Lecture 14

Question 1

What is hypertension ?

Answer 1

1. A sustained elevation in resting blood pressure.

2. Systolic pressure over/equal 140, diastolic pressure over/equal 90.

Question 2

What happens to the BP of a hypertensive and non-hypertensive person during exercise ?

Answer 2

The rise in BP is equal.

Question 3

True or False : There is a rise in hypertension with age.

Answer 3

FALSE. The rise of BP with age seen in data is actually due to sustained poor lifestyle.

Question 4

What is essential (idiopathic) hypertension?

Answer 4

Hypertension that isn’t due to another disease. This is the main type found in the population.

Question 5

What are the main risk factors for hypertension?

Answer 5

1. Obesity.
2. Inactivity.
3. Salt intake.

Question 6

What are the body’s mechanisms that control BP ?

Answer 6

1. Hormones of the brain, lungs, etc.
2. Kidneys
3. Nervous system ANS CNS
4. Arteries (contraction/dilation)

Question 7

What does arteriolosclerosis put you at risk of ?

Answer 7

Renal failure and retinopathy

Question 8

What are the main complications of hypertension ?

Answer 8

1. Cardiac Hypertrophy
2. Arterial structural changes (hyperplasia+hypertrophy of smooth muscle, thickening+constriction of blood vessels, aneurism)
3. Atherosclerosis (and thus Stroke)

Question 9

What is the Hypertension Syndrome?

Answer 9

The fact that usually if you have hypertension, you have other problems accompanying it (obesity, etc.)

Question 10

How does ischemic heart disease present ?

Answer 10

White streaks on the heart where the coronary arteries collapsed (These arteries are : Left coronary, right coronary, left anterior descending)

Question 11

What are the main lifestyle changes that serve as hypertension treatment ?

Answer 11

1. Decreased weight
2. Decreased alcohol intake.
3. Reduced salt intake
4. Increased exercise.

Question 12

What is the best medical treatment for hypertension ?

Answer 12

The safest/easiest treatment is a diuretic (kidney medication) to increase urine output.

Question 13

What does the oxygen demand depend on ?

Answer 13

1. Preload
2. Afterload
3. Rate and force of contraction.

Question 14

What are the symptoms of CHD once atherosclerosis is advanced ?

Answer 14

1. Angina Pectoris
2. Myocardial Infarction
3. Sudden Death

Question 15

What is angina ?

Answer 15

An ischemic reaction caused by an imbalance between blood supply and blood demand. If the cardiac myocytes don’t get enough blood (so note enough nutrients), there is pain in the chest that radiates to the arm, shoulder and jaw.

Question 16

Where does the cardiac output mainly go during rest?

Where does it go during exercise ?

Answer 16

GI tract.

Muscles (including cardiac myocytes) and skin.

Question 17

What are the causes of an angina ?

Answer 17

1. Atherosclerosis (leading up to CHD)
2. Coronary Spasm.
3. Blood clot.
4. Cocaine sensitivity.

Question 18

What is the treatment of angina ?

Answer 18

1. Nitroglycerin
2. Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
3. Coronary angioplasty

Question 19

What are the 2 typical causes of a myocardial infarct ?

Answer 19

1. Thrombus formation from plaque.

2. Plaque blocks the coronary artery.

Question 20

What determines the severity of consequences from a myocardial infarct ?

Answer 20

1. The size of the infarct.
2. The location of the infarct.
3. The presence of collateral circulation.

Question 21

What are the medical approaches to treating CHD ?

Answer 21

• Timolol : Beta-blocker that reduces BP.

- Aspirin : small dose everyday, anticoagulant

Question 22

What are possible complications of a myocardial infarct?

Answer 22

• Scar formation weakens the ventricular wall (ventricular aneurysm), with the pressure it eventually ruptures, there is bleeding in the pericardial sac which causes pressure on the heart (Cardiac Tamponade).
• Ventricular septal defect.
• Rupture of papillary muscles.