Cardiovascular medicine Flashcards
irreversible risk factors for cardiovascular disease
- age
- sex
- family history
reversible risk factors for CVD
- smoking
- obesity
- diet
- exercise
- hypertension
- hyperlipidaemia
primary prevention of CVD
- increasing exercise, eating a better diet and stopping smoking
- altering risk factors BEFORE the onset of disease
- opper
secondary prevention of CVD
- reducing the risk once the disease is present
- easier to get patients to comply as they don’t want a relapse
antiplatelet drugs
- aspirin
- clopidrogel
- dipyridamole
oral anticoagulants
stop the coagulation pathway
WARFARIN
drugs to treat atherosclerosis
statins
how do diuretics help patients with CVD
reduce fluid volume of the blood by decreasing water retention and increasing salt retention
- reduces preload and controls blood pressure
nitrates
long or short acting
- dilate veins to reduce preload in the heart (angina)
- dilates resistance arteries to reduce cardiac workload, oxygen consumption
- dilates the coronary artery supply (headaches)
calcium channel blockers
- treatment for hypertension
- blocks calcium channels in smooth muscles and some heart muscles
dental aspect of calcium channel blockers
can cause gingival hyperplasia
ace inhibitors
- enalapril
- inhibits conversion of angiotensin 1 to angiotensin 2
- important vasoconstrictor, therefore reducing BP
dental aspect of ace inhibitors
can cause oral angio-oedema (top lip oedema)
blood vessel narrowing atherosclerosis
- results in inadequate O2 delivery
- muscle cramps due to lack of oxygen, leading to lactic acid build up causing FIBROSIS
blood vessel occlusion atherosclerosis
- no oxygen delivery due to blocking of the blood vessel
- the tissue becomes narcotic
- severe pain and loss of function results
full requirement for atherosclerosis diagnosis
- FULL medical history
- ECG
- STEMI
- nSTEMI
3. biomarkers - increased coronary enzymes (troponin) levels after an MI
during which action is blood able to flow into the coronary arteries
- disastole as the vessels are relaxed
why does an increased HR reduce BF to the coronary arteries
- there is less time during diastole to allow blood to flow into the relaxed vessels
effects of narrowing/atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries
- reduced O2 delivery to the heart
- lactic acid build up
- fibrosis of the muscle (permanent damage)
two types of angina
- classical
2. unstable
classical angina
- only gets worse when the person is exerted
- symptoms decrease and stop when resting
unstable angina
- symptoms of angina occur randomly when at rest
- NO BIOMARKER
- blood vessels randomly open and contract
angina
REVERSIBLE ischaemia of the heart muscle due to narrowing of one or more of the coronary arteries
angina pain
- autonomic nerve stimulation in the heart due to low oxygen delivery
- this registers as REFERRED PAIN in the brain
- therefore the pain is felt in the chest, and can extend over the arm, back and jaw
symptoms of classical angina
- chest pain when exercising
- chest pain can worsen with temperature and emotion
- pain is relieved from rest
diagnosing angina
- ECG showing an area of myocardial ischaemia
- elimination of other potential causes
- thyroid issues, valvular defects
3. angiography
4. echocardiography
angiography
dye injected into an artery to check for narrow areas
echocardiography
sound waves used to generate a live image of the heart
how will angina appear in an ECG?
- elevation i the ST segment
- ISCHAEMIC EPISODE
- the ST segment doesn’t reach the base line of the ECG
- STEMI
treating angina
reducing the oxygen demand of the heart by
1. reducing after load by reducing BP
- reducing preload by using nitrate therapy
how to reduce preload for angina patients
- nitrate therapy with dilate the vessels to reduce venous pressure (GTN in an emergency)
- angioplasty to bypass narrowed vessels (CABG)
- drugs to reduce hypertension (diuretics and ace inhibitors)
CABG
- coronary artery bypass graft
- vein from the leg is grafted into the heart, wrapping round the aorta to bypass narrowed vessels
- major surgery involved, heart must be stopped
- only lasts 10 years in good health
angioplasty and stenting
- lowers the risk of angina
- risks of vessels bursting
- vessel is artificially widened
- angioplasty = ballon with cage opened in the vessel
peripheral vascular disease
angina but in the peripheral tissues
- usually the peripheries and lower limbs
atheroma
fatty deposits and scarring in vessel walls
symptoms of peripheral vascular disease
- pain in the limbs on exercise, improved with rest
- limited function to peripheral tissues
- may lead to necrosis and gangrene in severe cases
when does ischaemia become infarction
when a narrowed vessel, either by atheroma, thrombosis or platelet plug, becomes completely occluded, preventing any blood reaching the tissue
infarction
complete obstruction of a vessel causing tissue death
brain infarction is caused by occlusion of
the carotid arteries
heart infarction is caused by total occlusion of the
coronary arteries
symptoms of myocardial infarction
- crushing chest pain
