Case 1: Racing Heart Flashcards
What do diuretics do? (2)
increase renal fluid loss
decrease blood volume and swelling
What does Fen-phen do? (2)
weight loss
releases serotonin which decreases appetite
What does digoxin do? (2)
increase pumping of heart
prevents calcium from entering (contraction lasts longer)
What does St John’s Wort do? (2)
alter BP
increase HR and make uneven
What is Ventolin and what does it do?
beta-agonist
opens airways by mimicking adrenaline
What do vasodilators do? (1)
block calcium from entering
What does endothelin-1 do? What does it mimic and how?
vasoconstrictor
endothelin- by being the same shape (competitive inhibitor)
What does bosentan do? (1)
blocks vascular signaling molecules like endothelin-1
Where is cocaine derived from and what does it do?
leaves of shrub in South America
anaesthetic, blocks AP, serotonin acts longer
What type of junction are intercalated discs?
gap junctions in heart
What allows cardiac muscle to contract?
sarcomeres
What are the four stages of the cyclic sequence of heart pumping?
relaxation to atria contraction to ventricle contract to relaxation
What 3 things control heart contraction?
pacemaker (SA node), atrial ventricular node, purkinje
What does in echocardiogram measure and how?
chamber size, valve function, volume of blood
reflects sound waves to create moving image of heart
How does a electrocardiogram measure and what does right axis deviation mean?
“leads”- lines between electrode pairs
right ventricle hypertrophy
What are the 4 stages of clot formation?
- injury
- vessel contracts
- platelet plug
- fibrin clot (coagulation factors in precise order)
What does warfarin do?
interfere with production of clotting factors in cascade
What is the therapeutic window?
range of doses that produce a therapeutic effect without significant adverse side effects
What happens with asthma, what are the symptoms and treatment?
smooth muscle contracts to close airways
wheezing, SOB, history of wheeze, +’ve response to bronchodilator
Ventolin
What happens with right ventricle hypertrophy and what are the symptoms?
walls of RV get thicker, low resistance of vasculature in lungs
RV becomes rigid, not enough oxygen, hypertension, failure, “pressure overload”
What happens with athlete’s heart?
left ventricle hypertrophy
What happens with peripheral oedema, what are the symptoms and treatment?
fluid accumulation in interstitial space (venous return dependent on skeletal muscle contraction)
swelling
catheter inserted vena cava through ventricle into pulmonary artery
What happens with pulmonary hypertension and what are the treatments?
narrowing of arterioles, increased resistance, pressure overload, vessels stiff, RV thickens to compensate
bosentan (Tracleer), diuretics to increase fluid loss and reduce swelling, blood thinners, heart stimulants, vasodilators, lung transplant
