Week 4.5 Heart failure Flashcards
Heart failure is defined as?
The inability of the heart to maintain a cardiac output appropriate to systemic metabolic requirements.
Heart failure may be a ____ output state.
Low
Low output state is where?
Forward pump function of the heart is impaired and cannot meet normal metabolic needs.
High output state is when?
When the pump function of the heart is normal but systemic metabolic needs are excessive.
Examples of low output state?
Cardiomyopathy or myocardial infarction.
Examples of high output state?
Thyrotoxicosis and beri-beri
Thyrotoxicosis
Excess of production of thyroid hormone
Beri-beri
Vitamin B1 deficiency or thiamine deficiency
Wet beri-beri causes?
Heart failure
Heart failure is usually a ____ condition, but in some circumstances may be acute.
Chronic
Example of acute heart failure
Acute valvular regurgitation
Chronic heart failure pathophysiology
Heart adapts and remodels in an attempt to compensate.
Remodelling includes ventricular dilatation and eccentric myocardial hypertrophy.
Acute heart failure pathophysiology
Ventricular dilatation does not have time to develop and the major compensation is an increase in heart rate.
Underlying cause in patient with heart failure?
This is the pathological process affecting the heart leading to impaired myocardial pump function
A precipitating cause of heart failure is?
This is a factor or event which results in decompensation of the heart and symptoms.
Typical precipitating causes of heart failure are?
Factors placing an additional load upon the heart such as fever, anaemia or systemic infection.
Arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation may precipitate??
May precipitate overt heart failure
Coronary artery disease cause?
Impaired blood supply, with or without myocardial infarction -> heart failure
Valve disease leads to?
Increased haemodynamic load on the heart e.g. aortic stenosis or aortic/mitral regurgitation
Heart failure is often due to cardiomyopathy which is?
Dysfunction of the systolic contractile function of the myocardium, resulting in dilatation of the cardiac chambers.
Causes of dilated cardiomyopathy?
- Alcohol abuse
- Previous myocarditis
- Hereditary defects in myocardial metabolism
- Metabolic abnormalities such as hyper/hypo-thyroidism
- Haemochromatosis
- Drugs or heavy metal poisoning
- Important drug cause is anti-cancer drug: adriamycin
Less common cause of heart failure?
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
Pathophysiology of restrictive cardiomyopathy
- Thickened and stiff ventricular myocardium due to fibrous infiltration or deposition of abnormal glycoproteins.
Most common cause of restrictive cardiomyopathy in Australia
Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis manifest mostly in?
Older women
Clinical assessment is based upon the patient’s symptoms:
Dyspnoea, orthopnoea, fatigue, exercise tolerance
Severity of clinical symptoms can be graded according to?
New York Heart Association from Class 1 (mild symptoms) to Class 4 (severe restriction of activity)
What does the NYHA Class physical examination include?
- Signs of heart failure
- Peripheral oedema
- Elevation of the jugular venous pressure
- Displacement of the apex beat of the heart
- Auscultatory signs such as atrial or ventricular gallop sounds and murmurs of aortic or mitral regurgitation
Describe functional capacity of NHYA Class 1
Patients with cardiac disease but resulting in no limitation of physical activity. Ordinary physical activity does not cause undue fatigue, palpitation, dyspnoea or anginal pain
Describe functional capacity of NHYA Class 2
Patients with cardiac disease resulting in slight limitation of physical activity. They are comfortable at rest. Ordinary physical activity results in fatigue, palpitation, dyspnoea or anginal pain.
Describe functional capacity of NHYA Class 3
Patients with cardiac disease resulting in marked limitation of physical activity. They are comfortable at rest. Less than ordinary activity causes fatigue, palpitation, dyspnoea or anginal pain.
Describe functional capacity of NHYA Class 4
Patients with cardiac disease resulting in inability to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Symptoms of heart failure or the anginal syndrome
ECG may reveal?
Previous myocardial infarction or signs of left ventricular hypertrophy or document an arrhythmia (e.g. atrial fibrillation)
Chest X-ray provides an indication of?
Cardiac size, and is important for assessment of pulmonary congestion, with evidence of upper lobe venous distension or interstitial oedema.
Biochemical tests are directed towards?
Evaluating consequences of heart failure (i.e. blood electrolytes and creatinine) and also towards possible causative factors such as anaemia (FBC), alcohol abuse (liver function tests), endocrine abnormalities (thyroid function tests)
Normal adult left ventricular ejection fraction is?
50-70%
Ejection fraction is given by?
Stroke volume / end-diastolic volume
Cardiac imaging such as echocardiography or equilibrium radionuclide ventriculography provide information about?
Cardiac size and pump function, quantified by ejection fraction
In general, patients with an ejection fraction below _____ have severe heart failure.
25%