- clenched fist over chest is a good indicator - pain radiating to the left arm
- nausea
- pale, grey skin
- sweating
- palpitations
- shortness of breath
what to do if a patient is suffering an MI in surgery
- give the patient 300mg crushed in water and spray 3 puffs of GTN under the tongue and have the patient sitting bolt upright
- attach defibrillator pads to the chest, they won’t shock unless the person goes into cardiac arrest
- attach the trauma mask to an oxygen supply and give 15L/min to the patient
- calm and reassure the patient as much as possible
types of MI
- spontaneous
- sudden death
- MI from percutaneous infection (from angioplasty or stent)
- MI fro CABG
spontaneous MI
- primary coronary event
- platelet plaque plug ruptures the vessel
suddenly death MI
- ischaemia causes STEMI or a thrombus
- death is not from the ischaemia, but usually from ventricular fibrillation due to an interruption of the conductivity of the heart muscle from reduced BF
thrombolysis
dissolves a blood clot within 6 hours
- ideal treatment as it is non invasive
treating MI
- thrombolysis done within 6 hours
- angioplasty can be placed within 3 hours
- CABG must be done if other options are not appropriate
preventing MI
- treat patient with aspirin
2. work on risk factors
stroke
ifarction in the brain caused by an embolism
- atheroma travels into the carotid and it lodged
- can also be caused by thrombosis in the brain (rare)
treatment of a stroke depends on whether it was caused by a;
- clotting or bleeding
2. embolism or thrombosis
transient ischaemic attacks
a warning sign of stroke risk
- mini strokes
- usually last less than 24 hours before normal function returns
why do patients feel such sever pain during MI?
- the basal ganglia picks up autonomic stimulation which is not normally recognised
- this is passed onto the sympathetic system
- the signals are transcribed this way confer a greater amount of anxiety coupled with the pain
STEMI
ST segment elevated myocardial infarction
what do abnormal Q waves on the ECG suggest
old MI has occurred
primary care of MI
- get the patient into hospital
- analgesia, aspirin, GTN
- BLS if required
hospital care for MI
- PCI angioplasty and stent
- thrombolysis is possible, most effective if given early enough
- drug treatment to reduce the damage of the MI
complications after MI if survived
- frequent arrythmia
- heart failure risk due to loss of function of areas of the muscle
- ventricular hypofunction
- papillary muscles can easily rupture during MI - DVT or pulmonary embolism
preventative care of MI
- get patient on aspirin
- modify risk factors
- beta blockers
- reduce HR - ACE inhibitors
- reduce preload and prevents vasoconstriction - Statins
- if the patient has high cholesterol - diuretics
- reduce BP - Ca channel blocker
- relaxes smooth muscle in vessels and force of the left ventricle
REMEMBER ABCD
- aspirin, beta blocker, calcium channel blocker, diuretics
atherosclerosis
- a build up of cholesterol in the tunica media
- caused by NON-MODIFIABLE lifestyle factors (hyperlipidaemia)
- chronic inflammatory response followed by incomplete healing
- forms ATHEROMAs
non-modifiable risk factors of atherosclerosis
- age
- gender
- genes
why are males more at risk of atherosclerosis
- only until the menopause
- oestrogen levels in women keep BV open
what defect in the genes can make a person more susceptible to atherosclerosis
mutation in the low density lipoprotein receptor gene
- mainly found in the liver, smooth muscles and fibroblasts
- control cholesterol uptake and processing
basal state of endothelial cells
- normal state
- cells are non-adhesive and non-thrombogenic
- the laminar flow is normal
- there is no trauma or insult to the cells
activated state of endothelial cell states
- change in the production of cytokine growth factor
- encourages thrombogenic events
causes;
- turbulent flow
- hypertension
- bacterial productions
- cigarette smoke
- viruses
atheroma
- chronic inflammatory response to lipoproteins, collection of monocytes which have engulfed lipid
- endothelial cells surface becomes more permeable to lipids
- change in adhesion so more monocytes collect and move into the tunica media
- monocytes move in, but cannot phagocytose the lipid and therefore form a fatty deposit
foam cells
collection of pale and swollen monocytes from inability to phagocytose lipid
the healing response phase in the formation of an atheroma
- smooth muscle cells proliferate and fibrous tissue forms from macrophage and fibroblasts in healing
- this forms a fibro-fatty plaque with a central mass of lipid and necrotic tissue as the lipid cannot be phagocytosed
- this is covered in a thin layer of endothelial cells due to thickening of the tunica media, forming a cap over the cholesterol, forming a plug
- small blood vessels can form in the plug, causing haemorrhage
effects of atherosclerosis
- decrease in blood supply to a tissue or organ (ischaemia)
- complete obstruction of blood flow (infarction)
- thrombosis (release of thrombogenic factors from the atheroma forms a thrombus/clot)
- embolism may occur if the thrombus breaks off