Cardiovascular Diseases Flashcards
What are the criteria for essential hypertension?
- Sustained pressure increase (systolic >140 and/or diastolic >90)
- Complex multigenetic disorder
What environmental factors can contribute to hypertension? (5)
- Obesity
- Stress
- Smoking
- Physical inactivity
- Heavy salt consumption
Blood pressure = ____.
Blood Pressure = Cardiac Output * Peripheral Resistance
What some primary regulators of blood pressure?
- Hormones
- Renal function
- Heart function
Name some humoral vasoconstrictors
- Angiotensin II
- Catecholamines
- Thromboxane
- Leukotrienes
- Endothelin
Name some humoral vasodilators
- Prostaglandins
- Kinins
- NO
α-adrenergic neural factors are ____
Vasoconstrictors
β-adrenergic neural factors are _____
Vasodilators
What type of arteriosclerosis is characterized by glassy eosinophilic protein deposits and narrow lumen of vessels
Hyaline arteriosclerosis
Hyaline arteriosclerosis is associated with ___ hypertension.
Benign hypertension
What type of arteriosclerosis is characterized by “onion-skinning,” where there is thickening of smooth muscle and basement membrane, but no collagen or connective tissue?
Hyperplastic arteriosclerosis
Hyperplastic arteriosclerosis is associated with _____ hypertension
Severe hypertension
What is atherosclerosis?
A type of arteriosclerosis characterized by formation of atheroma (aka atherosclerotic plaque)
Describe an atheroma
- Collection of cholesterol crystals beneath the tunica intima in blood vessels that pushes into the lumen
- Composed of a fibrous cap and a necrotic center
The vulnerability or stability of an atherosclerotic plaque is determined by what?
The thickness of the fibrous cap
What are foam cells?
Macrophages in atherosclerotic plaques that are attempting to digest lipids and failing to do so
(FC)
What are cholesterol clefts (CC)?
- Cholesterol crystalizes out because there is so much of it
- Occurs during staining/fixing
Explain the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis
- Endothelial cell dysfunction
- Formation of atherosclerotic plaque
- T cell-macrophage interaction
- Fracture of the plaque and thrombosis
Plaques initiate at sites where endothelium is _____.
Intact
What are the most important contributors to endothelial injury? (2)
- Hemodynamic disturbances (turbulence)
- Hypercholesterolemia
Where are apoproteins synthesized?
Liver
Are lipids or proteins less dense?
Lipids
What are the criteria for chronic hyperlipidemia?
- Damage to the tunica intima by LDL accumulation (macrophages attempt to remove)
- Impaired function of endothelial cells
Why do macrophage attempts at removal of LDL accumulation in the tunica intima damage endothelial cells?
Macrophages cannot digest oxidized LDLs, so they release ROS which in turn injures tissue and depletes NO
What is the difference between a fatty streak and a mature atheroma?
Mature atheromas have a fibrous cap
Cytokines released by macrophages during inflammatory reaction induce ______ and ______.
- Smooth muscle cell proliferation
- Extracellular matrix production
Normally leukocytes do not bind to endothelium, so why do they bind to dysfunctional endothelium in atherosclerosis?
Dysfunctional endothelial cells express adhesion molecules
Damaged endothelium provides a focal point for ______ and production of _____
- Platelet binding and activation
- Blood clots
Explain the pre-clinical phase of atherosclerosis
Normal artery → Fatty streak → Fibrofatty plaque → Advanced vulnerable plaque
- Asymptomatic
- Starts at a young age
Describe the clinical phase of atherosclerosis
Advanced vulnerable plaque can lead to:
- Aneurysm and rupture
- Occlusion by thrombus
- Critical stenosis