Vascular Conditions Flashcards
(120 cards)
What are some questions you should be asking in a history when it comes to vascular conditions?
Cardiovascular risk factors
Skin changes
Medications
Claudication
Cold peripheries
What are some cardiovascular risk factors?
Hypertension
Smoking.
Alcohol
Diabetes Mellitus
Obesity
Lack of exercise
High cholesterol
Family history if vascular disease
Male
Old age
Stress
CKD
What it’s important to examine in a patient with vascular disease?
Pulses
ABPI (Ankle Brachial Pressure Index)
Temperature of peripheries
Buergers test
How is an ABPI performed?
Determine blood pressure from the ankle (do both posterior tibial and dorsalis pedis and then take the highest value)
Determine brachial pressure
ABPI = ankle pressure / brachial pressure
What is the significance of the value of ABPI?
Determines the likelihood of peripheral arterial disease
What is considered a normal ABPI (so unlikely to have peripheral arterial disease)?
ABPI > 0.9
What does a low ABPI suggest?
More and more severe peripheral arterial disease
What does a ABPI of 1.4 and greater indicate?
Non compressible arteries so likely calcification of the arteries
What is buergers test?
When the patients leg is elevated until pallor occurs
Leg is slowly lowered to determine the point at which the pallor remains, this is called buergers angle
What buergers angle is suggestive of severe limb ischaemia?
20 degrees or less
What is chronic limb ischaemia?
Peripheral arterial diseases that results in a symptomatic reduced blood supply to the limbs
What is the pathophysiology of chronic limb ischaemia?
Typically affects the lower limbs
Due to atherosclerosis (normally)
How does chronic limb ischaemia present?
Intermittent claudication
Cold limb
Ischameic rest pain
Ulceration, gangrene or both
What is the classification system for chronic limb ischaemia?
Fontaine classification
What is stage I chronic limb ischaemia according to the Fontaine classification?
Asymptomatic
What is stage II chronic limb ischaemia according to the Fontaine classification?
Intermittent claudication
(When most patients present)
What is stage III chronic limb ischaemia according to the Fontaine classification?
Ischaemic rest pain (so no longer just on walking, at all times)
What is stage IV chronic limb ischaemia according to the Fontaine classification?
Ulceration, gangrene or both
What are all the stages in the Fontaine classification for chronic limb ischaemia?
Stage I = asymptomatic
Stage II = intermittent claudication
Stage III = ischaemia rest pain
Stage IV = ulceration, gangrene or both
What investigations should be done when suspecting chronic limb ischaemia?
FBC
U+Es
Lipids
HbA1C
Blood glucose
What methods of imaging should be done in a patient with chronic limb ischaemia?
ABPI
Doppler USS
CT angiogram
ECG
What is the medical management of chronic limb ischaemia?
Lifestyle advice (smoking sensation, alcohol reduction, weight loss)
Supervised exercise programmes
Statin therapy
Anti-platelet therapy
Optimise diabetic control
What statin is given and at what dose for chronic limb ischaemia?
Atorvastatin 80mg OD
What anti-platelet is given for chronic limb ischaemia and at what dose?
Clopidogrel (75mg OD)