Pathophysiology Flashcards
What pathologies are we covering in this module?
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD): hypertension, atherosclerosis, pulmonary hypertension and obesity
What is arterial blood pressure?
Arterial blood pressure is defined as the force that is exerted by the blood on the arterial wall.
What is the equation for arterial blood pressure?
MAP = DAP + 1/3(SAP-DAP)
Meaning that diastolic BP defines MAP.
Is SAP or DAP greater?
SAP is higher than DAP
What is hypertension?
High arterial blood pressure at rest
What is a normal MAP?
120:80
(meaning systolic pressure is 120mmHg and diastolic pressire is 80mmHg)
What would be the MAP readings for stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension?
Stage 1 hypertension would present with 130-139 SAP OR 80-89 DAP (either can be abnormal)
Stage 2 hypertension would present with greater than 140 SAP OR greater than 90 DAP
What is the ratio of people in NZ currently taking medication for high blood pressure?
1 in 5 (21.4% of the population)
*possible an underestimate aswell as this does not include those undiagnosed and also not all people diagnosed will currently take medication.
What is Ohm’s law?
Ohm’s law is V = I x R which is the basis of the MAP equation being MAP = CO x TPR or MAP = (HR x SV) x TPR.
What is the most important determinant of resistance?
vessel diameter (r^4) e..g, a 10% change in diameter would cause a 50% change in vascular resisatance.
What is happening to arterial blood volume during hypertension?
Increase
What is happening to arterial compliance during hypertension?
Decrease
How is arterial blood pressure regulated long term?
By the kidneys RAS system (Renin-Ang system)
What blood vessel has the greatest amount of elastic tissue?
Aorta = gives it the characteristic of high compliance.
What is arteriosclerosis?
The structural thickening of the vessell wall (media).
Resulting in less elastin and more collagen = reduced complaince and increased stiffness.
This increases resistance and means the vessel has to work harder to expand as blood flows through - as a result the heart pumps harded which raise blood pressure = hypertension.
What is atherosclerosis?
Structural change in the intima of the vessel caused by a bloackage of the lumen.
What effect does age have on arterial compliance?
Vessels become less complaint (more stiff) with age
This is because there is a reduction of elastin and increase in collagen –> collagen is stiffer than elastin.
How much stiffer is collagen than elastin?
x1000 (because collage cross links).
What effect does a decrease in arterial compliance have on peripheral vascular resistance?
Elevation of peripheral vascular resistance
What is the effect of an elevation of peripheral vascular resistance on systolic and diastolic pressure?
It increases both but it causes a larger increase to suystolic pressure than to diastolic pressure.
*this is because systole is at a higher pressure than diastole (because greater volume)
Are vessels stiffer in systole or diastole?
Systole because higher pressure
*arteries beocme less complaint (more stiff) when arterial pressure rises.
What is the name for disease of the media?
Arterisosclerosis
Where is arterial blood flowing during systole and diastole?
Arterial blood is flowing through the capillaries throughout systole and continues to throughout diastole.
Where is there a storage of stroke volume?
in condit vessels (aorta, carotid, iliac, arteries).
What is meant by distensibility of the aorta?
Distensibility refers to how easily the aorta can stretch or expand when blood is pumped through it. A healthy aorta is flexible and can stretch to handle the surge of blood from the heart, helping to maintain smooth blood flow and regulate blood pressure. If the aorta loses its distensibility (becomes stiff), it can’t expand as well, which can lead to higher blood pressure and strain on the heart.
What maintains capillary flow during diastole?
Recoil of aorta
Define flow wave and pulse/pressure wave:
Flow wave refers to the rhythmic change in blood flow during a heart beat - the ejection of blood from the heart which runs through the vasculature.
Pressure/Pulse wave refers to the change in pressure that runs over the vascularture as a result of contraction of the heart.
What type of flow is occuring when blood hits aorta?
Pulsatile
What blood vessel has the greatest compliance?
Aorta
Where is there the greatest pulstaility in blood flow?
Left ventricle
What allows the aorta to dampen the pulstaile flow from the left ventricle so that there is continuous flow in capillaries?
Pulsatile flow is dampened by the aorta due to its high compliance (ability to absorb force).
Why does the aorta have a reduced ability to dampen pulsatile flow as we get older and what is the effect of this?
Because compliance decreases with age therefore pulse pressure increases causing an increase in workload on the heart and increased BP (hypertenison).
