Chapter 27 - Vascular++ Flashcards
What is the most common congenital hypercoagulable disorder?
Resistance activated protein C (factor V) Leiden factor
What is most common acquired hypercoagulability disorder?
Smoking
What are the three stages of atherosclerosis?
- Foam cells - macrophages that have absorbed fat and lipids in the vessel wall.
- Smooth muscle cell proliferation - caused by growth factors (PDGF) released from macs; results in wall injury.
- Intimal disruption from smooth muscle cell proliferation - leads to exposure of collagen in the vessel wall and eventual thrombus formation - fibrous plaques then form in these areas with underlying atheromas
What are the risk factors for atherosclerosis?
- smoking - vascular mortality dec to nonsmoker if pt quits for 20 yrs; causes endothelial dysfx and thrombosis
- DM - distal dz, inc risk of ampx
- HTN - ctrl to prevent cardiac and CVA
- cholesterol - statin
Atherosclerosis is a disease of what part of the blood vessel?
Disease of intima (deposition occurs in innermost layer).
Vessel compromised at 40%.
Rupture of cap exposes thrombogenic LDL core.
Hypertension is a disease of what part of the blood Vessel?
Disease of the media (tension occurs in the muscular layer)
What is the most important risk factor for stroke in asymptomatic patients?
Hypertension
Where is the most common site for stenosis in the carotid arteries?
Bifurcation
The normal internal carotid artery has what type of flow?
Continuous forward flow (brain needs continuous perfusion)
The normal external carotid artery has what type of flow?
Triphasic flow (externals go to high pressure beds)
Where is the communication between the internal carotid artery and the external carotid artery?
Ophthalmic artery (first branch of ICA) and internal maxillary artery off ECA
What is the most commonly diseased intracranial artery?
Middle cerebral artery
What is the most common etiology of cerebral ischemic events?
Arterial embolization from the ICA. Heart is the second most common source of emboli.
Anterior cerebral artery events cause what?
Mental status changes, release, slowing
Middle cerebral artery events cause what?
Contralateral motor and speech loss; contralateral facial droop
What is amaurosis fugax?
Occlusion of the ophthalmic branch of the ICA causing painless visual changes - shade coming down over eyes; visual changes are transient. Can see Hollenhorst plaques on ophthalmologic exam.
What do you do with carotid traumatic injury with major fixed deficit?
If occluded do not repair-can exacerbate injury with bleeding. If not occluded-repair.
When do you consider a carotid endarterectomy?
- Men w/ sx + >50% stenosis.
- Women w/ sx + >70% stenosis.
- Asx pt w/ >80 stenosis.
The patient has a recent completed stroke, when do you perform CEA?
4 to 6 weeks
When can an urgent CEA be of benefit?
- When there are fluctuating neurologic symptoms - crescendo/evolving TIAs.
- Between 3-14 days
When do you shunt during a CEA?
When the stump pressure is less than 50
What is the most common cranial nerve injury with a carotid endarterectomy?
Vagus nerve secondary to vascular clamping during endarterectomy. Patients get hoarseness.
What happens with a hypoglossal nerve injury during CEA?
Tongue deviation to the side of the injury - speech and mastication difficulty.
What happens with a glossopharyngeal nerve injury during a CEA?
Unlikely. Could occur with a really high carotid lesion. Causes difficulty swallowing.





