Cardiology

When Mr Jones was first admitted, there were several concerning cues that made him an at risk patient. Even before observations were taken Mr Jones’s age, weight and intense chest pain clearly indicated his need for immediate action to evaluation his condition because of the risk of heart complications. After observations Mr Jones had a total Q-ADDS score of 3 and a pain score of 7/10, most concerning was his O2 saturation at 92% and his severe crushing pain in his chest which had been going on…

How Dehydration And Chronic Fatigue Are Connected? Summary: Water is the main ingredients required for our bodies to work in a proper manner. It's important to drink the daily required amount of fresh clean water to prevent dehydration. If you’re suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, then dehydration might occur more frequently. Main Content: When we have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), it is quite common for us to develop the problem of dehydration. The natural thirst reflex of our body…

The heart is a hollow organ that sits in the mediastinum cavity, the heart itself is surrounded by a sack known as the pericardium. The most inner layer is the epicardium the outer layer is the parietal pericardium and in between these two layers is pericardial fluid. In a normal heart a person usually contain 30-50mL of pericardial fluid. The tough layer that surrounds the parietal layer is the fibrous pericardium. The fibrous tissue sack provides physical protection to the heart by not…

Hypertension is a heterogeneous disorder that may result either from a specific cause (secondary hypertension) or from an underlying pathophysiologic mechanism of unknown etiology (primary or essential hypertension). Secondary hypertension accounts for fewer than 10% of cases, and most of these are caused by chronic kidney disease or renovascular disease. Other conditions causing secondary hypertension include pheochromocytoma, Cushing’s syndrome, hyperthyroidism, hyperparathyroidism, primary…

Pulmonary Embolism Did you know that just from sitting too long or just any type of prolonged immobility could sometimes be fatal? Life threatening 1/3 of people with undiagnosed and untreated Pulmonary Embolism don’t survive, can lead to Pulmonary Hypertension (PHTN), PHTN is a type of blood pressure that affects the arteries in your lungs and the right side of your heart. When lower extremities are horizontal for long lengths of time, the flow of the venous blood slows and blood can pool in…

Cardiac transplantation has emerged as an effective treatment modality for patients with end stage heart disease. According to the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, it has been estimated that more than 5,000 heart transplants are performed every year worldwide(1). The Heart and Stroke Statistics 2012 update by American Heart Association estimated that about 2333 cardiac transplantation procedures were performed in 2010 in the United States alone(2). Cardiac allograft…

Vasoplegic syndrome (VS) is a well-known form of vasodilatory shock that occurs in up to 44% of patients after cardiac surgery employing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB)(1). CPB is often associated with a systemic inflammatory response and transient vascular dysfunction that results in profound and persistent vasodilation, leading to a decrease in systemic vascular resistance that grounds severe hypotension refractory to proper fluid resuscitation, and an increased requirement for vasopressors…

Stroke is fifth leading cause of death in the Unites States, killing nearly 130,000 Americans each year; that’s 1 out of every 20 deaths.1 Strokes are also referred to as cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs), which is the sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen when blood flow to the brain is impaired by blockage or rupture of an artery.2 With the occurrence of strokes being so prevalent, finding an effective way to prevent CVAs is crucial. To understand which preventative measures may be…

Physiology Heart murmurs are aberrant heart noises that can be noted when using a stethoscope. Typically, these sounds come from the abnormal motion of blood amid cardiac chambers and across valves. As a result, turbulence occurs, bringing about “vibrations in the chambers of the heart or outflow vessels (aorta or pulmonary artery) that are detected as audible, low-frequency sounds,” (Klabunde, 2016). These sounds are different from the regular heart sounds that symbolize the closing of the…

Overall survival Mean overall survival (OS) was 13.8 years (median was not reached) with 96% at 3 years, 93% at 5 years, 83% at 10 years and 64% at 15 years after RT. For low-grade meningioma survival rate was 97% at 3 years, 94% at 5 years, 85% at 10 years and 65% at 15 years, for atypical meningioma 91% at 3 years, 86% at 5 years, 62% at 10 years and 50% at 15 years. As expected OS is significantly better for low-grade meningioma (p=.034, Figure 1). Stratified by histology, we compared groups…