Integrating Pathophysiology, Diagnosis and Management Flashcards
1
Q
Heart Failure
- Definition
- The limitation in heart function can be…
A
- Definition
- Syndrome of fluid overload &/or inadequate tissue perfusion related to the heart’s inability to meet demand
- Not fluid overload unrelated to the heart (ex. cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome)
- The limitation in heart function can be…
- Related to systolic or diastolic dysfunction
- Ischemic or non-ischemic
- Acute, chronic, or “acute on chronic”
- Right or left sided
- Mild or severe (most severe = cardiogenic shock)
- Valvular, hypertensive, or other etiology
2
Q
Questions to Ask when Presented with a Case
A
- Is this heart failure?
- Volume overload?
- Inadequate tissue perfusion?
- Cardiac cause?
- What type?
- Acute, chronic, or “acute on chronic”?
- Left or right?
- Systolic or non-systolic?
- Specific etiology (ischemic vs. nonischemic)?
3
Q
Tools to Diagnose Heart Failure
A
- History & physical
- ECG
- Chest x-ray
- Blood work (including biomarkers)
- Echo
- Stress / perfusion imaging
- Non-invasive imaging (CT, MR, PET)
- Cardiac catheterization
4
Q
Historical Clues
- Age, sex, co-morbidities
- Symptoms
- Cough, dyspnea on exertion (DOE), & edema
- Cough
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND) & orthopnea
- PND, orthopnea, ascites, weight gain, (poly)nocturia
- Fatigue, anorexia, low urine output, depression
A
- Age, sex, co-morbidities
- CAD?
- 64yo male w/ smoking, dyslipidemia, & HTN: high risk for CAD
- If HF, it could be w/ either preserved or reduced ejection fraction
- Systolic vs. non-systolic?
- CAD?
- Symptoms
- Cough, dyspnea on exertion (DOE), & edema
- Volume overload?
- Cough is common in patients w/ HF
- Dyspnea on exertion is almost universal
- Paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea (PND) & orthopnea are specific for HF
- PND, orthopnea, ascites, weight gain, (poly)nocturia
- –> volume overload
- Fatigue, anorexia, low urine output, depression
- –> low cardiac output & poor tissue perfusion
- Cough, dyspnea on exertion (DOE), & edema
5
Q
Exam Clues
- Tachypnea, edema
- Jugular venous distention, pulmonary rales, & ascites
- Hypotension, tachycardia, & diaphoresis
- Cool, mottled extremities & poor mentation
- S3
- S4
- Cardiac murmurs
A
- Tachypnea, edema
- –> volume overload
- Jugular venous distention, pulmonary rales, & ascites
- –> volume overload, left vs. right
- Hypotension, tachycardia, & diaphoresis
- –> poor perfusion (compatible but not specific)
- Cool, mottled extremities & poor mentation
- –> poor perfusion (strongly suggestive)
- S3
- –> systolic LV failure
- S4
- –> non-systolic HF
- Cardiac murmurs
- –> specific etiology of HF (ex. aortic stenosis) or secondary to the HF (ex. mitral regurgitation in stystolic HF w/ LV dilation)
6
Q
Peripheral Edema w/ Bulla
A
- Common feature of RHF w/ volume overload
- Also seen in other volume overload states & in patients w/ venous insufficiency
7
Q
- Rhythm
- BBB
A
- Rhythm
- Tachycardic sinus rhythm
- LBBB
- Seenn in ischemic or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy
- May mask evidence of prior infarction
- Usually indicates more advanced ventricular dilation & dysfunction
- Represents a possible target for therapy w/ a biventricular pacer (“cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT)”)
8
Q
A
- Pulmonary edema
- Cardiac enlargement
- Compatible w/ dilated cardiomyopathy
9
Q
Bloodwork
- Elevated BUN & creatinine
- Hyponatremia
- Non-cardiac processes like anemia or infection
- B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)
- Other biomarkers for HF
A
- Elevated BUN & creatinine
- –> intrinsic renal disease, volume depletion, or renal hypoperfusion related to low cardiac output
- Hyponatremia
- Correlates w/ HF severity & prognosis
- Non-cardiac processes like anemia or infection
- Can exacerbate HF
- Can be detected by blood testing
- B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP)
- Biomarker for presence & severity of HF (right vs. left, systolic vs. non-systolic)
- Addition of routine BNP monitoring to standard care can improve outcomes (ex. re-admission for HF)
- NT-proBNP: related biomarker
- Other biomarkers for HF
- Troponin I
