Below is a glossary of common cardiac terms. Click on the term to read its definition.
Angioplasty:
A procedure sometimes used to dilate (widen)
narrowed arteries. A catheter with a deflated
balloon on its tip is passed into the narrowed
artery segment, the balloon inflated, and
the narrowed segment widened.
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Arrhythmia:
An abnormal rhythm of the heart. [
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Arteriosclerosis:
Commonly called hardening of the arteries,
this includes a variety of conditions that
cause artery walls to thicken and lose elasticity.
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Atrioventricular
(AV) Node: A small mass of specialized
conducting tissue at the bottom of the right
atrium through which the electrical impulse
stimulating the heart to contract must pass
to reach the ventricles. [
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Blood
Clot: A jelly-like mass of blood
tissue formed by clotting factors in the
blood. This clot can stop the flow of blood
from an injury. Blood clots can also form
inside the heart chambers or an artery whose
walls are damaged by atherosclerotic buildup
and can cause a heart attack or stroke.
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Cardiac
Catheterization: The process
of examining the heart by introducing a
thin tube (catheter) unto a vein or artery
and passing it into the heart. [
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Congestive
Heart Failure (CHF): The inability
of the heart to pump out all the blood that
returns to it. This results in blood backing
up in all the veins that lead to the heart
and sometimes in fluid accumulating in various
parts of the body. [
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Coronary
Artery Disease: (CAD) Conditions
that cause narrowing of the coronary arteries
so blood flow to the heart muscle is reduced.
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Coronary
Bypass Surgery: (CABG or "cabbage")
Surgery to improve blood supply to the heart
muscle. This surgery is most often performed
when narrowed coronary arteries reduce the
flow of oxygen-containing blood to the heart
itself. New vessels are placed on the surface
of the heart and connected before and after
the diseased areas of the natural arteries,
thus "by-passing" the damaged
area. [
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Defibrillator:
An electronic device that helps re-establish
normal contraction rhythms in a malfunctioning
heart.
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Diastolic
Blood Pressure:
The lowest blood pressure measured in the
arteries, it occurs when the heart muscle
is relaxed between beats. [
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Digitalis
(also Digoxin): A drug that strengthens
the contraction of the heart muscle, slows
the rate of contraction of the heart and
thus promotes the elimination of fluid from
body tissues when heart failure is present.
It is also used in treating certain heart
rhythm abnormalities. [
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Diuretic:
A drug that increases the rate at which
urine forms by promoting the excretion of
water and salts. [
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Echocardiography
(Echo): A diagnostic method in
which pulses of sound are transmitted into
the body and the echoes returning from the
surfaces of the heart and other structures
are electronically plotted and recorded
to produce a "picture" of the heart's size,
shape and movements.
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EECP, Enhanced External Counter Pulsation: This non-invasive outpatient treatment, conducted for an hour each weekday over a seven-week period, works to stimulate the opening of new, natural pathways around narrowed or blocked arteries.
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Electrocardiogram
(ECG or EKG): A graphic record of electrical
impulses produced by the heart. [
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Endothelium:
The smooth inner lining of many body structures,
including the heart (endocardium) and blood
vessels. [
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Fibrillation:
Rapid, uncoordinated contractions of individual
heart muscle fibers. The heart chamber involved
can't contract all at once and pumps blood
ineffectively, if at all.
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High
Density Lipoprotein (HDL): A
carrier of cholesterol believed to transport
cholesterol away from the tissues and to
the liver, where it can be removed from
the bloodstream. Sometimes called "good
cholesterol", the HDL level may be
increased by exercise.
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Ischemia:
Decreased blood flow to an organ, usually
due to constriction or obstruction of an
artery. [
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Low
Density Lipoprotein (LDL):
The main carrier of "harmful" cholesterol
in the blood. [
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Myocardial
Infarction (MI): The damaging
or death of an area of the heart muscle
(myocardium) resulting from a blocked blood
supply to that area. [
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Myocardium:
The muscular wall of the heart. It contracts
to pump blood out of the heart and then
relaxes as the heart refills with returning
blood. [
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Open
Heart Surgery: Surgery performed
on the opened heart while the bloodstream
is diverted through a heart-lung machine.
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Pacemaker:
The "natural" pacemaker of the heart is
called the sinus node. It is a small group
of specialized cells in the top of the right
atrium of the heart. It produces the electrical
impulses that travel down to eventually
reach the ventricular muscle, causing the
heart to contract. The term "artificial
pacemaker" is applied to an electrical device
that can substitute for a defective natural
pacemaker or conduction pathway. The artificial
pacemaker controls the heart's beating by
emitting a series of rhythmic electrical
discharges. [
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Percutaneous
Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA):
See Angioplasty. [
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Plaque:
Also called atheroma, this is a deposit
of fatty (and other) substances in the inner
lining of the artery wall characteristic
of atherosclerosis. Over time the plaque
become very hard. [
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Platelets:
One of the three kinds of formed elements
found in the blood and one that aids in
the clotting of blood. [
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Sinus
(SA) Node:
See Pacemaker. [
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Stenosis:
The narrowing or constriction of an opening,
such as a blood vessel or heart valve. [
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Stroke
(Apoplexy): Loss of muscle function,
vision, sensation or speech resulting from
brain cell damage caused by an insufficient
supply of blood to part of the brain. [
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Thrombolysis:
The breaking up of a blood clot. [
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Thrombosis:
The formation or presence of a blood clot
(thrombus) inside a blood vessel or cavity
of the heart. [
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Transient
Ischemic Attack (TIA): A temporary
stroke-like event that lasts for only a
short time and is caused by a temporarily
blocked blood vessel. [
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Transesophageal Echocardiogram (TEE)
This is a test used to obtain very clear images of the heart from inside the esophagus. While patient is awake but sedated, a flexible probe with an ultrasound inserted through the mouth and into the esophagus just behind the heart, enabling physicians to real time images of the beating heart and blood flow. [
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Ventricular
Fibrillation: A condition in
which the ventricles contract in a rapid,
unsynchronized, uncoordinated fashion so
that no blood is pumped from the heart.
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Ventricular
Tachycardia: A condition in which
an area of the ventricle muscle develops
pacemaker activity, resulting in a very
fast, abnormal heartbeat.
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Source: American Heart Association
