Cardiac Perfusion
Perfusion - answer refers to the flow of blood through arteries and capillaries, delivering
nutrients and oxygen to cells
no perfusion means - answer tissue death
central perfusion - answer force of blood movement generated by CO, requires
adequate cardiac fxn, BP, and blood volume
CO=SVxHR
peripheral tissue/local perfusion - answer volume of blood that flows to target tissue,
pressure generated from each myocardial contraction supplies blood to PVS, valve in
each vein keeps blood flowing in direction toward the heart
impairment of tissue perfusion is associated with... - answer loss of vessel patency or
permeability, or inadequate central perfusion; it results in impaired bloow flow to the
affected body tissue (localized effect)
what does impaired tissue perfusion lead to? - answerischemia, and ultimately cell
death if uncorrected
atherosclerosis - answerbegins with waxy cholesterol (atheromas) that become
deposited on the intima of major arteries
what do atheromas interefere with? - answerthe absorption of nutrients by the
endothelial cells that compose the vessel lining (b/c atheromas are covering the lining)
and they obstruct the flow of blood (like merging 3 lanes into 1 lane)
Impairment of central perfusion occurs when... - answercardiac output is inadequate
reduced cardiac output results in... - answera reduction of oxygenated blood reaching
the body tissues (systemic effect); if severe, associated w shock, if untreated leads to
ischemia → cell injury → cell death
stroke volume - answeramount of blood ejected from LV with each heartbeat
in order to increase cardiac output... - answerincrease stroke volume or increase heart
rate (or increase both)
, preload - answerrefers to the amount of blood in Lv at the end of diastole (after filling of
blood is complete)
the greater the preload the... - answergreater the stretch/contractility of the heart and
the greater stroke volume (called Starling's law →think rubber band)
afterload - answerreflects the amount of resistance the ventricles have to contract
against -also know as systemic vascular resistance (SVR)
what is afterload influenced by? - answerthe diameter of the blood vessels and the
blood volume
an increase in afterload results in a... - answerdecrease in stroke volume
modifiable risk factors of perfusion - answerhypertension, abdominal obesity, smoking,
diabetes, high cholesterol, psychosocial factors
non-modifiable risk factors of perfusion - answerethnicity, age, gender, family history
What types of histories should be acquired for perfusion? - answerbaseline history, and
a focused history on the problem (pain, dyspnea, edema, dizziness, altered mental
status, extremity changes (temp, skin, color, etc)
doppler studies - answersound evaluation of object, can be used with a 2D echo to
create "color flow imaging or duplex"
creatinine kinase - answerheart isoenzyme CK-MB rises after cardiac injury or MI, levels
increase 3-6 hours after (onset about 6hrs), peak wi 10-24 hrs, return wi 12-48hrs after
MI (rise & fall over 2-4 days), peak/return level is sometimes delayed in large MI,
quicker CK recovery in pts with treated MIs
natruiretic peptide markers - answerANP=atrium, B-type NP (BNP) =ventricles, C-type
NP=endothelial/renal epithelial cells, N-terminal pro-brain NP (NT-pro-BNP) → secreted
in ventricles
why is BNP used as a diagnostic test? - answerbecause it it helpful in distinguising
between cardiovascular or respiratory causes of dyspnea -can also use NT-pro-BNP
which is more sensitive but less specific than BNP
troponin - answerheart muscle protein (cTnT and CTN1), usually low in normal person,
high when indicative of MI or cardiac injury, detectable wi 4-6 hrs after injury, peaks 10-
24 hrs, detected for 10-14 days, levels are drawn upon arrival to ER and repeated 2x
within a 12-16 hr window
the higher the troponin level... - answerthe greater the damage