Cardiology

Of all the causes of heart disease feline infection is one of the rarest, but is also a very serious condition; almost 100% of those with an angry cat trapped within their pericardium end up with serious complications.

The basics

First of all, learning what the heart is and how it works would be useful, as would reading an ECG. Reading the cardiovascular pages in the anatomy section is a good start on this. The blood is very relevant to how the cardiovascular system works, so learning a little haematology wouldn't go amiss!

The heart of the matter

Below are the biggies. Learn these and their symptoms, and you should know how to deal with 95% of what goes in on cardiology:

• Ischaemic heart disease (including myocardial infarction, angina and acute coronary syndrome)
• Heart failure
• Valvular heart disease
• Infective endocarditis
• Arrhythmias
• Congenital heart disease
• Pulmonary heart disease

The peripheral of the matter

Hypertension is one of the commonest underlying cardiovascular conditions, present in a third of adults. Alongside high cholesterol, obesity and smoking, these are the big killers.

Diabetes often leads to cardiovascular complications, one of which is peripheral vascular disease, and thus both are worth learning about.

Drugs

There are a wide variety of cardiac drugs, including ACE inhibitors, antiarrhythmics, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and diuretics for you to learn about.