Chapter 14A - Cardiovascular Emergencies Flashcards
Perfusion
Means, “to pour through” - so it refers to the pumping of blood through capillary beds. Perfusion supplied cells with O2 and nutrients.
Arteriosclerosis
A condition of hardening of the arteries.
Causes
- aging
- HTN
- cigarettes
Atherosclerosis
One of the types or causes of hardening of the arteries
C. A. B. G.
Coronary artery bypass graft
Or a coronary bypass operation done for clogged arteries in the heart
Acute coronary syndrome
A term than included an acute onset MI or unstable angina pectoris. ACS is the proximate cause if sudden cardiac death in most adult patients.
What is the most common cause of death in the first 2 hours of an MI?
Ventricular fibrillation
Describe the development of atherosclerosis
CAD starts in early childhood. It may take 20-40 years to affect the body noticeably. Usually atherosclerosis must restrict the diameter of the coronary arteries by 50-70% for symptoms to occur.
What causes atherosclerosis?
- Damage to the inner wall of the artery (from oxidation or toxins)
- Followed by build-up plaques and cholesterol within the layers of the arterial wall itself (from high fat diets, especially from saturated or “partially hydrogenated” oils
- Low-density lipo-protein (LDL) - high levels of LDL’s contribute to atherosclerosis because they bring and deposit fat in arteries
- High density lipo-proteins (HDL) - high levels of HDL’s protect against atherosclerosis because they pick up and remove fats from the system
List common causes of chest pain
Myocardial causes
Vascular causes
Pulmonary causes
Gastrointestinal causes
Myocardial causes of chest pain
Angina pectoris
MI
Pericarditis
Vascular causes of chest pain
Acute dissecting aneurysm (a ballooning of the aorta)
Pulmonary causes of chest pain
Acute pulmonary embolus
Pneumonia
Pneumothorax
Pleurisy
Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain
Gastritis Esophagitis (heart burn or gastric reflux, myocardial ischemia may present as abdominal pain or discomfort)
Describe the OPQRST of chest pain
O - when did this chest pain start
P - what where you doing when the pain began? What makes it better? What makes it worse?
Q - what does the pain feel like?
R - where is the pain located? Does the pain go anywhere else?
S - how sever is the pain? Would you rank the pain as mild, moderate, or severe?
T - how long has the pain lasted?
Describe differential diagnosis of things myocardial pain probably isn’t.
Not described as sharp or stabbing
Not usually relatives to exercise or stress
Not made worse by inhalation
Not relieved by rest
Not relieved by NTG or only minimally, and then returns after a few minutes.