Stable Angina Flashcards
(36 cards)
How is angina pectoris caused?
Caused by reduced blood flow to the heart causing Ischaemia
What is the most common cause (type) of angina?
Coronary atheroma
- On activity with the increased myocardial oxygen demand obstructed coronary blood flow leads to myocardial ischaemia and then the symptoms of angina.
In what situations does myorcardial oxygen demand increase?
It increases in situations where HR and BP rise for example: exercise, anxiety/emotional stress and after a large meal.
At what stenosis does angina occur?
Occurs when >70% stenosis (>70% of the the artery is blocked by plaque build)
- This stenosis occurs the heart to work a lot harder.
How can the heart muscle wall affect angina?
If the heart muscle wall thickens, it can cause angina.
This is caused by:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (genetic)
- Pumping against high pressures e.g. Aortic stenosis, hypertension.
What are features of angina pectoris?
1, Constricting/ heavy discomfort to the chest, jaw, neck, shoulders or arms.
- Symptoms brought on by exertion!
- Symptoms relieved within 5 min by rest or GTN.
Symptoms of angina pectoris
- Pressure or squeezing in left arm, chest, shoulders, back.
- Shortness of breath
- Diaphoresis (sweating)
- Symptoms relieved after stress.
What are features making angina less likely?
- Sharp/’stabbing’ pain: pleuritic or pericardial
- Associated with body movements or respiration.
- Very localised: pinpoint site.
- Superficial with/or without tenderness.
- No pattern to pain, particularly if often occurring at rest.
- Begins some time after exercise
- Lasting for hours
What are other symptoms on exertion for stable angina?
- Breathlessness on exertion
- Excessive fatigue on exertion for activity undertaken
- Near syncope on exertion
Features of the Canadian classification of angina severity (CCS)
- Ordinary physical activity does not cause angina, symptoms only on significant exertion.
- Slight limitation of ordinary activity, symptoms on walking 2 blocks or >1 flight of stairs.
- Marked limitation, symptoms on walking only 1-2 blocks or 1 flight of stairs.
- Symptoms on any activity, getting washed/dressed causes symptoms.
What are modifiable risk factors coronary artery disease/angina?
know this!
- Smoking
- Lifestyle: exercise and diet
- Diabetes mellitus (glycaemic control reduced CV risk)
- Hypertension (BP control reduced CV risk)
- Hyperlipidaemia (lowering reduces CV risk)
What are non-modifiable risk factors coronary artery disease/angina?
know this!
- Age
- Gender
- Creed
- Family history
- Genetic factors
Examination features for stable angina?
- Tar stains on fingers
- Obesity (centripedal)
- Xanthalasma and corneal arcus (hypercholesterolaemia)
- Hypertension
- Abdominal aortic aneurysm arterial bruits, absent or reduced peripheral pulses.
- Diabetic retinopathy, hypertensive retinopathy on fundoscopy.
Signs of exacerbating or associated conditions for stable angina
- Pallor of anaemia
- Tachycardia, tremor, hyper-reflexia of hyperthyroidism
- Ejection systolic murmur, plateau pulse of aortic stenosis.
- Pansystolic murmur of mitral regurgitation, and
- Signs of heart failure such as basal crackles, elevated JVP, peripheral oedema.
What methods would you use to investigate stable angina?
- Bloods
- Chest X-ray
- Electrocardiogram
- Exercise tolerance test/ETT
- Myocardial perfusion imaging
- Computed tomography (CT) coronary angiography
- Invasive angiography
- Cardiac catherisation/coronary angiography
What would an X-ray be useful to show?
Often helps show other causes of chest pain and can help show pulmonary oedema
Features of electrocardiogram in stable angina?
- Normal in over 50% of cases
- May be evidence of prior myocardial infarction i.e. pathological Q-waves
- May be evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy i.e. high voltages, lateral ST-segment depression or “strain pattern”.
Features of exercise tolerance test/ETT
- Often can confirm diagnosis of angina.
- Relies on ability to walk for long enough to produce sufficient CV stress.
- Typical symptoms and ST-segment depression for positive test.
- -ve ETT doesn’t exclude significant coronary atheroma but if negative at high workload overall prognosis is good.
Features of myocardial perfusion imaging in stable angina
- Superior to ETT in detection of CAD, localisation of ischaemia and assessing size of area affected.
- Expensive, involves radioactivity; depending on availability used where ETT not possible/equivocal.
- Either exercise or pharmacological stress: adenosine, dipyridamole or dobutamine.
When would invasive angiography be used?
If:
- Early or strongly positive ETT (suggests multi-vessel ds)
- Angina refractory to medical therapy
- Diagnosis not clear after non-invasive tests.
- Young cardiac patients due to work/life effects.
- Occupation or lifestyle with risk e.g. drivers etc.
Features of cardiac catherisation/ coronary angiography
- Almost always done under local anaesthetic
- Arterial cannula inserted into femoral or radial artery
- Coronary catheters passed to aortic root and introduced into the ostium of coronary arteries.
- Radio-opaque contrast injected down coronary arteries and visualised on X-ray.
What are the different treatment strategies for stable angina?
- General measures: adress risk factors.
- Medical treatment
- Revascularisation (if treatment not controlled)
Medical treatments for influencing disease progression of stable angina
- Statins: consider if total cholesterol >3.5mmol
- ACE inhibitors: if increased Cv risk and atheroma
- Aspirin, 75mg or clopidogrel if intolerant of aspirin
What do statins do?
They reduce LDL-cholsterol deposition in atheroma and also stabilise atheroma reducing plaque rupture and ACS.