Why do we not want flow to be pulsatile in capillaries?
Would reuslt in less efficient for gas exchange (less O2 nutrients exchange).
Is the flow or pulse/pressure wave faster?
Pressure wave is faster
Does systole or diastole cause the pressure wave?
Systole - the ejection of blood
Where do reflection waves form
Points of resistance or branching in the vasculature system e.g., Aortic Bifurcation (the division into two branches).
What is a reflection wave?
A pulse wave travels through arterial system - at points where the pulse wave encounters points of resistance or branching part of the wave is relfected back towards the heart.
Are proximal or distal vessels more compliant?
Proximal
Does a pressure wave travel faster in stiffer or complaince vessels?
Pressure wave travels faster in stiffer distal vessels than in complant proximal vessels
*this means that pressure wave travels faster in the radial artery than aorta
Do stiffer or complaint vessels have a larger contribution to reflections ?
Stiffer (therefore hypertension increases reflections)
Does a reflected wave come back to heart earlier or later with hypertension?
Hypertension means the vessels are stiffer - reflected waves return to the heart faster in stifffer vessels.
This increases load and subsequently BP.
How do reflected waves result in afterload being increased in hypertension?
Reflected wave reach heart before closure of aortic valves increasing systolic blood pressure = increases afterload = more difficult for heart to eject blood into aorta.
What is hypertension?
High blood pressure (caused by high arteriole blood volume = more force exerted on the walls of the arteries).
What is the difference between primary and secondary hypertension?
Primary hypertension is 95% of cases and has an unknown/idiopathic cause. It is due to the stiffening of arteries which occurs naturally with age.
Secondary hypertenison is 5% of cases and it has a specific cause.
What are the two physical factors that determine BP?
Arterial blood volume
Arterial compliance
*not independant of each other.
What are two underlying reasons for hypertension?
A problem in the kidney = arteriole vasoconstriction decreasing arterial compliance and increase TPR therefore less blood flow and more salt retention.
Sympathetic activation = Again arterial vasoconstriction decreasing arterial complaince and increasing TPR meaning less blood flow to the kidney and release of vasoactive substances and salt retention resulting in increased blood volume.
What is the role of the sympathetic system in hypertension?
Hypertension is a systemic increase in overall sympathetic activity.
How is the sympathetic system effected by exerise?
With exercise there is a balanced increased in symapthetic activity
There is an increase in HR and CO. There is differential flow distribution in vessels: vasodilation in some vascular beds to promot oxygen delviery and constriction in otehr vascualr beds. E.g., regulates blood flow dependant on needs - during exercise we want more oxygen to muscles and less to GI.
Overall does TPR increase or decrease with exercise?
Decrease
What is the cause of primary hypertension thought to be due to?
A decrease in arterial compliance and/or an increase in arterial blood volume
What are the consequences of hypertension?
–> Cardiac Remodelling!!
Kidney disease
Development of atherosclerosis (stroke)
Atrial fibrillation
Coronary artery disease/myocardial infarction
What are the types of pathological cardiac remodelling?
Hypertension
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
What is the difference between physiological and pathological cardiac remodelling?
Physiological is without fibrosis whereas pathological is with fibrosis
What is afterload and what is it caused by?
Afterload is the resistance the heart must overcome in order to ejecct blood during systole (contraction) - the higher the afterload the harder it is for the heart to pump blood.
Afterload is determined by resistance in arteries (because to eject blood requires pushing it into the arteries).
What is the consequence of increased afterload?
Remodelling at cellular and organ level
= hypertrophy of the heart muscle (thickening of the ventricular walls), as the heart adapts to pump against higher pressure.
What is hypertrophy?
Increase in muscle size
Explain hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes:
It is an increase in the number of sarcomeres of the cardiomyocytes wither in series or parallel
NOT an increase in the number of cardiomyocytes themselves or the size of the sarcomeres.
*A sarcomere is a fixed unit.
What is a sarcomere?
Once contractile unit in a muscle fibre
How does hypertrophy trigger fibrosis?
In short: because there is an increased formation of extracellular matrix.
Explaination: as cardiomyocyte size increase the surrounding ECM adopts to also increase through the increased release of proteins collagen, elastin and fibronectin from fibroblasts. These protein provide structural integrity of a cell. During pathological hypertrophy (continuous stimualtion) there is an imbalnace in the production-degration ratio of ECM leading to too many structural proteins causing fibrosis = stiffness.
