Cardiovascular disorders Flashcards
What is heart failure?
Heart unable to maintain adequate circulation for metabolic requirements of body.
What marker is used for heart failure?
Ejection fraction.
What is a mildly reduced ejection fraction?
Ejection fraction between 41% and 49%.
What is a reduced ejection fraction?
Ejection fraction < 40%.
What can cause heart failure?
Cardiac damage (ischaemia), hypertension and valve disease.
Symptoms of heart failure?
Exertional dyspnoea.
What biomarker for heart failure?
Elevated brain natriuretic peptide (BNP).
What would you see on an xray of a patient with heart failure?
Cardiomegaly.
Treatment for heart failure?
ACE inhibitors, beta blockers.
What might you see in an ECG for a patient with heart failure?
Enlarged QRS complex.
What is a preserved ejection fraction?
Ejection fraction > 50%
What are the two types of heart failure?
Diastolic heart failure (preserved ejection fraction) and systolic heart failure (reduced ejection fraction).
What can be seen in the ventricles in systolic heart failure?
Dilated ventricles.
What can be seen in the ventricles in diastolic heart failure?
Thickened ventricular muscle.
Symptoms of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome?
Tachycardia & abnormal cardiac electrical conductance
What causes atrial fibrilation?
Spontaneously active cells throughout the atria.
What causes Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome?
Additional accessory conduction pathway (the bundle of Kent) between the atria and ventricles.
Symptoms of atrial fibrilation and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome?
Palpitations & chest pain.
ECG findings in atrial fibrilation?
Absent p-waves & ‘irregularly irregular’ rhythm.
ECG findings in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome?
QRS pre-excitation & biphasic T wave.
What causes QRS pre excitation in WPW syndrome?
Current from extra accessory pathway which causes ventricular depolarisation before you get ventricular depolarisation from AVN.
What causes biphasic t wave in WPW syndrome?
Depolarisation from extra accessory pathway when repolarisation is occuring in the ventricles.
Treatments for atrial fibrilation?
Cardioversion, anti-arrhythmics.
What causes heart blocks?
Damage to conduction system.
What would you see on the ECG on a first degree heart block?
Increased P-R interval.
What would you see on the ECG on a second degree heart block?
Increased P-R interval or ‘missing’ QRS complexes.
What would you see on the ECG on a third degree heart block?
No QRS complexes.
Treatment for heart blocks?
Discontinuation of AV-blocking drugs (e.g. beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers) or pacemaker implantation in severe cases
Hypertension blood pressure reading?
BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg
What is normal blood pressure reading?
Normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg.
NSTEMI ECG reading?
ST-depression.
STEMI ECG reading?
ST-elevation.
What biomarker is present in STEMI and NSTEMI?
High troponin levels.
Difference between STEMI and NSTEMI in terms of cause?
STEMI is caused by complete blockage of coronary artery while NSTEMI is caused by partial blockage.
How do you treat angina?
Vasodilators.
How do you treat NSTEMI or STEMI?
Coronary stents, antiplatelets.
NSTEMI/STEMI symptoms?
chest pain, sweating, nausea & vomiting
ECG changes would you expect to see in hypertrophy of the left ventricle?
Larger QRS complex.
