Heart Disease in Pregnancy
Heart Disease in Pregnancy Basic principles Cardiac disease in pregnancy is rare in the UK, Europe, and the developed world, but common in developing countries. In the UK, rheumatic heart…
Eponymous Syndromes
Eponymous Syndromes A-C Aase syndrome A clinical triad of congenital anaemia, triphalangeal thumbs, and VSD. The aetiology is unknown. Adams-Stokes syncope See Stokes-Adams syndrome ( p. 706). Alfidi’s syndrome Hypertension…
Cardiovascular Disease in Less-Developed Countries
Cardiovascular Disease in Less-Developed Countries Burden of cardiovascular disease in less-developed countries Approximately 80% of the world’s people reside outside Western Europe and Canada/USA. Although cardiovascular diseases (CVD) occur throughout…
Multisystem Disorders
Multisystem Disorders Coronary artery disease in patients with rheumatologic diseases Origins Atherosclerosis, thrombosis, arteritis, vasospasm Epidemiology Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) The prevalence of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is 6-10 %…
Coronary Artery Disease
Coronary Artery Disease Atherosclerosis: pathophysiology Atherosclerosis is a disease of the large and medium-sized arteries. The term atherosclerosis is derived from Latin and means gruel-like (‘athero’) hardening (‘sclerosis’) of the…
Pericardial Diseases
Pericardial Diseases Aetiology The pericardium may be involved in the large number of disease processes listed in the box below. In some patients, pericardial disease is the primary disease process…
Heart Muscle Diseases
Heart Muscle Diseases Classification Heart muscle diseases include a diverse range of cardiomyopathies and myocardites. Cardiomyopathies have been previously classified as diseases of unknown cause and were therefore distinct from…
Heart Failure
Heart Failure Introduction Definition Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome in which the heart fails to meet the metabolic demands of the body. It can result from any structural…
Valvular Heart Disease
Valvular Heart Disease General considerations Development Cardiac valves develop from the mesodermal germ layer between the 4th and 7th week of gestation. Any factors affecting embryogenesis during this time can…
Infective Endocarditis
Infective Endocarditis Presentation of endocarditis Key facts Highly variable presentation—depends on intracardiac pathology, virulence of organism, and extracardiac involvement. Presentation can be insidious, as in streptococcal infections, or with striking…
