Cardiology

Overview

Cardiology- medical management of the heart and less extent vasculature system. Cardiology also covers non-operative interventions such as PCI- coronary artery stenting. 

Physiology & Health

Cardiovascular system

• Anatomy

• Cardiac contraction cycle

• Myocyte depolarisation

• Regulation of blood pressure

• Autonomic nervous system

Diseases

Cardiac disease categories (6)

1. Congestive (chronic) heart failure and acute heart failure

2. Ischaemic heart disease (coronary artery disease)

   • • Myocardial infarction: STEMI, NSTEMI

     • Unstable angina, angina

3. Arrhythmias

   • Tachy

     • Ventricular Fibrillation (VF),

     • Ventricular tachycardia (VT), 

     • Atrial Fibrillation (AF), atrial flutter,

     • SVT

     • WPW (AVnRT)

     • Sinus tachycardia

   • Brady

     • Heart Block- 3.0, 2.2, 2.1, 1

     • Bifasicular and Trifasicular Block

     • Asystole

     • Sinus Bradycardia

4. Valvular

   • • Aortic stenosis and regurgitation

     • Mitral stenosis and regurgitation

     • Pulmonary stenosis and regurgitation

     • Tricuspid stenosis and regurgitation

5. Congenital

   • Cyanotic (5 Ts)

     • Tetralogy of Fallot, ToF (most common 5%)

     • Transposition of Great Arteries, TGA (2%)

     • Truncus Arteriosus

     • Total Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection

     • Tricuspid Valve Abnormalities

       • • Tricuspid Atresia

         • Ebstein's anomaly

         • Pulmonary Atresia

     • Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

5. • Non Cyanotic

     • Atrial (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD)

     • Atrioventricular septal defect

     • Patent ductus arteriole (PDA)

     • Pulmonary valve stenosis

     • Aortic valve stenosis

     • Coarctation

   • Not a defect: Patent foramen ovale (PFO)

6. Structural/ everything else

   • • Pericardium 

       • Pericarditis- acute or chronic (constrictive)

       • Pericardial effusion and tamponade

     • Myocardium

       • Myocarditis

       • Cardiomyopathy: Restrictive, Dilated

         • HOCM (Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy)  

         • Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy 

         • Ischaemic cardiomyopathy

         • Peripartum cardiomyopathy

       • Cardia myxoma

     • Endocardium

       • Infective Endocarditis

Vascular disease

• Aorta

  • Thoracic Aortic dilatation, dissection and aneurysm

  • Abdominal aortic aneurysm

  • Aortitis

  • Coarctation of the Aorta

• Vasculitis

  • Microscopic: MPA, GPA, eGPA

  • Syphilis

• Peripheral 

  • Arterial disease

  • Venous disease

• Hypertension

Notes

Myocarditis vs Cardiomyopathy

Myocarditis is not considered a cause of cardiomyopathy because cardiomyopathy refers to the often irreversible damage to the heart myocardium whereas myocarditis refers to acute inflammation. It is comparable to myocarditis being acute hepatitis and cardiomyopathy being liver cirrhosis. 

Written in 2024.