Cardiovascular Flashcards
what are the symptoms of AF?
papitations
pounding/ fluttering
dizziness
SOB
tiredness
what are the three types of AF?
paroxysmal AF - episodes stop within 48 hours
persistent AF - episodes last > 7 days
permanent AF
what is the treatment for life threatening haemodynamic instability in AF?
electrical cardioversion
what treatment should be offered to patients who present with acute AF within the first 48 hours?
rate (beta blocker or rate limiting CCB)
AND
rhythm control (flecanide or amiodarone)
what treatment should be offered to patients who present with acute AF after 48 hours?
rate control
what are the treatment options for rate control?
beta-blocker (not sotalol)
rate limiting CCB (diltiazem or verapamil)
digoxin (non paroxysmal AF who are sedentary) (AF with congestive HF)
what are the treatment options for rhythm control?
beta blocker (not sotalol)
amiodarone, flecainide, propafenone, sotalol
what is the pill in the pocket approach and when can it be used?
used for patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF
flecainide or propafenone
what is the treatment step process to managing AF?
rate control - monotherapy
rate control - dual therapy
rhythm control
what two tools are used to guide stroke prevention in AF?
CHA2DS2-VASc
ORBIT
what CHA2DS2-VASc score is required to offer stroke prevention?
All patients with a score of 2
Men with a score of 1
what drugs can be offered to patients who need stroke prevention in AF?
DOAC - non-valvular AF
Warfarin - valvular or DOAC not appropriate
what are the treatment options for paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia?
1st spontaneous termination or reflex vagal nerve stimulation
2nd IV adenosine
3rd IV verapamil
Prevention: beta blockers or rate limiting CCBs
how do you treat torsade de pointes?
IV magnesium sulfate
beta blocker (not sotalol)
what are the causes of torsade de pointes?
sotalol and other drugs causing QT prolongation
hypokalaemia
bradycardia
what are the classes of anti-arrhythmics?
Class I: membrane stabilising (lidocaine, flecainide)
Class II: beta blockers (not sotalol)
Class III: Amiodarone, sotalol
Class IIII: CCBs (verapamil and diltiazem)
what is the loading dose for amiodarone?
200mg TDS for 7 days
200mg BD for 7 days
200mg OD thereafter
what are the side effects of amiodarone?
corneal microdeposits - night time glares when driving
optic neuropathy - STOP if vision impaired
phototoxicity - skin burns (use high SPF)
slate grey skin
peripheral neuropathy
pulmonary fibrosis
hepatotoxicity
thyroid (hyper and hypo)
what monitoring is required for amiodarone?
eye tests annually
chest x ray before treatment
LFTs 6 monthly
TFTs before and 6 monthly
BP and ECG
Serum potassium
which of the following does not interact with amiodarone?
grapefruit juice
warfarin
morphine
simvastatin
clarithromycin
morphine
grapefruit juice - enzyme inhibitor
warfarin - amiodarone is enzyme inhibitor
simvastatin - risk of myopathy
clarithromycin - QT prolongation
what is the therapeutic target level of digoxin?
1-2 mcg/L
what digoxin level is associated with an increased risk of toxicity?
1.5-3 mcg/L
what are the symptoms of digoxin toxicity?
hypokalaemia
hypercalcaemia
bradycardia/ heart block
nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdo pain
blurred/ yellow vision
confusion
rash
what is the treatment for digoxin toxicity?
digoxin specific antibody
what effect do enzyme inhibitors have on digoxin?
increase plasma concentration, leading to toxicity
what effect do enzyme inducers have on digoxin?
reduce plasma concentrations, leading to subtherapeutic doses
what test can be used to diagnose a thromboembolism?
D-dimer
what are the DOACs?
edoxaban, rivaroxaban, apixaban, dabigatran
what are the reversal agents for the DOACs?
andexanet alfa - for apixaban and rivaroxaban
idarucizumab - for dabigatran
edoxaban has no reversal agent
which of the DOACs require an initial loading dose of a LMWH before treatment for confirmed PE/DVT?
dabigatran and edoxaban
which DOAC must be taken with food?
rivaroxaban (15mg and 20mg)
how long does warfarin take to act?
48-72 hours
what is the monitoring requirements for warfarin?
INR every 3 months once stable
what is the MHRA alert for warfarin?
calciphylaxis - painful skin rash
what are the warfarin targets?
2-3 - AF, VTE, MI
3-4 - recurrent VTE, valvular AF
what should be done if a patient presents with an INR of 5-8 and no bleeding?
withhold 1-2 doses
reduce maintenance dose
measure INR after 2-3 days
what should be done if a patient presents with an INR > 8 and no bleeding?
omit warfarin
oral phytomenadione
repeat if INR still high after 24 hours
restart warfarin when INR < 5
what should be done if a patient presents with an INR > 5 with bleeding?
omit warfarin
IV phytomenadione
repeat if INR still high after 24 hours
restart warfarin when INR < 5