Cardiovascular Disease Flashcards
(102 cards)
What is occurring during systole?
contraction and emptying of chambers
What is occuring in diastole?
relaxation and filling of chambers
Describe the action potential occuring in the pacemaker cells in the heart (sinoatrial node).
- Cells are autorhythmic
- Cells can initiate and conduct action potentials (self-induced)
- Has no resting membrane potential, constantly firing
- Cells slowly drift towards the threshold (~40mV)
- Sodium induces the action potential (positive charge crossing membrane starts a slow depolarisation)
- Calcium rushes into the cell which causes rapid depolarisation. The L-type calcium channels will then close when the peak is reached.
- Repolarisation is initiated by potassium leaving the cell through rectifier channels.
- This action potential uses: L-type channels (VGCC), T-type channels (VGCC), funny channels (Na) and rectifier channels (K).
Describe the action potential occuring in the cardiomyocyte cells.
- Cells have a resting membrane potential, so are not autorhythmic (~70mV)
- Cardiomyocytes only use L-type VGCCs
- Sodium influx induces the action potential. Permeability for sodium increases causing rapid depolarisation.
- At the peak of the action potential, sodium permeability decreases and potassium permeability is increased allowing for it to leave the cell, which initiates slow repolarisation.
- Shortly after, L-type channels open allowing Calcium in slowly which causes a plateau.
- Then the calcium channels shut and potassium leaves the cell rapidly through rectifier channels again causing repolarisation back to the resting potential.
How have each cardiac cell type adapted to fit its function?
- The pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node have adapted to allow for autorhythmicity, which allows for constant firing of the action potential.
- The cardiomyocyte has adapted to allow calcium inside the cell during the action potential which allows the muscle cell to contract to push blood out of the heart.
What lifestyle advice can be offered to patients as part of primary prevention?
- behaviour change
- healthy eating
- cardioprotective diet
- physical activity
- weight management
- alcohol and smoking
Primary prevention of CVD for people with/without Type 2 DM
- If QRISK3 >= 10%, offer Atorvastatin 20mg daily
Primary prevention of CVD for people with Type 1 DM
- Offer 20mg Atorvastatin daily
- Offer when: >40y/o, DM for >= 10yrs, establiashed nephropathy, other CVD risk factors
Secondary prevention (after CV event) for people with/without Type 1 or 2 DM
- Offer 80mg Atorvastatin daily
Primary AND secondary prevention for people with CKD
- Offer 20mg Atorvastatin daily
- If eGFR is >30, dose increase? (renal specialist)
What are the side effects of statin therapy?
- statin related muscle toxicity (SRM) - elevated creatine kinase, symmetrical muscle pain and/or weakness, large proximal muscles
- GI disturbances, hepatotoxicity, new onset Type 2 DM, intercranial haemorrhage, sleep disturbance
What can be done for intolerance to statins?
- De-challenge (reduce dose)
- Re-challenge
- Change statin (hydrophilic = Rosuvastatin, lipophilic = Atorvastatin)
- Alternate days dosing
- Alternate drug (Ezetimibe, PCSK9i, Inclisiran)
How are fibrates chemically activated in the body?
They are a pro-drug, and the ester group needs to be cleaved before it can be active. The active species has a carboxylic acid group.
Describe the mechanism of action of bile acid sequestrants.
- The drug itself is a chemical drug - it has no biological target.
- When the patient takes the sequestrant, it travels to the gut where bile acid emulsifies fat, and exchanges anions with the bile acid. In most circumstances, Cl- is exhanged for OH-. The polymer is then excreted with the bile acid attached to it.
- Increased excretion of bile acids means increased bile acids synthesised from cholesterol meaning reduced overall cholesterol levels.
Describe the mechanism of action of statins.
- competitive, reversible inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase.
- the enzyme itself is responsible for the inhibition of an early rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis, the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate (mevalonic acid).
- as well as this, due to reduced levels of cholesterol in the liver lead to an increased upregulation of LDL receptors in the liver, which lead to increased hepatic uptake of cholesterol.
Why is Aspirin effective as an anti-platelet drug?
- Aspirin inhibits COX-1 irreversibly
- This means that thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin will both not be formed.
- Prostacyclin (PGI2) is an inhibitor of platelet aggregation and can be resynthesised in endothelial cells, whereas thrombxane A2 requires new COX regeneration.
- If thromboxane A2 is inhibited for longer than prostacyclin, this means that at a low dose Aspirin can act as an anti-platelet drug.
Describe the mechanism of action of Clopidogrel.
- it is an irreversible antagonist of the P2Y12 subtype of the ADP receptor found on platelets. This antagonistic effect prevents ADP from binding and activating platlet aggregation.
- undergoes in vivo metabolism into active species
- once activated, thiol can form disulphide bond with receptor
Describe the different classes of cholesterol.
- VLDL, IDL, LDL and chylomicrons - bad cholesterol
- HDL - good cholesterol
What apoprotein is found on chylomicrons?
B48 (A,C,E)
What apoprotein is found on VLDL?
B100 (A,C,E)
What apoprotein is found on IDL?
B100, E
What apoprotein is found on LDL?
B100
What apoprotein is found on HDL?
AI, AII (C,E)
What are each of the different lipoprotein classes responsible for?
- chylomicrons - lipid transport from gut
- VLDL, IDL, LDL - transport triglycerides and deposit glycerol and fatty acids in cells
- HDL - reverse cholesterol transport