Cardiology Flashcards
(184 cards)
Malar flush
Pulmonary hypertension with low
cardiac output, typically in mitral stenosis
Slate grey rash in sun-exposed areas
Adverse effect of amiodarone
Uvula bobbing up and down
Muller’s sign in severe AR
Head bobbing up and down
de Musset’s sign in severe AR
Plucked chicken skin
Pseudoxanthoma elasticum = classic cause of coronary artery disease in young
Thrill in apex
Severe MR
Thrill at left sternal edge
VSD
Thrill in aortic area
AS
Loud 2nd heart sound
Pulmonary HTN
3rd heart sound (lub dub dub)
Rapid ventricular filling of dilated LV = Heart failure (MR, post-MI)
4th heart sound (la-lub dub)
Atria contract against stiff ventricles = (e.g. HOCM, HTN)
Quiet 2nd heart sound
Severe AS
Features of aortic stenosis
- Heaving apex beat (LVH)
- Slow rising pulse
- Quiet 2nd heart sound
Features of aortic regurtitation
- Collapsing pulse
- Wide pulse pressure.
- Cardiac dilatation.
- Early diastolic murmur, usually maximal at lower left sternal edge
- Corrigan’s pulse.
- De musset’s: bobbing of head with pulse
- Quincke’s: nail bed pulsations
Features of mitral stenosis
- Old patient as likely rheumatic
- Mid-diastolic murmur (best heart left lateral on expiration using the bell)– sounds like thunder rumbling in distance
- AF
- Tapping apex beat (palpable first heart sound)
- Loud S1 = closing snap (important clue for mixed mitral valve disease when there is also pansystolic murmur)
- Malar flush
Features of mitral regurgitation
- Soft S1 and widely-split S2 (severe MR)
- Pansystolic murmur loudest at apex and radiating to axilla and loudest on expiration
- Displaced apex beat laterally +/- apical systolic thrill
- Marfan’s = arm span to height ratio >1.05
Causes of aortic stenosis
- Calcific degenerative is the most common.
- Congenital, usually associated with a bicuspid valve.
- Rheumatic (now quite rare).
Severity of aortic stenosis based on
- Quiet 2nd heart sound
- Narrow pulse pressure
- Presence of heart failure
- Syncope is poorest prognostic symptom
Differential for aortic stenosis
- Aortic sclerosis: can overlap with AS
- PS: normal pulse character, 2nd heart sound normal, although pulmonary component may be reduced. Murmur louder on inspiration.
- VSD: very loud murmur, heard all over the praecordium. Maximal at sternal edge. More likely to be associated with a thrill (Maladie de Roger).
- HOCM: jerky pulse, murmur gets quieter if crouches down (increased afterload and consequent splinting open of the outflow tract). No ejection click, normal 2nd heart sound. Younger patient.
Investigations for aortic stenosis
- Echo: severe if valve area <1cm2, mean valve gradient >40mmHg (gradient is difference in pressure before and after valve), peak velocity >4m/sec
- Stress echo: to see if heart failure due to the AS or because of issue with myocardium
- Coronary angiography before any valve surgery!
Criteria for surgery in aortic stenosis
Symptomatic severe AS
Asymptomatic severe AS and:
- EF <50% without other cause or
- Symptomatic or 20mmHg fall in BP on exercising or
- Very severe AS (mean gradient >60mmHg) or BNP x3 normal without other explanation
What are the common complications of AS?
- Endocarditis
- Heart failure
- AV block due to invasion of calcium from the valve ring into the His–Purkinje system
- Embolic events.
How would you differentiate sclerosis from stenosis?
Normal pulse character, normal 2nd heart sound, frequently in an elderly person. Note this overlaps with mild AS.
Causes of aortic regurgitation
Split into acute AR and chronic AR!
Acute AR:
* Infective endocarditis
* Aortic dissection
* Prosthetic valve failure
* Acute rheumatic fever (rare in the West, but not elsewhere)
Chronic AR:
* Bicuspid aortic valve
* Marfan’s syndrome
* Rheumatic heart disease
* Endocarditis
* Seronegative arthritides (ank spond!)