What is in the ECM?
Collagen (type 1 and 3), elastin, proteoglycans, laminin, fibronectin.
Is there an increase of collagen type 1 or type 3 first in the formation of more ECM?
Type 3 followed by type 1
Is pathological remodelling reversible?
Generally not - whereas physiologcal remodelling is reversible
Explain LV cardiac remodelling as a result of hypertension:
It is a cycle:
An increase in MABP causes the walls of the venticle to thicken (afterload) in order to normalise the increase wall stress. Thicker walls results in an increase in MAP also.
What is compensated hypertrophy?
Compensatory cardiac hypertrophy reduces wall stress and oxygen consumption, thereby protecting the heart against acute blood pressure elevation.
But this can lead to cardiac failure
Explain heart failure with perserved ejection fraction:
Concentric hypertrophy causes diastolic heart failure. Concentric hypertrophy causes the walls of the heart to thicken making the heart stiffer and reduces its ability to relax and fill during diastole. Although there is less blood filling the hearts ability to contract during systole is not effected and ejection fraction remains normal (EF on basis of volume so not effected).
This leads to diastolic heart failure, also called heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), where the issue is with filling the heart, not contracting/pumping.
Explain heart failure with reduced ejection fraction:
Eccentric hypertrophy = causes systolic heart failure.
Eccentric hypertrophy is the enlargement of the heart chambers. The dilation weakens the heart muscle over time, making it harder for the heart to contract and pump blood out effectively during systole. This decreases the ejection fraction leading to systolic heart failure, or heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), where the heart’s contraction (pumping) is the main problem.
Does eccentric or concentric hypertrophy cause an issue with diastole?
concentric
What is HFpEF?
Heart failure with perserved ejection fraction
What is HFrEF?
Heart failure with reserved ejection fraction
Is there RV hypertrophy in early stages of systemic hypertension?
No
When is the RV hypertrophied?
In the late stage of systemic hypertension
What causes RV remodelling?
Pulmonary hypertenion (high pressure in pulmonary system means need stronger conytraction in RV in order to push deoxygenated blood into pulmonary circulation).
PLUS Increase in LV filling pressure translates into pulmonary circulation - so the hypertrophied LV intereacts via septum with the RV = some RV hypertrophy can be caused by LV hypertrophy.
What factors enhance your risk to hypertension?
Age, ethnicity, family history.
Smoking, lack of exercise, diet, obesisty, diabetes, stress and medications.
What lifestyle changes can be made to treat hypertension?
Weight reduction
Healthy diet
Dietary salt restrictopm
Physcial activity
Moderate alcohol consumption
What is the most effective way to treat hypertension?
Lifestyle changes
Why are static (once off) measurements of BP not that effective?
Because our BP is variable and to only take a single reading does not give an accurate representation of BP - better to test in dynamuc conditions or repetitively monitor.
What pharmacological treatments are avalible for hypertension?
Fluid/diuretics or inotropes that effect SV
Chronotropes that effect HR
Vasoactives that effect TPR
What is an example of a inotrope that can be used to treat hypertenison by effecting on SV?
CCB = calcium channel blockers
What is an example of chronotropes that can be used to treat hypertension by acting on HR?
BB = b-adrenergic receptor blockers
What do Ang 2 receptor blockers (ARB) and Ang converting enzyme inhibtors (ACE1) do?
Treat hypertension by change TPR
How does targeting the sympathetic overdrive treat hypertension?
It involves cutting the nerves from the kidneys that communicate to afferent nerves in the brain to prevent signals that increase BP.
What is the difference between Arteriosclerosis and Atherosclerosis?
Arteriosclerosis is disease of the media which alters stiffness whereas Atheriosclerosis is disease of the intima which alters conduit.
Hardening of the arteries, narrowing or blocking of the vessel lumen are characteristics of what disease?
Atheroschlerosis
What is “atrophy”?
The reduction of muscle mass due to loss of smooth muscle cells.
What can atherosclerosis cause in the cerebral arteries?
Transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke
What can atherosclerosis cause in cornary arteries?
cornoary artery disease
What can atherosclerosis cause in the limb arteries?
Peripheral artery disease
What can atherosclerosis cause in the renal arteries?
Hypertension (high BP) or kidney failure