Complete Revision Notes for Medical and Surgical Finals

Kinesh Patel, Kinesh Patel

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781444166569
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Medicina
• Subtopic: Teoría, práctica y referencia médicas

In the face of information overload when revising for your final exams, what you want is a revision book that provides all the key facts you need to know and none that you don't. Complete Revision Notes for Medical and Surgical Finals does just that, presenting information in a stimulating way, which in turn enables easy recall.Structured by medica

CHAPTER 1 Medicine

Nisha Patel, Alexandra Kent and Natasha Patel

Cardiology

Respiratory

Gastroenterology

Hepatology

Neurology

Nephrology

Endocrinology

Rheumatology

Haematology

Infectious diseases

Dermatology

CARDIOLOGY

CARDIAC INVESTIGATIONS

• ECG (electrocardiography): records cardiac electrical activity

• Echocardiography (echo): ultrasound imaging of the heart which provides an impression of cardiac chambers, valvular heart disease, the pericardium, great vessels and masses. Transthoracic echo is quick and easy to perform, but trans-oesophageal echo gives more detailed images, particularly of the posterior structures

• Doppler echocardiography: Doppler studies measure the velocity and direction of red blood flow, and are useful for assessing flow across valves, through the great vessels and through cardiac chambers

• Stress echocardiography: echo is done at baseline, then immediately after exercise or dobutamine infusion (which increases myocardial oxygen demand); systolic function and regional wall motion abnormalities are recorded to assess for myocardial ischaemia

• Nuclear imaging: thallium or technetium-labelled compounds can be used to assess ventricular function and myocardial ischaemia; at rest and during stress; SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) and PET (positron emission tomography) are being increasingly used

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)/CT (computed tomography): used to define anatomy; useful in congenital heart disease, tumours, pericardial disease; MRA (MR angiography) can be used to assess the aorta, large vessels and myocardial perfusion, CT calcium

• Cardiac catheterization: involves passage of a catheter from a peripheral artery into the heart for pressure measurements or injection of a contrast agent; angiography can assess the left ventricle, coronary arteries and aorta; allows for balloon angioplasty or stent insertion

HEART FAILURE (HF)

Occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood at a rate required by metabolizing tissues

Ischaemic, valvular, hypertensive or congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, endocarditis, pulmonary embolism (PE)

Precipitating factors: myocardial infarction, infection, ...