Heart & Blood vessels Flashcards
How would you describe cardiac disease and give 4 examples?
Disease of the heart.
1) Heart Failure
2) Valvular heart disease (wide/narrow)
3) Pericarditis, myocarditis and endocarditis (infections)
4) Cardiomyopathy (intrinsic disease)
How would you describe vascular disease and give 4 examples?
Disease of the blood vessels.
1) Aneurysms (dilation)
2) Hypertension
3) Diabetic vascular disease
4) Venous disease (e.g. DVT, viscose)
How would you describe congenital heart disease?
Disease present from birth
Definition of heart failure?
A condition whereby the body is unable to pump the blood around the body that is required for normal functioning
How can you detect heart failure radiologically?
Using an echocardiogram - this can detect ejection fraction (the % of blood which is ejected from the ventricles) If below 40% = heart failure
What causes heart failure?
Anything that reduces the supply and/or increases the demand on the heart. (think: CO = HR X SV) Reducing supply: 1) Ischaemic heart disease 2) Congenital heart disease 3) Cardiomyopathy 4) Arrhythmias Increasing demand: 1) Hypertension 2) Anaemia
Explain what causes the different symptoms of heart failure?
In order for the heart to cope with the demands of the body, the myocytes in the heart will increase in size (hypertrophy). However, there is only a certain amount of blood that can to be pumped. So, the blood starts to back up into: 1) Pulmonary circuit 2) Peritoneal cavity and 3) Peripheral veins
What symptom and sign is caused from the blood backing up into the pulmonary circuit?
Symp: Pulmonary oedema
Sign: Breathlessness, increased respiratory effort and crackles in chest (indicating fluid)
What sign is caused from the blood backing up into the peritoneal cavity?
Sign: Asites (swelling of the abdomen)
What symptom and sign is caused from the blood backing up into the peripheral veins?
Symp: Peripheral oedema
Sign: ankle swelling
What are the 3 different classifications of heart failure?
1) Chronic (needs treating) Vs. Acute (treated in the community)
2) Left (lungs) Vs. Right (ankles)
3) Severity
Treatment for heart failure?
Treat the underlying cause. However, you couldn’t do this with acute heart failure. This needs to be treated with O2 or diuretics
What are the names of the different valves in the heart?
Right: Tricuspid & Pulmonary valve
Left: Bicuspid & Aortic valve
What 3 conditions occur in vascular heart disease and their definition?
Stenosis: When the valves narrow which impedes on their forward flow
Regurgitation: When the valves don’t close up properly so blood flows backwards and forwards
Vegetation: Abnormal growth on the tissue
What causes stenosis?
1) Vegetation
2) People can be born with an abnormality - in which they don’t appear to have all of the chordae which would normally hold the valves in place
(this is a chronic process)
What causes regurgitation?
1) Vegetation
2) Damage to the supporting structures (i.e. chordae or the papillary muscles - attached to the chordae)
(this can be a chronic or an acute process)
What causes vegetation?
1) Bacteria
2) Inflammation
3) Clot
What is known as the ‘The Cardiac Staircase’?
When 1 valve is affected, this puts pressure on the other valves and so this can then affect other valves
What are the symptoms for vascular heart disease?
Same as heart failure (pulmonary oedema, peripheral oedema, asites)
What are the specific symptoms for aortic stenosis?
THE CLASSIC TRIAD:
1) Angina
2) Shortness of breath
3) Collapse
What are the signs for vascular heart disease?
Same as heart failure (breathlessness, crackles, ankle swelling, abdominal swelling)
PLUS:
Murmurs (not the normal ‘lub-dub’ sound)
What are pericarditis, myocarditis and endocarditis?
Diseases of a specific layer of the heart
Pericardium:
Outer layer of the heart
Myocardium:
Muscle layer
Endocardium:
Inside layer of the heart and its valves
Explain the differences between right and left sided endocardium?
Left sided: Most common Right sided: Common with IV drug users Left sided: Streptococci Right sided: Staphaureus Left sided: Affects abnormal valves Right sided: Affects normal valves
Describe what is meant by Prophlaxis?
Giving patients that are at risk of endocarditis antibiotics before they undertake any procedures that are likely to introduce any other kind of bacteria into their body