…and favour the accumulation of fat, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts and extracellular matrix beneath the endothelium. Plaques that are particularly prone to rupture characteristically contain:…

…accounting for approximately 80% of cases. Other causes include acute mechanical complications—particularly ventricular septal defect (VSD) and papillary muscle rupture with acute severe mitral…

…muscle cells, leading to a white, platelet rich thrombus. Myocardial vulnerability, largely driven by coronary microvascular dysfunction, also contributes to the extension and severity of…

…include fixed coronary atherosclerosis without plaque rupture, coronary artery spasm, coronary microvascular dysfunction (encompassing endothelial dysfunction, smooth muscle cell dysfunction, and dysregulation of sympathetic innervation)…

…Ruptured atherosclerotic lesion with atherotrombosis. Over decades, the lesion progresses from a simple fatty streak to a complex fibroatheroma. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) migrate from…

…90 days. The central clinical danger is progressive aortic wall disruption, rupture and compromise of branch vessels. Type A disease may cause cardiac tamponade, severe…

…and other viral respiratory infections. However, in some individuals the infection may be severe and deadly. Importantly, COVID 19 has caused an unprecedented number of…

…atherosclerotic disease. Pathophysiology Mechanisms of acute coronary syndrome The major mechanisms producing acute coronary syndromes are: Plaque rupture with exposure of thrombogenic material. Superficial plaque…

…atherothrombosis. It is usually precipitated by disruption of an atherosclerotic plaque through rupture or erosion. The relative contributions of plaque disease and thrombus vary considerably…

…tricuspid inflow The echocardiographic counterpart of pulsus paradoxus Contraindications In overt tamponade with shock there are no absolute contraindications other than the conditions in which…

…pectoris : Symptoms appear primarily during exercise or other situations with increased myocardial load. Symptoms are exacerbated by increasing the level of exertion ( i.e increasing…

…pectoris : Symptoms appear primarily during exercise or other situations with increased myocardial load. Symptoms are exacerbated by increasing the level of exertion ( i.e increasing…

…cardiac tamponade. The classical signs of cardiac tamponade are hypotension, muffled heart sounds and jugular venous distention. Other frequent symptoms are pulsus paradoxus, pericardial friction…

…ECG changes and symptoms. Troponins and other biomarkers of myocardial necrosis (infarction) Myocardium can endure 20 to 30 minutes of complete ischemia. After this period…

…treatment — modification of loading, eccentric exercise, an NSAID, an orthosis — has not given a sufficient effect. Contraindications Absolute: Cellulitis, a skin wound or other infection…

…in other reports. It is more frequent in women and in patients presenting with NSTEMI than in those presenting with STEMI. Approximately one third of…

…blood displacement. OCT is particularly useful for: characterizing the surface of atheroma; measuring fibrous cap thickness; distinguishing thrombus from plaque; evaluating occult plaque rupture; identifying…

…and other emergency instruments. Personnel conducting the test must be formally trained to assess cardiovascular response, symptoms, and ECG changes. Although the risk of cardiac…

…Trauma Cardiac surgery and other iatrogenic cardiovascular procedures Acute aortic disease, particularly ascending or type A aortic dissection Myocardial free wall rupture after infarction Anticoagulant…

…cardiogenic shock, right ventricular free wall rupture and cardiac tamponade. The most common of these are hypotension, low cardiac output and sensitivity to drugs that…

…ischemia. Inverted U waves are even more typical of ischemia (but the sensitivity is low). U wave changes always accompany other ischemic ST T changes…

…Lathundar Key messages Two things set the COPD exacerbation apart from many other causes of acute dyspnoea: oxygen must be titrated cautiously and the blood…

…and other relevant information for the drug Ticagrelor . Table 1 Summary Indications Ticagrelor, in combination with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), is indicated for the prevention of…

…Familial and genetic screening in cardiovascular medicine is the systematic assessment of relatives and other individuals who may carry an inherited predisposition to cardiovascular disease…

…C) is the principal therapeutic target in lipid management because LDL and other apolipoprotein B containing lipoproteins play a causal role in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease…

…and infarction Myocardial ischemia: cellular changes, ECG signs and development of infarction Like all other cells in the human body, cardiac myocytes use ATP (adenosine…

…begins in parallel with the diagnostic work up. Obtain an interpretable 12 lead ECG within 10 minutes of first medical contact, attach continuous rhythm monitoring…

…to place under the shoulders as an alternative to a hanging head. Frenzel goggles or video Frenzel if available — small beats of nystagmus can otherwise…

…NSAIDs). Other contraindications: Hemophilia. Thrombocytopenia. Active gastric or duodenal ulcers. Liver cirrhosis. Severe heart failure. Doses 100 mg/day during the third trimester of pregnancy…

