CardioVascular Disease Flashcards
What happens to the arteries in Coronary Heart Disease?
They narrow.
What are the risk factors in MI and Angina?
Coronary Heart Disease
High cholesterol
Smoking
Obesity
High blood pressure
Diabetes
Inactivity
Stress
What age group does Coronary Heart Disease usually affect?
Can affect anyone, though it is most common in Age 40+
Does Coronary Heart Disease affect men more or women more?
It affects men more than women.
What is coronary heart disease?
Disease of the coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis or CCF.
Includes Angina and heart attacks (MI)
What happens in CardioVascular disease when there is not enough clotting?
Haemophilia
Thrombocytopenia
Bruises more easily
Excess bleeding.
What happens when there is too much clotting in Cardiovascular disease?
Deep vein thrombosis
Pulmonary embolism
Stroke
Results in a blockage of blood vessels and reduced blood flow past the area of the blockage.
What are congenital disorders?
Cardiovascular disease
Hole in the heart
Transposition of the great arteries - resulting in mixing of venous blood and oxygenated blood, and less oxygen being supplied to the tissues.
Coarctation of the aorta - narrowing of the aorta - usually close to the heart, resulting in increased resistance to blood flow.
What are Arrhythmias?
Cardiovascular disease
Inefficient contraction of the heart muscle, reducing cardiac output in some cases.
Life threatening Arrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation.
Non life threatening Arrhythmias include bradycardia, ectopic beats and atrial fibrillation.
What is valve stenosis?
Cardiovascular disease
Narrowing of the valve opening due to stiffness of the valve.
Less blood is able to pass through the valve.
There is a reduction in blood for circulation
There is increased pressure in the chamber behind the valve
This can result in heart failure
What is valve regurgitation?
Cardiovascular disease
Incomplete closure of the valves
It allows blood to flow back through into the previous chamber
It results in ineffective blood flow out of the heart
There is increased pressure in the chamber behind the valve
It can result in heart failure
It effects women more than men
It can produce heart murmurs.
What is peripheral vascular disease?
Cardiovascular disease
Narrowing of the peripheral vessels
Affects 3% of under 60s
Affects 20% of over 75s
Results in leg pain during exercise due to the lack of oxygen supply to muscles (intermittent claudication). Can also result in gangrene and amputation.
What are the risk factors of peripheral vascular disease?
Smoking
Diabetes
Inactivity
High blood pressure
High cholesterol
What is ventricular failure?
Cardiovascular disease
Failure of the heart muscle to pump blood
Results in 40’000 hospital admissions per year.
It is caused by MI, high BP, valve stenosis or regurgitation
Thickening of the wall of ventricle will try to work harder which will eventually be unable to cope, resulting in decreased contraction.
Results in cyanosis, low blood pressure, oedema, breathlessness, decreased exercise tolerance and orthopneoa.
What is an aneurysm?
Cardiovascular disease
A bulge in the arterial wall.
Results in pooling of blood and possible development of thrombi, rupture.
This usually affects older individuals unless there is a congenital weakness
Can result in death depending on the site and size.
What are the common risk factors of aneurysms?
Smoking
Atherosclerosis
Heart attacks
Male more than female
High blood pressure
Using cocaine
Low K+
What are the most common sites of an aneurysm?
Abdominal aorta
Cerebral arteries
What is Cardiovascular disease?
All diseases of the heart and blood vessels, such as stroke, haemorrhage or clot, TIA, congenital heart defects, valvular heart disease, or peripheral arterial disease
How is cardiovascular function measured?
Heart rate
Respirations
Blood pressure
Mobility
Exercise testing
Stress testing
Auscultation
Doppler
Oximetry
ECG
Pulse testing
What are the key signs to observe for in seeing if someone has a cardiovascular problem?
Chest pain/radiation of pain Shortness of breath Arrhythmias/heart sounds Nausea and vomiting Rate of respiration Peripheral vasoconstriction Hypertension/hypotension Heart disease/heart failure Hyperkalaemia
What are the guidelines in reducing blood pressure?
Weight reduction Salt reduction Alcohol moderation Increase physical activity Increase intake of fruit and vegetables Decrease total and saturated fat intake
What are the guidelines in reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease?
Stop smoking
Decrease total and saturated fat intake
Replace saturated fats with monounsaturated
Increase oily fish consumption
How as a nurse can you improve the well being in someone who is at risk of heart diseases?
Promote smoking cessation
Educate and encourage healthy eating
Educate them in managing their weight gain and obesity
Manage side effects of medication
Promote physical activity - exercise.
What is a stent and why are they used?
A stent is a wire that is placed into the main blood vessel in aim to push the clot through and to create a better blood flow.
What is a pulmonary embolism?
This is a blockage of blood flow to the lungs
How can you determine upon physical observation the likelihood of an event being a heart attack or angina?
If the patient sits down and the pain reduces, it is most likely an angina attack.
If they sit down and the pain persists, it is probably a heart attack
Where is the most common site of the body where a male or female may experience pain in an angina attack or a heart attack?
Men usually experience pain in the arms.
Women usually experience pain in the neck/jaw.
It is thought this this is due to the location of the major blood vessels
When are cardiac problems most likely to occur?
During the night, as when a person is laid down the body struggles to pump blood efficiently
