Atrial and Ventricular Enlargement:
- Both dilation & hypertrophy usually result in chronic pressure and volume overload on the heart muscle
- Pathological hypertrophy & dilation are often accompanied by fibrosis (scarring); can lead to arrhythmias and heart failure.
Right Ventricular Hypertrophy:
- Right chest leads show tall R-waves
- R-wave > S-wave in V1 is suggestive; not diagnostic of RVH
- Can see right-axis deviation and T-wave inversions in the right & mid-precordial leads
- RV hypertrophy can lead to variations in repolarization
Right Ventricular Hypertrophy:
- Factors: congenital heart diseases (pulmonary stenosis, ASD, tetralogy of Fallot, Eisenmenger's syndrome), lung disease (severe pulmonary hypertension)
- Can happen in patients with complete/incomplete RBBB pattern with RA deviation
Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH):
- Normally, LV has a larger mass and is electrically dominant compared to RV
- 2 most important causes: systemic HTN & Aortic stenosis
- 3 major clinical conditions w/ LV overload: Aortic & Mitral Regurgitation, Dilated Cardiomyopathy
LVH Criteria:
- S-wave in V1 & R-wave in V5/V6 ≥ 35-mm (high voltages can be common in athletic or thin, young adults)
- Cornell voltage: S-wave in V3 + R-wave in aVL > 28-mm in men and > 20-mm in women
- R-wave > 11-13 mm in aVL
LVH:
- Strain pattern: ST-T wave changes with distinctively asymmetric appearance with slight ST-segment depression followed by broadly inverted T-wave
- Can see signs of left atrial abnormality (broad P-waves in extremity leads or wide biphasic P-waves)
Biventricular Hypertrophy:
- Present in some cases of severe dilated cardiomyopathy or rheumatic valvular disease
- Should get an ECHO to determine the presence of cardiac chamber enlargement
Pre-Rounding Tips 3d: How to think about Troponin? (
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Pro-Tip: If you can print out a pre-rounding sheet with the labs auto-populated, that is always helpful.
One of the most common consults from the Emergency Room to Cardiology is 'elevated troponin.'
Yes, elevated troponin can be scary, but here is the framework that I use to analyze / consider troponin.
1. Patient Presentation? 2. Patient's risk factors and prior cardiac history? 3. What is the troponin trend? 4. What does the ECG look like? 5. What are some non-cardiac reasons troponin may be elevated?
1. Patient Presentation?
In Cardiology, the clinical presentation is the most important part of the story when determining the significance of an elevated troponin! In many situations, clinical decisions (whether to pursue a LHC) may be made in the absence of having a troponin available.
Key Questions: 1. If the patient presents with chest pain, how does he/she describe it?
- Some common worrisome symptoms associated with angina. Elevated troponin in the setting of these symptoms should always be taken seriously.
a) Chest pressure, constant, sub-sternal.
b) Radiation of pain to the neck or jaw
c) Diaphoresis
d) Numbness to the left arm
e) New onset dyspnea
f) Worse with exertion, better with rest
2. What makes the pain better?
- If the patient got improvement with nitroglycerin more likely to be consistent with cardiac chest pain.
- If patient's pain improves with muscle relaxers, IV toradol, IV PPI, IV Ativan, less likely to be a cardiac etiology.
3. Has the patient had this type of pain before?
- If similar recent presentation with a negative work-up, this might be reassuring. However, you don't want to have anchor bias and should keep an open perspective.
When I was an intern, pre-rounding was one of the most stressful parts of the day. I would take too long and be inefficient. Part 1.
Now as a PGY7 (long-time, right?), here is 3 parts of my system that I use for new patients.
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Future direction will be ECG/Echo/General Cardiology Topics!
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1) Why is the patient here / chief concern?
- This seems like the most basic question that is often overlooked. What made the patient decide to leave his/her house to come to the hospital?
- When reading the overnight H&P, the abundance of clinical documentation can create confusion.
- Simplicity is key. What is the chief concern? Is it chest pain? Is it dyspnea on exertion? Knowing this information will help frame your thoughts.
2) What are the relevant past medical problems?
- Most patients will have chronic medical problems that will contribute to the current presentation.
- It is easy to get lost in the weeds of this presentation. In Cardiology, I typically focus on (but not limited to) coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, history of CVA. Again, this is not all inclusive but it is a start.
- Although patients may present to the hospital with a new diagnosis, it is more likely that the presentation may be an exacerbation of a previous problem.