- Uric acid
10
Q
Echo
- Pros & cons of echo
- Critical information obtained by echo
- This echo
A
- Pros & cons of echo
- Pros
- Widely available
- Non-invasive & risk-free
- Provides a lot of structural & functional information about the CV system
- Cons
- Occasional poor image quality
- Pros
- Critical information obtained by echo
- Left & right atrial & ventricular size
- Wall thickness
- Indices of systolic & diastolic function
- Regional LV wall motion
- Hypokinetic or akinetic areas
- –> prior infarction
- Aortic & inferior vena cava size
- Structure & function of the mitral, aortic, tricuspid, & pulmonic valves
- Estimates of RA & RV pressures
- Direct & indrect markers of pericardial disease
- This echo
- LV dilation
- Severe systolic dysfunction
- Regional wall motion abnormalities
- –> ischemic cardiomyopathy
11
Q
Echo
- Ejection fraction
- Diminished LV EF on echo
- Regional wall motion abnormalities
- Global hypokinesis
- Increased LV wall thickness & enlarged LA
- RV hypertrophy, dilation, & high velocity tricuspid insufficiency jet
A
- Ejection fraction
- Most common load-dependent index of LV systolic function
- Value can be visually estimated or calculated
- Affected by changes in preload (LV filling) & afterload (systemic vascular resistance or BP)
- Easy to obtain & validate
- Not a pure marker of ventricular contractile ability
- Diminished LV EF on echo
- –> systolic HF
- Degree of ventricular dilation
- Directly related to duration of disease
- Indirectly related to chance of recovery of ventricular function
- Regional wall motion abnormalities
- –> ischemic disease
- Global hypokinesis
- –> non-ischemic cardiomyopathy
- Increased LV wall thickness & enlarged LA
- –> non-systolic (diastolic) HF
- RV hypertrophy, dilation, & high velocity tricuspid insufficiency jet
- –> pulmonary HTN & RHF
12
Q
Catheterization
- Cardiac catheterization
- Left heart catheterization involves…
- Right heart catheterization involves…
A
- Cardiac catheterization
- Critical diagnostic modality for patients w/ suspected HF
- Left heart catheterization involves…
- Arterial access (usually femoral or radial)
- Coronary angiography
- Left ventriculography
- Measurement of LV pressures
- Aortography (occasionally)
- Right heart catheterization involves…
- Venous access (usualy internal jugular or femoral)
- Measurement of pressures & cardiac output of right heart, pulmonary artery, & pulmonary capillary wedge
13
Q
Coronary Angiography
- Coronary angiography
- Endomyocardial biopsy
- This coronary angiography
A
- Coronary angiography
- Yields concrete evidence of presence, extent & severity of atherosclerosis
- Advantages in patients w/ cardiomyopathy b/c perfusion imaging has suboptimal sensitivity & specificity
- Endomyocardial biopsy
- Rarely performed in patients w/ newly diagnosed cardiomyopathy if a specific, infiltrative process is suspected
- This coronary angiography
- High grade multivessel coronary disease compatible w/ ischemic cardiomyopathy
14
Q
Right Heart Catheterization
- Critical in evaluating patients with…
- Information gained
- Aid in the determination of…
A
- Critical in evaluating patients with…
- Hypotension
- Unexplained dyspnea
- HF
- Information gained
- Left & right heart filling pressures
- Pulmonary pressures
- Cardiac output
- Mixed venous oxygen saturation
- Aid in the determination of…
- Overall volume status
- Contractile state of the heart
- Pulmonary & systemic vascular tone
15
Q
Swan-Ganz Catheter
- Swan-Ganz catheter
- Procedure
A
- Swan-Ganz catheter
- Placed in vena cava, through right heart, into pulmonary artery
- Measures right & left heart filling pressures & cardiac output
- Procedure
- Catheter is balloon-tipped & flow-guided
- Allows for easier navigation throught the right heart & into the pulmonary artery
- When advanced distally, the balloon occludes a tertiary or quaternary PA branch
- Creates a closed connection w/ the LV
- Resulting “pulmonary capillary wedge pressure” is a reliable measure of left heart filling pressure
- Should be identical to the LA & LV EDPs
- Due to technical challenges or unusual physiological circumstances, this pressure may not accurately reflect LV filling pressure
- Catheter is balloon-tipped & flow-guided