Cardiology Flashcards
What is acute coronary syndrome?
- STEMI
- NSTEMI
- Unstable angina
What is a STEMI?
Myocardial infarction resulting in ST elevation
What causes are there for Non ST elevation?
- Unstable angina
- NSTEMI
What are non-modifiable risk factors for ACS?
- increasing age
- male gender
- family history of premature coronary heart disease
- premature menopause
What are modifiable risk factors for atherosclerosis causing ACS?
- Smoking
- DM and impaired glucose intolerance
- Hypertension
- Dyslipidaemia
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
What are some non-atherosclerotic causes of ACS?
-Coronary occlusion secondary to: >vasculitis >CHD >cocaine use >coronary trauma >congenital coronary anomalies >increase oxygen requirement >decreased oxygen delivery
How does unstable angina and NSTEMIs present?
-Prolonged chest pain at rest >Sweating >Nausea >Vomiting >Fatigue >Shortness of breath >Palpitations >Little response to GTN spray
Which groups of patients may present atypically with ACS?
- Diabetics
- Women
What are some differential diagnosis of chest pain?
- Acute pericarditis
- Myocarditis
- AS
- PE
- Pneumonia
- Pneumothorax
- GORD
- Acute gastritis
- Acute pancreatitis
What investigations should be done for suspected ACS?
- 12 lead ecg
- Troponin (6hr and 12 hrs post chest pain onset)
- Blood glucose
- ECHO
- CXR
- Coronary angiography
What is the acute management for ACS?
- MONA
- Morphine
- Oxygen
- Nitrates
- Aspirin (300mg) or 180mg Ticagrelor
What further management is required for ACS?
- coronary angiography - PCI if necessary
- rate limiting medications
What are some lifestyle modifications that a patient can do to prevent a further ACS epsiode?
- Smoking cessation
- Weight loss
- Exercise
- Dietary alterations
What are some potential complications of ACS?
- Cardiogenic shock
- Ischaemic MR
- Supraventricular arrhythmias
- Ventricular arrhythmias
- Heart block
What is a STEMI?
- An acute myocardial infarction caused by necrosis or myocardial tissue due to ischaemia
- Usually due to a blockage of a coronary artery by a thrombus
How is STEMI diagnosed?
- Raise in troponin
- Symptoms of ischaemia
- ST elevation on ECG
- Imaging evidence of new loss of myocardium or new regional wall motion abnormality
- Identification of intracoronary thrombus by angiography or autopsy
What is the epidemiology of STEMI?
- Most common cause of death in the UK
- Affects 1 in 5 men and 1 in 10 women
- Incidence increases with age
What are modifiable risk factors for an NSTEMI?
- Smoking
- DM
- Metabolic syndromes
- Hypertension
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Obesity
- Physical inactivity
How does MI present?
- Central/Epigastric chest pain
- Radiates to arm, shoulders, neck, jaw (usually left side)
- Substernal pressure, squeezing, aching, burning, sharp pain
- Associated with sweating, nausae, vomiting, dyspnoea, fatigue, palpitations
What are some atypical presentations of MI?
- Abdominal discomfort
- Jaw pain
- Altered mental state in the elderly
What are signs of an MI?
- Low grade fever
- Pale, cool, clammy skin
- Dyskinetic cardiac impulse
- Signs of congestive heart failure
How quickly should GTN work?
- Straight away
- Side effects: headache
- ACS more likely if spray taken 3 times within 5 minutes and no relief
What are the investigations that should be done if an MI is suspected?
- ECG
- Bloods (trop)
- CXR
- Pulse oximetry and blood gases
- CARDIAC CATHETERISATION AND ANGIOGRAPHY
What pre-hospital management is required for an MI?
-Ambulance
-ECG
-Oxygen saturation monitoring
-GTN spray
-Morphine
-Aspirin
MONA
What is the hospital management for an MI?
- PCI
- Coronary bypass surgery
What is Atrial fibrillation?
-Irregular heart beat caused by irregular disorganised electrical activity from the SA node in the atria causing irregular depolarisation and therefore ineffective atrial contractions.
What are the ECG findings of AF?
- Irregularly irregular heartbeat
- No P waves
- Chaotic wavy baseline
- Fast or slwow
What are the 2 causes of an irregular heart beat?
- AF
- Ventricular ectopics
Who is commonly affected by AF?
-The elderly
What conditions are associated with an increased risk of AF?
-Structural heart abnormalities >Valvular disease >Enlarged atria -Hypertension -Acute MI -Hyperthyroidism -Alcohol and caffeine consumption -Sleep apnoea
What is the treatment for AF?
- Anti-arrhythmic drugs
- Cardioversion
- Rate control ie Beta blockers
- Anticoagulation ie warfarin, rivaroxaban
How is AF classified?
- Acute: episode within previous 48 hours
- Paroxysmal AF: self limiting AF lasting <7 days
- Recurrent AF: 2+ episodes
- Persistent AF: >7day duration
- Permanent AF: fails to terminate following cardioversion, relapses within 24 hours
What are the common causes of AF?
- Ischaemic heart disease
- Hypertension
- Valvular heart disease
- Hyperthyroidism
What are some other less common causes of AF?
-Rheumatic fever
-Pre-excitation syndromes (WPW syndrome)
-Heart failure
-Drugs (thyroxine, bronchodilators)
-Acute infection
-Electrolyte depletion
-Lung cancer
-PE
-Thyrotoxicosis
-Dietary/lifestyle factors
>excessive caffeine, alcohol obesity
What are the clinical symptoms of AF?
