What is hypertension ?
- A sustained elevation in resting blood pressure.
2. Systolic pressure over/equal 140, diastolic pressure over/equal 90.
What happens to the BP of a hypertensive and non-hypertensive person during exercise ?
The rise in BP is equal.
True or False : There is a rise in hypertension with age.
FALSE. The rise of BP with age seen in data is actually due to sustained poor lifestyle.
What is essential (idiopathic) hypertension?
Hypertension that isn’t due to another disease. This is the main type found in the population.
What are the main risk factors for hypertension?
- Obesity.
- Inactivity.
- Salt intake.
What are the body’s mechanisms that control BP ?
- Hormones of the brain, lungs, etc.
- Kidneys
- Nervous system ANS CNS
- Arteries (contraction/dilation)
What does arteriolosclerosis put you at risk of ?
Renal failure and retinopathy
What are the main complications of hypertension ?
- Cardiac Hypertrophy
- Arterial structural changes (hyperplasia+hypertrophy of smooth muscle, thickening+constriction of blood vessels, aneurism)
- Atherosclerosis (and thus Stroke)
What is the Hypertension Syndrome?
The fact that usually if you have hypertension, you have other problems accompanying it (obesity, etc.)
How does ischemic heart disease present ?
White streaks on the heart where the coronary arteries collapsed (These arteries are : Left coronary, right coronary, left anterior descending)
What are the main lifestyle changes that serve as hypertension treatment ?
- Decreased weight
- Decreased alcohol intake.
- Reduced salt intake
- Increased exercise.
What is the best medical treatment for hypertension ?
The safest/easiest treatment is a diuretic (kidney medication) to increase urine output.
What does the oxygen demand depend on ?
- Preload
- Afterload
- Rate and force of contraction.
What are the symptoms of CHD once atherosclerosis is advanced ?
- Angina Pectoris
- Myocardial Infarction
- Sudden Death
What is angina ?
An ischemic reaction caused by an imbalance between blood supply and blood demand. If the cardiac myocytes don’t get enough blood (so note enough nutrients), there is pain in the chest that radiates to the arm, shoulder and jaw.
Where does the cardiac output mainly go during rest?
Where does it go during exercise ?
GI tract.
Muscles (including cardiac myocytes) and skin.
What are the causes of an angina ?
- Atherosclerosis (leading up to CHD)
- Coronary Spasm.
- Blood clot.
- Cocaine sensitivity.
What is the treatment of angina ?
- Nitroglycerin
- Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery
- Coronary angioplasty
What are the 2 typical causes of a myocardial infarct ?
- Thrombus formation from plaque.
2. Plaque blocks the coronary artery.
What determines the severity of consequences from a myocardial infarct ?
- The size of the infarct.
- The location of the infarct.
- The presence of collateral circulation.
What are the medical approaches to treating CHD ?
- Timolol : Beta-blocker that reduces BP.
- Aspirin : small dose everyday, anticoagulant
What are possible complications of a myocardial infarct?
- Scar formation weakens the ventricular wall (ventricular aneurysm), with the pressure it eventually ruptures, there is bleeding in the pericardial sac which causes pressure on the heart (Cardiac Tamponade).
- Ventricular septal defect.
- Rupture of papillary muscles.