…cardiovascular death, and progression of atherosclerotic disease in patients with established coronary or other atherosclerotic vascular disease. Antiplatelet therapy is a central component because platelet…

…C and other apoB containing lipoproteins within the arterial wall. This initiates inflammatory reactions that promote plaque formation and progression. As the burden of retained…

…aggregation. Because aspirin affects only one pathway of platelet activation, its antiplatelet effect is relatively limited compared with agents that inhibit other platelet pathways. The…

…peripheral artery disease (PAD), and other manifestations of systemic atherosclerosis. The principal clinical concern is cerebral embolism or haemodynamic compromise leading to transient ischaemic attack…

…and other symptoms may occur without chest pain and should be considered anginal equivalents. The emergency evaluation of non traumatic chest discomfort is structured around…

…with homozygous FH typically die from acute myocardial infarction at 20 to 30 years of age. People with familial hypercholesterolemia have no other metabolic aberration…

…from selected populations, frequently with low or intermediate ischemic risk and under representation of patients with STEMI or other very high risk features. Noninferiority studies…

…or other vascular beds. Malignant hypertension represents an extreme form in which acute microvascular injury occurs, classically involving fibrinoid necrosis of small arteries in the…

…left ventricular dysfunction, peripheral vascular disease and other manifestations of diffuse atherosclerosis. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are revascularization procedures…

…Other mechanisms include thrombosis, embolism, vasculitis, fibromuscular dysplasia, arterial entrapment, cystic adventitial disease and trauma. Atherosclerotic PAD is a manifestation of systemic arterial disease rather…

…and cardiovascular rationale Smoking cessation is the complete discontinuation of tobacco smoking, with avoidance of second hand smoke and, where possible, other inhaled nicotine products…

…beats per minute. Note that with a paper speed of 25 mm/s, which is standard in the US and many other countries, a 2…

…cancel each other out. However, the ECG may show features characteristic of biventricular hypertrophy. Biventricular hypertrophy ECG In case the ECG or other examinations suggest…

…myocardial ischemia. Other symptoms include dyspnea, pain radiating to the left arm/shoulder/throat, palpitations, back pain and selected cases of upper abdominal pain. An…

…1). This is possible by using two different sets of piezoelectric crystals; one set for sending ultrasound and the other for analyzing reflected sound waves…

…tomographic images of the left ventricle. In PET (Positron Emission Tomography), radiotracers emit positrons. When a positron collides with an electron, they annihilate each other…

…opposite angle of observation. Other vectors may interfere with the injury currents, and inhibit them from being detected by leads with opposite angles of observation…

…atrial impulses are conducted to the ventricles. The atria and the ventricles are electrically dissociated from each other. This condition is referred to as atrioventricular…

…BMI of 23 and obesity from 27.5, because cardiometabolic risk appears at a lower BMI. BMI is misleading in athletes with a large muscle…

…the bleeding risk of the procedure and by renal function. In markedly reduced renal function (dabigatran at eGFR <30 mL/min, the other DOACs at…

…marrow — choose the other side). A patient who cannot lie still — plan for sedation rather than abandoning the procedure. Choice of site The posterior superior…

…plasmapheresis or other extracorporeal therapy (requires a large bore dialysis catheter, not an ordinary triple lumen catheter). Measurement of central venous pressure and central venous…

…margin must be included in the freeze. Contraindications Absolute: Suspected melanoma or any other pigmented lesion of uncertain diagnosis. A lesion in which histology is…

…high grade AV block without pacemaker protection. Asthma and other marked obstructive airways disease — relative; the risk of bronchospasm is real. Hypotension and haemodynamic instability…

…applies where you work. They assume normal renal and hepatic function, a non pregnant adult of normal weight, and individual assessment. See the separate quick…

…organ damage. Isolated malignant retinopathy without other acute organ damage can often be treated more cautiously with oral drugs under careful observation [3,4]. A…

…physical activity and any other precipitating factor. Thresholds The thresholds below are used above all in diabetes. The severity of the symptoms and the patient…

…rise can cause osmotic demyelination syndrome [1,2]. Hyponatraemia is primarily a disorder of water balance. The plasma sodium reflects the ratio between the body…

…A markedly raised GGT with the other tests normal is most often enzyme induction by alcohol or drugs and is often of no clinical significance…

…pain or a rapid deterioration in general condition may be the only signs of infection. Corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive treatments can blunt the febrile response…

…preferably anteroposteriorly : one anteriorly over the praecordium to the left of the sternum, the other on the back between the left scapula and the spine…