Theme 3: Lecture 3 - How the CVS fails Flashcards
Stroke
- rapid loss of brain function(s) due to loss of perfusion to part(s) of the brain
- AKA a cerebrovascular accident
What is a haemorrhagic stroke due to
cerebral blood vessel rupture
What is an ischaemic stoke due to
Cerebral blood vessel blockage
What causes a blood vessel to burst
- Stress
- Damage
what are causes of stress on a blood vessel
- High pressure
- Turbulent flow
- Large diameter / high wall tension
- Low compliance
What are causes of damage to a blood vessel
- Trauma (eg transluminal procedures)
- Atherosclerosis
- Diabetes
What is vessel wall tension
- Tension in a cylinder is the force (tangential to the circumference of the cross section) that is trying to rip the wall apart
- The larger the vessel, the greater the wall tension
Vessel wall tension equation
Tension = Pressure x Radius
Compliance
the change in volume caused by a change in pressure (the slope of the black line in the graphs)
What is a highly compliant vessel
a stretchy vessel
What is a low compliant vessel
a stiff vessel
Describe laminar flow
- smooth flow
- slower at the edges due to friction between blood and vessel
What causes turbulent flow
- High speed
- Branching and junctions
- Low viscosity
- Mixing
- Obstacles (atherosclerosis and endothelial damage)
What activities does the endothelium do (6 things)
- Blood vessel tone
- Fluid filtration
- Haemostasis
- White Cell recruitment
- Angiogenesis
- Hormone trafficking – (transcytosis)
Blood vessel tone
How much constriction/dilation occurs at the blood vessel
Transcytosis
a type of transcellular transport in which various macromolecules are transported across the interior of a cell. Macromolecules are captured in vesicles on one side of the cell, drawn across the cell, and ejected on the other side.
Describe an acute myocardial infarction
- A region of heart tissue that is dying or dead
- Usually caused by a blocked coronary artery
- Onset takes minutes – extremely painful *E
- Reduces the capacity of the heart to pump
- AMIs can be fatal due to arrhythmia or HF
What can large or multiple myocardial infarcts lead to
heart failure
What does atherosclerosis result from
- hyperlipidaemia
- immune action
- unknown aetiology
Symptoms of atherosclerosis
asymptomatic but can lead to other disorders
What is atherosclerosis
- A disease process that causes a build up of plaque in the blood vessels
- Results in furring of the arteries
What is coronary artery disease
A disease process resulting in obstruction of the arteries supplying heart tissue
-AKA ischaemic heart disease or coronary heart disease
Symptoms of coronary artery disease
angina or asymptomatic
Primary cause of coronary artery disease
atherosclerosis
Drug treatment for coronary artery disease
Treat with drugs for:
- hyperlipidaemia
- angina
- hypertension
Surgical treatment for coronary artery disease
- stenting
- surgically replacing clogged vessels
When does a plaque rupture
When the fibrous cap of a plaque bursts open
When do atheromas become dangerous
- when the plaque ruptures
- if a thrombus or embolus forms
Fibrous cap
a layer of fibrous connective tissue, which is thicker and less cellular than the normal intima, found in atherosclerotic plaques.
What does the sympathetic nervous system release during an acute MI
adrenaline and noradrenaline
Why does the sympathetic nervous system release adrenaline and noradrenaline in an acute MI
- in response to pain
- in response to haemodynamic abnormalities
What are haemodynamic abnormalities
abnormal or unstable blood pressure
How does sympathetic activity help to compensate during heart failure
leads to an increase in heart rate and contractility
What problems does sympathetic activity cause in heat failure
- increases peripheral resistance making it harder for the heart to pump blood (but helps to maintain pressure if there’s a sudden pressure failure)
- increased risk of arrhythmia (can lead to sudden death)
What are the 2 forces on water in the capillary
- Hydrostatic pressure
- Osmotic pressure
How does oedema occur
When there is more fluid going out of the blood vessel than is being brought back in due to hydrostatic and osmotic pressures
What is pulmonary oedema
fluid accumulation in the lungs esp alveoli
What does pulmonary oedema lead to
- impaired gas exchange
- longer O2 diffusion length
Symptoms of pulmonary oedema
- dyspnoea
- orthopnoea
- leads to hypoxia