Ischemic Heart Disease - Pathology Flashcards
Define congestive heart failure.
What are the two ways it can occur?
It is when the heart cannot pump adequate blood to supply the body’s oxygen and nutrient requirements.
- low-output failure = heart can’t pump all the blood delivered to it by the venous system
- high-output failure = the heart pumps large volume of blood but for a non-cardiac reason (anemia) not enough O2 and nutrients are delivered
Define systolic dysfunction.
Define diastolic dysfunction.
Systolic dysfunction is when there is abnormality in myocardial contractility.
Diastolic dysfunction is when there is abnormality in myocardial relaxation
Define low-output failure and high-output failure.
Low output is when the heart cannot pump enough blood by volume to supply O2 and nutrients to tissue
High output failure is when enough the heart pumps enough blood to adequately supply the body but
- blood is insufficient (anemia)
- pumped inefficiently (AV malformations, bypass of capillaries)
- metabolic demands of tissue are too great and not met even by the high volume of blood
What is the difference between forward failure and backward failure?
Forward failure is when there is not enough CO.
Backward failure usually accompanies forward failure because when there is not enough CO, the blood pools in venous circulation causing congestion
What is the difference between compensated and decompensated heart failure?
Compensated: dilation and Frank-Starling mechanism (extra blood in the ventricle stretches the walls and causes a bigger contraction) to maintain adequate perfusion of the body’s organs
Decompensated: dilation and FS is not enough to maintain perfusion of tissue
What are the 3 major compensatory mechanisms used by the heart during heart failure?
- neurohumeral- increase contractility, BP, blood volume
- Frank-Starling
- myocardial hypertrophy
Describe the three major neurohumeral compensation mechanisms.
- NE is released to contract the heart and increase HR as well as contract vessels to increase BP
- Angiotensin II is activated by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system to increase PVR and blood volume (aldo in the kidney)
- ANP is released when the heart has too much volume and the atrium is distended. This vasodilates and causes naturesis and diaresis to relieve volume/pressure
What is the Frank-Starling mechanism?
As ventricular volume increases, the end diastolic pressure will increase and the myocytes will be more stretched. This increases the strength of contractility of the heart.
What are the 2 forms of myocardial hypertrophy? What is each form in response to?
- Concentric hypertrophy is when the heart size increase is due to diameter of the myocytes increasing. It happens in response to increased pressure.
- Eccentric hypertrophy is when the increase of heart size is due to increased length of myocytes in response to volume.
What are the 4 main causes of left-sided heart failure?
- systemic hypertension
- ischemic heart disease
- mitral or aortic valve disease
- primary disease of myocardium
What are the causes of right-sided heart failure?
Most common cause is left-sided heart failure which backs up blood into the pulmonary venous circulation increasing pulmonary pressure.
Other causes would be diseases of pulmonary parenchyma or vasculature
What are the primary clinical findings of left-sided heart failure?
dyspnea, orthopnea, coughing, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea all due to venous pulmonary congestion and fluid leakage into the airspaces.
What are the classic morphological signs of left-sided heart failure?
All left sided heart failure has:
1. edema and congestion in the lungs
2. Hemosiderin-laden macrophages (heart failure cells)
The different causes of LHF will have different morphologies
1. Atherosclerosis of a vessel will show atherosclerosis in coronary arteries
2. Aortic stenosis will show hypertrophied muscle cells and calcification around the valve
What are the primary clinical findings of right-sided heart failure?
- peripheral edema
- ascites (fluid in peritoneal cavity)
- hepatosplenomegaly
- pleural effusions (fluid in pleural cavity NOT alveoli)
What is the most common morphological association with right sided heart failure?
Hepatosplenomegaly with nutmeg liver due to chronic passive congestion (blood not being able to return to vena cava from liver)
What are the two general forms of hypertension?
- Systemic hypertension - hypertrophied LV with no other cause (valve dysfunction, etc) and involve the entire body except lungs
- Pulmonary hypertension- increase in BP is in pulmonary vasculature
What is the criteria for the pathologic diagnosis of systemic hypertensive heart disease?
- LV hypertrophy with no other identified cause. NO LV dilation
- History or pathological evidence of hypertension (hyaline arteriosclerosis)
What are the clinical features of systemic hypertensive disease?
- Hypertrophied LV requires more blood making it more prone to ischemic injury
- systemic hypertension is a risk factor for atherosclerosis
- progressive renal failure
- cerebrovascular hemorrhage
- heart failure
What is cor pulmonale?
What is the criteria for pathologic diagnosis?
pulmonary hypertensive heart disease
It is diagnosed by hypertrophied RV with dilation caused by primary disorders of pulmonary parenchyma or vasculature
What are the 2 forms of cor pulmonale?
- Acute - following PE that obstructs >50% vasculature. Rapid onset of symptoms.
- Chronic- prolonged pressure overload by obstruction of pulmonary vasculature or obliteration of pulmonary septal capillaries. Insidious onset of symptoms
What are the 4 major causes of cor pulmonale?
- Disease of pulmonary parenchyma (COPD, diffuse pulmonary interstitial fibrosis, pneumoconiosis, CF)
- Diseases of pulmonary vessels (PE, pulmonary arteritis)
- Diseases affecting chest movement (kyphoscoliosis, obesity)
- Diseases that constrict arteries (metabolic acidosis, hypoxemia)
How can parenchymal fibrosis cause cor pulmonale?
Fibrosis of alveolar septae obliterate some capillaries and decrease vasculature available for RV to pump into so resistance increases and RV pressure increases and RV will hypertrophy if the condition is chronic
What is ischemic heart disease?
a group of disorders that CAUSE or RESULT FROM ischemic injury to the heart.
Ischemia is the lack of blood flow to the cells of the heart depriving them of O2 and nutrients and impairing removal of metabolic waste.
What causes the lack of blood flow that may cause ischemic heart disease?
- obstruction to a vessel (narrowing of coronary artery)
2. relative lack of blood flow due to increased demand of the heart or decreased O2 content of delivered blood
What are the 4 clinical syndromes associated with ischemic heart disease?
- Angina pectoris (unstable, stable, Prinzmetal)
- Acute MI
- Chronic Ischemic heart disease
- sudden cardiac death
What is acute coronary syndrome?
What are the 3 types?
Sudden or abrupt change in coronary vessel that can cause catastrophic ischemic heart disease.
- unstable angina
- acute MI
- sudden cardiac death
What is the most common cause of IHD and what 3 things have decreased the incidence of people affected by ischemic heart disease?
The most common cause is atherosclerosis in coronary arteries.
- smoking cessation
- control of DM
- control of hypertension
While an atherosclerotic plaque itself can partially, or completely obstruct a coronary aretery, acute changes like _______, __________, or ______ can contribute to the degree of occlusion.
- hemorrhage into the plaque
- vasospasm of the vessel
- thrombosis (usually after plaque rupture)