Introducing how the cardiovascular system fails Flashcards
What is a stroke?
Rapid loss of brain function due to loss of perfusion to parts of the brain
Give another name for a stroke
Cerebrovascular accident
List the two types of stroke
Ischemic
Haemorrhagic
Define an ischemic stroke
Cerebral blood vessels become blocked
Define haemorrhagic stroke
Cerebral blood vessels rupture
List some stresses which may cause a blood vessel to burst
High blood pressure
High wall tension/Large diameter
Low elasticity
Turbulent flow
List some damages which may cause blood vessels to burst
Diabetes
Trauma eg. PCI
Atherosclerosis
Define aneurysm
A pathological, localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel
Define ruptured aneurysm
When the aneurysm bursts and blood leaks out
What is tension in a cylinder?
The force tangential to the circumference of the cross section that is trying to rip the wall apart
What is the wall tension like in a larger vessel?
Greater
Give the equation for wall tension in a cylinder
Wall tension = pressure x radius
What is compliance?
The change in volume caused by a change in pressure
Stretchiness
What happens if there is low compliance
A change in pressure results in a very little change in volume
What reduces arterial blood pressure?
Age
Disease
Build up of connective tissue
Atherosclerosis
Do veins or arteries have more compliance?
Veins
Describe the two characteristics of laminar flow
All molecules travel in the same direction
Slower speed at the edges
Describe the causes of turbulent flow
When the low viscosity molecules flow at high speeds in random directions passing junctions and mixing
List the activities of the endothelium
Angiogenesis Haemostasis White cell recruitment Hormone trafficking Blood vessel tone Fluid filtration
Describe the symptoms of acute myocardial infarction
Extremely painful chest pain
However some women present atypically where there is an absence of chest pain but they experience jaw, back, neck or head pain followed by symptoms of nausea, cough, dyspnoea or weakness
When can an AMI become fatal?
When it leads to arrhythmia or heart failure after many AMIs
What does an AMI cause?
Reduced capacity of the heart to pump
Give the symptoms of atherosclerosis
Asymptomatic however causes other diseases which possess symptoms
List the main causes of atherosclerosis
Immune action
Hyperlipidemia
Unknown aetiology
What is coronary artery disease?
Narrowing/obstruction of the arteries supplying the heart
Give the 2 causes of CAD
Atherosclerosis
Coronary vasospasm
What is a plaque rupture?
When a fibrous plaque bursts open
How safe are atheromas?
Quite safe even if they occlude 50% of the vessel.
What happens if a plaque rupture occurs in a coronary artery, thrombus or embolism?
A myocardial infarction occurs