Cardiology clinical notes Flashcards
What are the layers of the heart from superficial to deep?
- Epicardium (visceral serous pericardium)
- Myocardium
- Endocardium
- Fibrous skeleton
What type of muscle makes up the myocardium?
Cardiac muscle
Myocardial infarction
Lack of blood to a specific area of the myocardium
Angina Pectoris
Pain that originates in the heart and produces a pain of the chest
Ligamentum Arteriosum is a remnant of?
Ductus Arteriosus
The ligamentum arteriosum now connects?
Pulmonary trunk and arch of aorta
What nerve loops around the ligamentum arteriosum?
Left recurrent laryngeal nerve of the vagus nerve
Atrial septal defects usually involve?
Incomplete closure of foramen ovale
Larger openings in the interatrial septum allow mixture of?
Oxygen rich and oxygen depleted blood
Cardiac catheterization
Insertion of a catheter into femoral vein, up to IVC and allows visualization of the right atrium, ventricle and pulmonary trunk
Which side of the heart has thicker walls?
Left
Where is the sinuatrial node?
Where SVC meets right atrium
What initiates impulses in the heart?
Sinuatrial node
What then responds to the signal from the sinuatrial node?
Atrioventricular node
The atrioventricular node distributes the signal to?
Ventricles
4 steps to signal propagation in the heart
- Sinuatrial node
- Atrioventricular node
- Atrioventricular bundle
- Subendocardial branches (purkinje)
Produces a regular electrical impulse that is carried to the ventricles via electrodes
Artificial cardiac pacemaker
What vein is an artificial cardiac pacemaker electrodes placed in?
SVC
Atrial fibrilation
Irregular twitching of atrial cardiac muscle fibers
- causes ventricles to respond irregularly
Ventricular fibrilation
Rapid irregular twitching of the ventricles rendering the heart unable to pump blood
Where is cardiac referred pain usually?
Left pectoral area and medial aspect of the left upper limb
Where can tubes of a bypass machine be inserted?
Transverse pericardial sinus
Pericarditis
Inflammation of the pericardium which makes the heart rough and resistant to friction
Pericardial effusion
Inflammation of the pericardium that results in fluid accumulation in the pericardial sac that compresses the heart
Drainage of blood, fluid, pus from pericardial sac
- done to relieve cardiac tamponade
Pericardiocentesis
What is the fibrous skeleton of the heart made of?
Dense collagenous fibers
What is the main purpose of the fibrous skeleton of the heart?
Provides an electrically insulated barrier between the atria and the ventricles
What serves as an attachment point for the myocardium?
Fibrous skeleton of the heart
What separates the superior and inferior mediastinum?
Sternal angle
What are the divisions of the inferior mediastinum?
Anterior
Middle
Posterior
In what portion of the mediastinum is the heart?
Inferior middle mediastinum
Coronary artery bypass graft is done when?
One or both of the coronary arteries are obstructed and a segment needs to be replaced
What is normally used to replace/reroute blood in a coronary artery bypass graft?
Great saphenous vein
Coronary angioplasty
Insertion of a small balloon catheter into the lumen of the coronary artery
What does a coronary angioplasty do?
Flattens obstruction (plaque) up against artery wall and increases lumen size and thus the blood flow through the artery
