ILA3 - Chest pain Flashcards
What is the difference between ischaemia and infarction?
Ischaemia is lack of oxygen to tissues but without cell death, so is usually painful under exertion but settles down. Infarction is tissue death from lack of oxygen.1
What is heart failure?
Failure of the heart to pump enough blood around the body at the right pressure. There are 3 types:
-Systolic (reduced contractile force of ventricles, LVSD)
-Diastolic (ventricle is non-compliant (stiff) resulting in
reduced left ventricular filling. i.e. ventricle cannot fill
fully and, due to Starling’s law, the force of the
contraction is reduced, HFpEF)
-Diseased or damaged valves
What is cardiac output (and equation)?
Volume of blood ejected by the heart in one minute (around 5.7 litres a min)
CO=Stroke volume x heart rate
How is cardiac output measured?
Measured by injecting tracer and watch dilution over period of time. Rate of dilution gives rate of flow
What is stroke volume?
Amount of blood pumped out by left ventricle in one contraction
What factors can affect heart rate?
Sympathetic (stimulates pacemaker cells) and parasympathetic (decreases stimulation of pacemaker) innervation. Hormones (eg. adrenaline) and in stress (lack of oxygen).
What factors affect stroke volume?
Health, peripheral vascular resistance, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac elasticity, blood pressure, diastolic volume, elasticity of blood vessels, salt and alcohol intake, long term sleep deprivation and diabetes
How can an increased BP lead to heart failure?
Increased BP = harder to push bloop round body = over time, cardiac hypertrophy = excess hypertrophy and reduced diastolic filling. Due to Starling’s Law stroke volume will then decrease meaning heart can not pump enough blood round the body at the right pressure.
What is Poiseuille’s law?
Pi x P x r4 Q=flow rate, p=pressure, r=radius
Q=_________ n= fluid viscosity, l= length
8 x n x l
Equation for blood pressure?
BP= total peripheral resistance x cardiac output
Examples of vasodilators
NO, CO2, decrease in O2 (systemic), inflammatory mediators, ANP
Examples of vasoconstrictors
Sympathetic, ADH, angiotensin II, adrenaline
Breifly describe Starling’s law
Sates that the stroke volume of the heart increases in response to an increase in the volume of blood filling the heart (the end diastolic volume) when all other factors remain constant
Increased volume of blood stretches the ventricular wall causing cardiac muscle to contract more forcefully
What is preload ?
The end diastolic volume, a decrease = decreased SV
What is afterload?
The pressure which the heart must overcome to pump blood out, increase = decreased SV
What impact does heart failure have on Frank-Starling law of the heart?
Law is and overloading of blood into ventricles triggers increased contraction to raise CO. In heart failure this mechanism fails due to weakened cardiac muscles which results in a failure of the heart to pump an adequate amount of blood.
How does a heart attack lead onto symptoms of breathlessness and oedema in the future?
Heart attack leads to weakening of myocardium. This results in heart failure. Results in back flow and decreased flow in veins, leading to increased volume of interstitium in lungs (pulmonary oedema, so breathlessness) and the limbs
How can heart failure lead to increased EDV?
Weaker myocardium, titin in sarcomere breaks so heart stretches more and cant return to original volume.
What happens during left ventricular contraction?
Isovolumetric contraction ( b )
-AV valve closes when the ventricular pressure exceeds atrial pressure.
-Ventricle pressure increases rapidly as the aortic valve is not open.
-No change in ventricular volume but increase in pressure
Maximal ejection ( c )
-Ventricular pressure exceeds pressure in the aorta.
-Aortic valve opens
-70% of total blood, 30% remains in the ventricle
-Calcium is pumped out and Actin is blocked
What happens during left ventricular relaxation?
Start of relaxation and reduced ejection ( d ):
-AV remains closed
-Repolarisation leads to decline in pressure and
contraction
-Rate of ejection falls
Isovolumic relaxation ( e ):
-Mitral and aortic valve closed. Volume is constant
-Volume of blood that remains is the end-systolic
volume
Myocardial perfusion occurs mainly during heart relaxation
Rapid LV filling and LV suction ( f )
-Ventricular pressure falls below the atrial pressure
-AV valves open
-Passive ventricular filling
Slow LV filling (diastasis) ( g )
-Increasing pressure in the ventricle as blood flows in. -Reduced pressure gradient
-Rate of filling falls
Atrial booster ( a ).
-Atrial wall contracts: rapid filling
Where does the right coronary artery arise from?
Anterior aortic sinus.
Where does the RCA run?
Right atrioventricular groove
What branches does the RCA form?
Right marginal and (90%) posterior interventricular artery (aka posterior descending artery). Sinoatrial artery (60%)