Pathology of CV system Flashcards
Hypertrophy
- Inc mechanical work from pressure or volume overload
- causes myocytes to inc in size
- Causes an inc in size and weight of heart
- dependant on inc protein synthesis
- requires healthy myocardium
Inc pressure (hypertension/aortic stenosis) causes
- Pressure-overload hypertrophy
- causes a concentric inc in wall thickness
Volume-overload hypertrophy
- Ventricular dilation
- wall thickness may be increased, normal, or less than normal
Cardiac Compensation
Dilation
- Stretching myofibers
- Maintain connections and architecture
- Often degenerative in nature
- Results from chronic volume overload
Result of Dilation
- gradual inc in chamber pressures occurs as chamber volume increases
- not as profound a change as seen with outflow obstructions
- dilation dec pressures in chamber by increasing surface area
Supply of oxygen and nutrients to hypertrophied heart
More tenuous than the normal heart
Hypertrophy often accompanied by
deposition of fibrous tissue
Cardiac hypertrophy associated with
- heightened metabolic demands due to
- inc wall tension
- inc heart rate and contractility
Hypertrophied heart vulnerable to
- Decompensation
- can evolve to cardiac failure => death
- Sequence of compensation initially beneficial, later harmful
CHF characterized by
- dec cardiac output
- dec tissue perfusion (forward failure)
- pooling of blood in the venous system (backward failure)
- may cause pulmonary edema, peripheral edema, or both
Right-to-left shunts
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Transposition of great arteries
- Persistent truncus arteriosus
*Hypoxemia and cyanosis result because of mixture of poorly oxygenated venous blood w/ systemic arterial blood b/c it bypasses the lungs
Left-to-right shunts
- ASD, VSD, PDA, septal defects
- inc pulmonary blood flow
- no cyanosis initially
Consequences of left-to-right shunts
- raise flow and pressures in pulmonary circulation
- normally low pressure system
- right ventricular hypertrophy and pulmonary vasculature changes
- When pulmonary vasculature approaches systemic levels
- new right-to-left shunt introduces unoxygenated blood into systemic circulation
- eventually cyanosis
PDA
- shunt L to R, overloads R ventricle and inc pulmonary pressures
- To compensate
- total blood volume increases
- left ventricle forced to increase output above normal levels
PDA Pathologic findings
- Compensatory hypertrophy of both LV & RV, with left atrial dilation due to inc pulmonary blood flow
- Dilation of PA and AA due to turbulence and altered pressure
- Slowly developing hypertrophy if the shunt is < 3mm, and pulmonary hypertension and congestive heart failure if its > 5mm
- Prone to thrombosis (Virchow’s triad)
Septal Defects
- VSD most common
- most common congenital defect in horses
- Pulmonary hypertension from blood shunting L to R
- R ventricular hypertrophy
- Inc in pulmonary hypertension can lead to eventual compensatory R to L shunting
- shunts blood past lungs
Atrial septal defects
- patent foramen ovale
- may be probe patent but functionally closed
- R ventricular hypertrophy and L to R shunts
- Equalization of pressures may cause R to L shunts cyanosis
Tetralogy of Fallot
- VSD
- R Ventricular Hypertrophy (secondary)
- Pulmonary Stenosis
- Dextroaorta
Abnormalities of the Aortic Arch
- May be incidental findings
- Clinical signs are from compression of trachea and esophagus
- Persistent right aortic arch - something about megaesophagus
- Double aortic arch
- Anomalous subclavian arteries
Ectopia cordis
- heart enclosed w/in pericardium outside of thorax
Endocardial fibroelastosis
- Left ventricle
- Inc collagen and elastin
- can affect conduction