Alterations in Cardiac Function Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction diagnostics, valvular diseases, cardiomyopathies, and congenital heart defects as discussed in Chapter 18.

Atherosclerosis

The main cause of coronary heart disease involving the progressive narrowing of the arterial lumen.

Cardiac ischemia

A condition that occurs when the heart's demand for oxygenated blood exceeds its supply, often due to impaired blood flow.

Stable angina

Also known as classic or typical angina; it is chronic chest pain associated with exertion that is generally relieved by rest and nitroglycerin.

Unstable angina

A form of Acute Coronary Syndrome characterized by chest pain at rest, even after several doses of nitroglycerin.

Vasospastic Angina

Also known as Prinzmetal or variant angina; it occurs due to hypercontractility of vascular smooth muscle causing a rapid influx of Calcium, unrelated to exertion.

Levene sign

A physical gesture where a patient places a tight fist on their chest to represent anginal pain.

Referred pain

The phenomenon where heart pain is perceived in the jaw, neck, or arm because sensory neurons from these areas travel in the same nerve trunks as ischemic pain receptors.

Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)

A sudden obstruction of coronary blood flow resulting in acute myocardial ischemia, often presenting as unstable angina, MI, or sudden cardiac arrest.

STEMI

A final diagnosis for Acute Coronary Syndrome characterized by ST elevation on an ECG and positive cardiac biomarkers.

NSTEMI

A final diagnosis for Acute Coronary Syndrome characterized by positive cardiac biomarkers but no ST elevation on an ECG.

Cardiac Biomarkers

Chemical substances like Myoglobin, CK-MB, and Troponin I and T that are released into the blood following cell rupture and death in an MI.

Left anterior descending artery

The coronary artery whose occlusion causes $40\%$ to $50\%$ of acute myocardial infarctions.

Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)

A treatment for MI involving the physical disruption of plaque to open the arterial lumen.

Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG)

A surgical treatment for MI involving the placement of a new conduit to bypass an occlusion.

Mitral stenosis

Abnormal stiffening of the mitral valve that impairs blood flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle, often caused by Rheumatic Heart Disease.

Mitral regurgitation

The backflow of blood from the left ventricle to the left atrium during ventricular systole, often associated with a loud pansystolic murmur.

Mitral valve prolapse

A condition where the mitral valves balloon into the left atrium during ventricular systole; affecting women twice as often as men.

Aortic stenosis

Obstruction of aortic outflow during systole primarily caused by age-related calcium deposits on aortic cusps.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

An acute inflammatory disease following infection with group A $\beta$-hemolytic streptococci, where immune attacks damage the heart valves.

Infective Endocarditis

Invasion of endocardial structures by microorganisms like Streptococcus or Staphylococcus aureus, resulting in vegetations on the valves.

Acute Myocarditis

An inflammatory disorder of the heart muscle characterized by necrosis, degeneration of heart muscle cells, and WBC infiltrates.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)

A cardiac failure associated with the dilation of one or both ventricular chambers; factors include alcohol toxicity and genetic abnormalities.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)

A condition characterized by a thickened ventricular muscle mass, often involving mutations in genes coding for myosin, tropomyosin, and troponin T.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy

The rarest form of cardiomyopathy characterized by a stiff, fibrotic ventricle with impaired diastolic filling.

Cardiac tamponade

A life-threatening condition where large or sudden fluid accumulation in the pericardial sac compresses the heart and impairs filling.

Beck's Triad

A set of clinical signs associated with acute cardiac tamponade including low blood pressure, distension of jugular veins, and muffled heart sounds.

Friction rub

An abnormal heart sound heard in acute pericarditis caused by the rubbing of inflamed visceral and parietal pericardial layers.

Ventricular septal defect (VSD)

The most common congenital heart defect, often referred to as "a hole in the heart," producing an acyanotic left-to-right shunt.

Tetralogy of Fallot

A cyanotic congenital heart defect characterized by four abnormalities: pulmonary stenosis, VSD, overriding aorta, and right ventricular hypertrophy.

Overriding aorta

A defect where the aorta connects to both the left and right ventricles over a VSD, allowing oxygen-poor blood to enter systemic circulation.