Cardiovascular Diseases Flashcards
When taking a history and examination of a patient, what should you look for when looking for CV disease
History:
- Generally fit and well?
- Heart problems
- High BP?
- Medications
- More specific qs if necessary
- Pt exercise tolerance (how far can you walk unaided without stopping, can you climb stairs, what prevents you from going further)
Examination:
- General appearance
- Breathlessness at rest
- Apprehensive, sweaty expression
Hands:
- finger clubbing
- Pale nail bed may suggest anaemia
- Splinter haemorrages typical of endocarditis
Face and Oral Cavity:
-Cyanosis
Blue discolouration of the lips or palate
Poor oxygenation of blood and they may have a cardiac cause
-Gingival overgrowth
Antihypertensives
-Xanthelasma (yellow patches around the eyes) indicate high cholestrol
Pulse:
- Palpation of radial pulse with index and middle fingers
- Atrial fibriation
- Rate>100/min then tachycardia
- Rate<60/min then bradycardia
Blood pressure
Definition of Hypertension
- long term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated
- 20-30% of adult population
- Persistently high blood pressure
- 140/90 mmHg persistantly raised
Normal blood pressure readings v hypertension v hypotension
Normal:
Between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg
High BP:
140/90mmHg or higher
Low BP:
90/60 of lower
Complications of hypertension
-Long-term blood pressure is a major risk for coronary artery disease, MI stroke heart failure vision loss chronic kidney disease and renal failure peripheral vascular disease
Normal cardiac rate v brachycarida v tachycardia
- Between 80-90/min considered normal
- Athletes can be as low as 50-60/min
- Brachycardia is <60b/min
- Tachycardia is >100b/min
Types of hypertension and explanation
Primary (Essential) Hypertension
- 90%
- No identifiable cause
- Prevalence increases with age
- Tends to be familial and is likely to be the consequence of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors
Multifactoral aetiology: Genetic factors Environmental (obesity, alcohol, salt intake, stress) Humoral mechanisms Insulin Resistance
Secondary Hypertension
- Underlying primary cause
- Renal Disease eg diabetic nephropathy, chronic glomerulonephritis, adult polycystic disease
- Pregnancy
- Endocrine Disease eg Conn’s syndrome, Adrenal hyperplasia, Cushing’s syndrome, acromegaly
- Drugs eg. corticosteroids, oral contraceptive pill
- Coarctation of the aorta
Diagnosis of hypertension
- Measurement of blood pressure on at least 3 occasions over a 3 month period
- Usualyl >140/90mmHg
- Often require a 24h monitor
Treatment of hypertension
- If secondary hypertension, treat the cause if possible
- If primary hypertension then give genera advice about weight loss, exercise, reducing alcohol, stopping smoking, reducing salt intake, increasing fruit and vegetables
-or medical treatment:
ACE Inhibitors eg captopril, ramipril
Angiotensin II receptor blockers eg candesartan, losartan
B blockers eg atenolol, propranolol
Ca channel blockers eg nifedipine, amlodipine
Diuretics eg bendroflumethiazide
Dental Relevance of hypertension
- Minimise stress and pain to minimise further increase in BP which may precipitate cerebrovascular accident (stroke), MI
- No problem with adrenaline in LA, as long as the intravacular injection is avoided
- Controlled hypertensive-treat as normotensive
- Uncontrolled hypertensive (>140/90mmHg)- delay elective treatment. Refer to GP
- Severe hypertension (>180/110mmHg)- refer urgently to GP or hospital
- Post operative bleeding more likely
- Patient likely to be taking aspirin
-Oral manifestations due to the use of ACE inhibitors include:
Loss of taste
Angiodema
Lichenoid Reaction
-Oral manifestations due to B blockers include
Lichenoid reactions
-Oral manifestations due to calcium channel blockers include
Gingival overgrowth
-Oral manifestations due to diuretics include
Xerostomia
Atherosclerosis definition
- Disease in which the inside of the artery narrows due to the build up of plaque
- Associated with the radio between LDL:HDL
- Initially there are no symptoms
- Narrowing of arteries limits flow of oxygen rich blood to the parts of the body
Atherosclerosis complications
-If severe, Coronary heart disease Stroke Peripheral artery disease Kidney problems
Dependent on which arteries are affected
Risk factors for atherosclerosis
- Abnormal cholesterol levels
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Family history
- Unhealthy diet
What is a plaque made up of
- Fat
- Cholesterol
- Calcium
- Other substances from the blood
Treatment of atheroschlerosis
-Modifiable factors such as exercise, diet, smoking etc
- Statins decrease cholesterol
- Blood pressure meds
- Aspirin decreases clotting
-Regression includes antioxidants and HDL
Difference between arteriosclerosis, arteriolosclerosis, and artherosclerosis
- Arteriosclerosis general term for describing any hardening of M or L arteries
- Arteriolosclerosis is the hardening of arterioles
- Artherosclerosis is the hardening of an artery specifically due to atheromatous plaque
Clinical features of atherosclerosis
-Asymptomatic for decades as arteries enlarge at all plaque locations causing no effect on blood flow
- S/s only occur after severe narrowing impeding blood flows to different organisms enough to induce symptoms
- Depends on which arteries have been narrowed
-Coronary arteries Chest pain SOB Nausea Dizziness Palpatations
-Carotid artery Cant think straight Difficulty speaking Dizziness Blurred vision
-Peripheral arteries
Numbness in extremities
-Renal arteries
Decreased kidney blood flow and chronic kidney disease
Different layers of artery from inner to out
- Tunica intima (endothelial layer on top)
- Tunica media
- Tunica adventitia
Same for vein