Add low-dose spironolactone OR increase thiazide dose OR add an alpha- or beta-blocker
If a patient presented with a single episode of clinical hypertension, what would your next step be?
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
Side effects of ACE inhibitors
- Cough
- Hyperkalemia
- Angioedema
- Alopecia
- Dry mouth
Side effects of ARBs
- Hyperkalemia
- Abdominal or back pain
- Diarrhoea
- Postural hypotension
Side effects of beta-blockers
- Bradycardia
- Hypotension
When are beta-blockers contra-indicated
- Asthma
- Cardiogenic shock
- Hypotension
- Bradycardia
- Metabolic acidosis
- Phaeochromocytoma
- Conduction disorders
Side effects of calcium channel blockers
- Ankle swelling
- Palpitations
- Dizziness
- Flushing
- Headaches
- Constipation
When is verapamil contra-indicated?
- Heart failure
- Oedema
- Conduction disorders
Side effects of thiazide diuretics
- Gout
- Hypokalemia
- Hyponatremia
- Glucose intolerance/hyperglycaemia
- Hyperuricaemia
When are thiazide diuretics contra-indicated?
- Addison’s disease
- Hypercalcemia
- Hyponatremia
- Refractory hypokalemia
- Hyperuricaemia
When should you review a patient with hypertension controlled by lifestyle modification?
- Every 3-4 months until blood pressure is well-controlled or antihypertensive drug is started
When should you review a patient after starting them on an antihypertensive drug?
> 4 months after to wait for treatment effects to stabilise
What should an annual blood pressure review entail
- Discussion of lifestyle, symptoms, medication
- Check BP - recheck on 2-3 occasions if high
- Check renal function - serum creatinine, electrolytes, eGFR
- Reassess QRISK2 score
Target blood pressures
- <80: clinical target 140/90; ABPM target <135/85
- > 80: clinical target <150/90; ABPM target <145/85
- Diabetics: clinical target <130/90; ABPM target <125/85
Risk factors for infective endocarditis
- Age
- Rheumatic heart disease
- Congenital or acquired heart disease e.g. ventricular septal defect, mitral or aortic regurgitation
- Prosthetic valves
- IVDU
- Dental work
- IV/central lines
- Cardiac surgery
- Wound infection with S. epidermis
- Exposure to farm animals
Main causes of infective endocarditis
- Strep viridans in subacute disease
- Staphylococci - staph aureus, staph epidermis (in IVDU)
Clinical features of acute infective endocarditis
- Severe febrile illness with prominent and changing heart murmurs and petechiae
Clinical features of sub-acute infective endocarditis
- Persistent fever
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
- Weight loss
- Heart failure symptoms
- Conduction disorders
- Splinter haemorrhages
- Purpura and petechial haemorrhages in the skin, funds and mucous membranes
- Osler’s nodes
- Finger clubbing
- Splenomegaly (and hepatomegaly)
- Non-visible haematuria
- Subconjuctival haemorrhage
- Roth’s spots
- Poor dentition
- Loss of peripheral leg pulses
What investigations would you consider in a patient with suspected infective endocarditis?
1) Blood cultures - 3-6 discrete sets prior to commencing antibiotics
2) Echocardiogram
3) Bloods - FBC, ESR
4) Urinalysis
5) ECG
6) CXR
Duke’s major criteria for infective endocarditis
1) Positive blood culture
- Typical organisms from 2 cultures
- Persistent positive blood cultures taken >12 hours apart
- 3 or more positive cultures taken >1 hour apart
2) Endocardial involvement
- Positive echo findings of vegetations
- New valvular regurgitation
Duke’s minor criteria for infective endocarditis
- Valvular or cardiac abnormality
- IIVDU
- Pyrexia >38
- Embolic phenomenon
- Vasculitis phenomenon
- Blood cultures with organism growth not achieving major criteria
- Suggestive echo findings
What factors of Duke’s criteria would a person have to meet to definitely have infective endocarditis?
2 major criteria OR 1 major and 3 minor criteria OR 5 minor criteria
What factors of Duke’s criteria would a person have to meet to probably have infective endocarditis?