- Asymptomatic
- Palpitations
- Shortness of breath
- Syncope/dizziness
- Chest discomfort
- Stroke/TIA
What are the Complications of AF
-Stroke and thromboemobolism
-Heart failure
-Tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy and critical ischaemia
-Reduced quality of life
>Reduced exercise tolerance and impaired cognitive function
How is AF diagnosed?
-ECG >ambulatory ECG if paroxysmal -Bloods >TFT, FBC, U&E, LEF, coagulation -CXR -ECHO -CT/MRI if stroke is suspected
What are some differential diagnosis of AF?
- Atrial flutter (characterised saw tooth pattern or regular atrial activation on ECG)
- Ventricular ectopic beats
- Sinus tachycardia
- Supraventricular tachycardias
What is the management of the first presentation of AF?
- Investigate and manage the cause of AF.
- Rate control treatment
- Rhythm control
- Assess CHADSVASc for stroke risk
- Assess HAS-BLED tool for anticoagulant
What are the options for rate control for a patient with AF?
> Beta blocker, calcium channel blocker ie bisoprolol or diltiazem
Digoxin (for sedentary pts)
Combination therapy
What are the options for rhythm control for patients with AF?
- Cardioversion
- Pharmacological ie amiodarone or flecainide
What does CHADSVASc stand for?
- CCF
- Hypertension
- Age >75
- Diabetes
- Stroke/TIA/VTE
- Vascular disease
- Age: 65-74
- Female
What factors form the HAS-BLED scoring system?
- Hypertension
- Abnormal liver/renal function
- Stroke
- Bleeding
- Labile INR
- Elderly
- Drug/alcohol use
When should immediate admission be arranged for a patient with AF?
- Rapid pulse >150bpm
- Low bp <90mmHg systolic
What is 1st degree heart block?
-Delay in conduction of the electrical impulse through the AV node
What is the diagnostic criteria on ECG for heart block?
-Long constant PR interval. (>5 small squares = >200ms)
What may be the cause of slowed conduction through the AV node?
- Disease processes ie ischaemia
- Drugs ie beta blockers
What condition is associated with 1st degree heart block?
-AF
What is the management for 1st degree heart block?
- Watch and wait
- Monitor for any progression
- Pacemaker is not usually required as the heart rate is unaffected
What are the 2 types of 2nd degree heart block?
-Type 1 (Wenkebank)
>lengthening prolonged PR interval until a QRS is missed
-Type 2
>constantly prolonged PR intervals with occasional missing beats
What is the electrophysiology of Type 1 (2nd degree) heart block?
- Some but not all P waves are conducted to the ventricles
- Increasing PR intervals until a QRS is dropped or missing
- Blockage is commonly within the AV node/bundle of His
When might a pacemaker be required for someone with Type 1 (2nd degree) Heart block?
-If the atrial contraction rate is low
What are some medications that can cause/worsen heart block?
- Calcium channel blockers
- Beta blockers
Is Type 1 or type 2 (2nd degree) heart block more likely to progress to 3rd degree heart block?
-Type 2
What are the causes of Type 1 (2nd degree) Heart blockl?
- Ischaemia (AV node branch of RCA)
- High vagal tone in athletes
- Heart surgery
- Medications that suppress the AV node
What are the findings of type 2 2nd degree heart block on ECG?
-Regular prolonged PR intervals with occasional missing beats
What is the clinical significance of type 2 2nd degree heart block?
- May require a pacemaker if the atrial contraction rate is low
- Can progress to 3rd degree heart block
What are the causes of type 2 2nd degree heart block?
- Ischaemia
- Fiboriss within the conducting system
- Heart surgery
What is 3rd degree heart block?
-There is no communication of electrical conduction between the atria and ventricles
What are the findings on ECG of 3rd degree heart block?
- Slow ventricular rate
- Irregular or regular rhythm
- P waves>QRS
- No PR interval
What is the electrophysiology behind 3rd degree heart block?
-None of the P waves are conducted to the ventricles
-2 individual pacemakers produce individual impulses
>One of the pacemakers is below of the heart block
What is the clinical significance of 3rd degree heart block
-Symptomatic bradycardia >Low cardiac output (hypotensive) -Weak -Dizziness -Decreased exercise tolerance -SOB -Angina
What are the causes of 3rd degree heart block?
- Ischaemia or infarction
- Fibrosis or sclerosis of the conducting fibres
- Heart surgery
- Cardiomyopathy
What is heart failure?
-A clinical syndrome resulting in reduced cardiac output and/or elevated intracardiac pressures at rest of during stress characterised by typical signs and symptoms
What are the typical symptoms of heart failure?
- Breathlessness
- Fatigue
- Ankle swelling
What are the typical signs of heart failure?
- Tachycardia
- Tachypnoea
- Pulmonary rales
- Pleural effusion
- Raised JVP
- Peripheral oedema
- Hepatomegaly
What are the ways in which heart failure can be classified?
-Acute:
>new-onset heart failure (in pts without known cardiac dysfunction)
>acute decompensation of heart failure
-Chronic:
>long standing heart failure
-Ejection fraction:
>Heart failure with reduced or preserved ejection fraction
What groups of people are affected by heart failure?
- Older people
- Older females
What are the most common causes of heart failure?
- Coronary heart disease
- Hypertension
What are the valvular causes of heart failure?
- Aortic stenosis ->left ventricular hypertrophy
- Aortic/mitral regurgitation
- ASD, VSD
What drugs cause HF?
- Beta blockers
- Calcium channel blockers
- Anti-arrhythmics
What toxins cause HF?
- Alcohol
- Cocaine
- Mercury