complications of vascular disease

Question 1

what are the complications of atherosclerosis

Answer 1

• stenosis
• aneurysm
• dissection
• thrombosis and embolism

Question 2

what is atrial stenosis?

Answer 2

• narrowing of the atrial lumen
• reduced flow in systole

Question 3

what are the common sites of arterial stenosis?

Answer 3

• coronary arteries (branching)
• carotid arteries
• renal arteries (hypertension and renal failure)
• peripheral arteries (foot/leg ischemia (lack of oxygen))

Question 4

what is aneurysm?

Answer 4

abnormal and persistent dilation of artery due to the weakness in arterial wall

Question 5

where is aneurysm common?

Answer 5

distal abdominal aorta

Question 6

what are the complications of aneurysm?

Answer 6

• rupture
• thrombosis (plaque build up)
• embolism (plaque breaks off, stuck in blood vessel, causes stenosis/ischemia)
• infection (complicated thrombosis, bacteria can seed in aneurysm)

Question 7

what is arterial dissection?

Answer 7

• splitting within the media by flowing blood
• false lumen created in the media layer of blood vessel and filled with blood
• sudden collapse and high mortality
• entire blood circulation ends up in 1 place

Question 8

what are the associations with aortic dissection?

Answer 8

• atheroma (occurs in middle aged men, smoking, overweight, high BP)
• hypertension (smoking, high BP)
• trauma
• pregnancy
• marfans (genetic condition)
• coarctation (narrowing of the aorta)

Question 9

what is infarction?

Answer 9

cell death due to loss of oxygen

Question 10

what are hypoxic injuries?

Answer 10

• no oxygen = no ATP
  = cell starts killing itself without ATP : NECROSIS

Question 11

what occurs in the 1st 20 minutes of a myocardial infraction?

Answer 11

• small changes on ECG
• no macroscopic (naked eye) or microscopic changes

Question 12

what happens after 30 minutes of a myocardial infraction?

Answer 12

Apoptosis or necrosis

• cells shrink, becomes red
• nucleus shrinks, becomes dark
• marginal contraction bands

Question 13

what happens in the 1st 24 hours of a myocardial infraction?

Answer 13

• complement cascade
• acute inflammation
• cells contents leaked

Question 14

what happens after 24 hours of a myocardial infraction?

Answer 14

• neutrophils (first few days): acute inflammation
• macrophages (restitution): yellow appearance (after neutrophils die out due to short half life)
• fibroblasts (2-4 weeks): lay down collagen