1 major and 1 minor criteria
OR
3 minor criteria
How would you manage a patient with infective endocarditis
- Remove any potential source of infection
- Amoxicillin OR vancomycin + gentamicin IV (+ rifampicin if prosthetic valves) for 4-6 weeks minimum
Indications that 2 weeks of antibiotic therapy will be sufficient to treat infective endocarditis
- Native valve infection
- Minimum inhibitory concentrations <0.125
- No adverse prognostic factors (heart failure, aortic regurgitation, conduction defect)
- No evidence of thromboembolic disease
- No vegetation >5mm diameter
- Clinical response within 7 days
Indications for surgical debridement and valve replacement in infective endocarditis
- Heart failure due to valve damage
- Failure of antibiotic therapy
- Large vegetations on left-side heart valves with echo appearance suggesting high risk of emboli
- Previous evidence of systemic emboli
- Abscess formation
Complications of infective endocarditis
- Embolic stroke
- Peripheral arterial embolism
Risk factors for congenital heart disease
- Turner’s syndrome
- Marfan’s syndrome
- Down’s syndrome
- Female (patent ductus arteriosus, atrial septal defect)
- Male (coarctation of the aorta)
Clinical features of a ventricular septal defect
- Cyanosis
- Pansystolic murmur loudest over L sternal edge
- Heart failure
- Eisenmenger’s syndrome
- Prominent parasternal pulsation
- Tacypnoea
- Undraping of lower ribs on inspiration
Investigations for ventricular septal defect
1) Doppler Echo
2) CXR - will show pulmonary congestion
3) ECG - will show bilateral ventricular hypertension
Management of ventricular septal defect
1) None
2) Surgical repair
3) Heart-Lung transplant for Eisenmenger’s syndrome
Clinical features of an atrial septal defect
- Often asymptomatic
- Dyspnoea
- Chest infections
- Heart failure
- AF
- Wide, fixed splitting of S2
- Systolic murmus over pulmonary valve area
- Pulmonary hypertension
Investigations for Atrial septal defect
1) Echo - detect defect, will show R ventricular dilation and R ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary artery dilation
2) CXR - will show cardiomegaly and pulmonary plethora
3) ECG - will show incomplete RBBB
Management of atrial septal defect
1) Closure with cardiac czathetirsation using implantable closing device
Clinical features of patent ductus arteriosus
- Retarded growth and development
- Dyspnoea
- Cyanosis
- ‘Machinery’ murmur in late systole, loudest at left sternal border
- Thrill
- Increased pulse volume
Investigations for persistant ductus arteriosus
1) CXR - will show pulmonary artery enlargement
2) ECG - will show normal or signs of R ventricular hypertrophy
3) Echo
Management of a patent ductus arteriosus
1) Indomethacin or ibuprofen (<1 week of)
2) Cardiac catheterisation with implantable occlusive device
Clinical features of coarctation of the aorta
- Other congenital abnormalities: bicuspid valve, cerebral berry aneurysms
- Head and neck hypertension
- Reduced circulation distally
- Radio-femoral pulse delay
- Heart failure
- Headache
- Leg weakness/cramps
- Systolic murmur
- Collateral arteries and bruits
Investigations for coarctation of the aorta
1) MRI
2) CXR - will be normal or will show ‘3 sign’
3) ECG - will show L ventricular hypertrophy
4) Echo - will show L ventricular hypertrophy
Management of coarctation of the aorta
1) Surgical correction
Clinical features of Tetralogy of Fallot
- Cyanosis (often increasingly on exertion)
- Apnoea
- Growth stunting
- Digit clubbing
- Polycythaemia
- Squatting after exertion (Fallot’s sign)
- Loud ejection systolic murmus loudest in pulmonary area
Investigations for Tetralogy of Fallot
1) Echo
2) ECG - will show R ventricular hypertrophy
3) CXR - will show small pulmonary artery, ‘boot-shaped’ hear
Management of tetralogy of Fallot
1) Surgical correction
How would you manage a patient with an NSTEMI?
1) MONAC
2) Fondaparinux or LMW heparin SC
3) Consider nitrate IV fusion
4) Calculate GRACE score
What does the GRACE score predict
- Risk of in hospital death after ACS
How would you managed a patient with an NSTEMI and a medium-high risk GRACE score?
1) Early in-hospital coronary angiography and consider GP IIb/IIIa receipt antagonist IV infusion
What drugs would you start a patient on after an MI?
- Aspirin
- Clopidogrel/Ticagrelor
- Fondaparinux/LMWH
- Statin
- Beta-blocker
- ACE inhibitor
How would you manage a patient with a STEMI (presenting within <12 hours)?
1) Reperfusion therapy
1a) PCI (if feasible within 120 mins)
1b) Thrombolysis IV + fondaparinux/LMWH (if eligible)
1c) Delayed PCI (if possible)
1d) Fondaparinux/LMWH SC
What investigations would you do in a patient with a suspected arrhythmia?
1) ECG
2) Ambulatory or patient-activated ECG
CHA2DSVAS score features
Congestive heart failure 1 Hypertension 1 Age >75 2 Diabetes 1 Stroke or TIA 2 Vascular disease 1 Age 65-74 1 Sex female 1
Maximum = 9
0 points = no anticoagulation
1 point = anticoagulant if male
2+ points = anti coagulate
HAASBLED2 score features
Hypertension (>160) 1
Abnromal liver function (cirrhosis, bilirubin >2x upper normal limit, transaminases >3x upper normal limit) 1
Abnormal renal function (creatinine >200) 1
Stroke history 1
Bleeding prior event 1
Elderly >65 1
Drugs - anti platelets or alcohol excess 2
Maximum = 9
Consider careful monitoring if >3