CV3 Heart conditions Flashcards
What is the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD)?
CAD involves the narrowing of coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis, where plaques of lipids, inflammatory cells, and fibrous tissue accumulate, reducing blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart.
What are the risk factors for coronary artery disease?
Risk factors include hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, family history, and age.
What is angina?
Angina is chest pain caused by myocardial ischemia, where oxygen demand exceeds supply due to narrowed coronary arteries.
What is stable angina?
Stable angina is predictable chest pain triggered by exertion or stress and relieved by rest or nitroglycerin.
What is unstable angina?
Unstable angina is unpredictable, occurs at rest or with minimal exertion, and may indicate an impending myocardial infarction.
What is the pathophysiology of a myocardial infarction (MI)?
MI occurs when a coronary artery is blocked (often by a thrombus from a ruptured plaque), leading to prolonged ischemia and irreversible necrosis of myocardial tissue.
What are the signs and symptoms of MI?
Chest pain (often crushing), radiating pain (e.g., to the left arm or jaw), dyspnea, nausea, diaphoresis, anxiety, fatigue, and sometimes silent in diabetics.
What are the potential complications of MI?
Arrhythmias (e.g., ventricular fibrillation), heart failure, cardiogenic shock, pericarditis, and myocardial rupture.
What are management options for MI?
Reperfusion (PCI or thrombolytics), oxygen, nitrates, antiplatelets (aspirin), beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, statins, and lifestyle changes.
What is an arrhythmia?
An arrhythmia is an abnormal heart rhythm due to issues in impulse generation or conduction.
What is atrial fibrillation (AF)?
AF is rapid, irregular atrial activity with loss of coordinated contraction, increasing risk of thromboembolism and stroke.
What is ventricular tachycardia (VT)?
VT is a fast, regular rhythm from the ventricles that can reduce cardiac output and progress to ventricular fibrillation.
What is ventricular fibrillation (VF)?
VF is chaotic, disorganized electrical activity in the ventricles, leading to no effective contraction—requires immediate defibrillation.
What is asystole?
Asystole is the absence of ventricular electrical activity (“flatline”)—a form of cardiac arrest with very poor prognosis.
What is the pathophysiology of heart failure?
Heart failure occurs when the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet body demands, often due to myocardial damage (e.g., from MI or chronic hypertension), leading to decreased cardiac output and compensatory mechanisms like RAAS activation.
What are the causes of heart failure?
Causes include myocardial infarction, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, valvular disease, and arrhythmias
What are the consequences of heart failure?
Pulmonary edema (in left-sided HF), peripheral edema (in right-sided HF), fatigue, dyspnea, exercise intolerance, and end-organ hypoperfusion.
