med term topic 7 cardiovascular
cardiomyopathy
A general term covering primary disease of the heart muscle, either congenital or acquired.
pulmonary artery
One of the two vessels which are formed as terminal branches of the pulmonary trunk and convey un-aerated blood to the lungs.
arteri/o-
artery
AV (node)
atrioventricular node
CHF
congestive heart failure
CABG
coronary artery bypass graft
CAD
coronary artery disease
CCU
coronary care unit
xen/o-
foreign, strange
sten/o
narrow, contracted, constriction
NSR
normal sinus rhythm
ventricle
One of the two lower chambers of the heart.
vein
A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back to the heart.
artery
A blood vessel that carries blood, rich in oxygen, away from the heart to the body. The oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) in arterial blood makes it look bright red
peripheral artery disease
A circulatory condition in which narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs.
mitral valve prolapse
A common heart valve anomaly affecting 5-10 percent of people that involves prolapse (flopping backwards) of the mitral valve leaflets into the left atrium during contraction of the heart's ventricles.
sphygmomanometer
A device for measuring blood pressure. It relies on an inflation-deflation system, an occluding bladder encased in a cuff, and a digital recording.
echocardiography
A diagnostic test of the heart that uses ultrasound waves to form images of the heart chambers, valves, and surrounding structures.
asystole
A dire form of cardiac arrest in which the heart stops beating and there is no electrical activity in the heart. As a result, the heart is at a total standstill.
septum
A dividing wall or enclosure.
atherosclerosis
A form of arteriosclerosis, in which there is fatty degeneration of the middle coat of the arterial wall. Arteries become narrower and narrower.
coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
A form of bypass surgery that can create new routes around narrowed and blocked arteries, permitting increased blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscles.
Bundle of His
A group of special muscle fibres which pass from the atria to the ventricles of the heart and which form the pathway for the impulse which makes the ventricles contract; the impulse originates in the part of the atria known as the sinoatrial node.
cardiac arrest
A heart attack in which the heart suddenly stops pumping sufficient blood.
venule
A little vein that goes from a capillary to a vein.
aneurysm
A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, a vein, or the heart where there is typically a bulge. The wall of the blood vessel or organ is weakened and may rupture.
cardioversion
A medical procedure that restores a normal heart rhythm in people with certain types of abnormal heartbeats (arhythmias).
electrocardiography
A method of recording the electrical activity of the heart muscles. Electrodes from a recording machine are placed on the skin of the chest wall, arms and legs.
stenosis
A narrowing. For example, aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the aortic valve in the heart.
cardiopulmonary bypass
A procedure in which the body's circulation of blood is kept going when the heart is intentionally stopped to enable heart surgery to be carried out.
cardiac catheterization
A procedure to examine how well your heart is working. A thin, hollow tube (catheter) is inserted into a large blood vessel that leads to the heart.
valvuloplasty
A procedure to repair a heart valve that has a narrowed opening.
tachycardia
A rise in the heart rate above the normal range at rest - 60-100 beats a minute - sometimes accompanied by irregularities in rhythm.
bradycardia
A slow heart rate, usually defined as less than 60 beats per minute.
arteriole
A small branch of an artery that leads to a capillary
bruit
A sound heard over an artery or vascular channel, reflecting turbulence of flow (harsh, rushiing sound). Most commonly, caused by abnormal narrowing of an artery.
myocardial infarction
A sudden blockage of a coronary artery. Not infrequently, this leads to the death of part of the heart muscle due to its loss of blood supply.
aneurysmectomy
A surgical procedure for the excision of an aneurysm
fibrillation
A term applied to rapid contraction or tremor of muscles, and especially to a form of abnormal action of the heart muscle in which individual bundles of fibres take up independent action.
xenograft
A transplant from one animal to another of a different species.
Holter monitor
A type of portable heart monitor that is a small electrocardiogram (EKG) device worn in a pouch around the neck or waist which keeps a record of the heart rhythm, typically over a 24-hour period, and the patient keeps a diary of activities and symptoms.
mitral valve
A valve in the heart that is situated between the left atrium and the left ventricle which permits blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle, but not in the reverse direction. Also known as bicuspid valve.
varicose veins
A vein that has enlarged and twisted, often appearing as a bulging, blue blood vessel that is clearly visible through the skin.
paroxysmal tachycardia
Abnormally rapid heartbeats with sudden onset and cessation.
arrhythmia
An abnormal heart rhythm. The heartbeats may be irregular or too slow (bradycardia), too rapid (tachycardia), or too early
pacemaker
An artificial device for stimulating the heart muscle and regulating its contractions.
prosthetic heart valve
An artificial heart valve device implanted in the heart of a patient with heart disease.
prosthetic
An artificial replacement of a part of the body.
atrium
An entry chamber on both sides of the heart, that leads to the ventricle.
murmur
An unusual, "whooshing" heart sound that may be innocent or may reflect disease or malformation which is created by blood flow through a heart valve, by blood flow through a narrowed chamber, or by an unusual connection between the chambers, as seen with congenital heart disease. S
defibrillator
Apparatus that delivers a controlled electric shock to restore normal heart rhythm in patients whose hearts have developed ventricular fibrillation or have stopped beating.
hypotension
Blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a given environment.
hyperlipidemia
Elevated lipid (fat) levels in the blood.
cardiomegaly
Enlargement of the heart.
valve
Flaps of tissue that prevent regurgitation of blood from the heart ventricles to the heart atria or from the pulmonary arteries or aorta to the ventricles.
palpitation
Forcible and/or irregular beating of the heart such that the person becomes conscious of its action.
arteriosclerosis
Hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries.
rheumatic heart disease
Heart damage caused by rheumatic fever.
valve replacement
Heart valve surgery used to replace diseased heart valves.
coronary artery disease (CAD)
Impedance or blockage of one or more arteries that supply blood to the heart, usually due to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
congestive heart failure (CHF)
Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it, with failure of the heart to pump blood with normal efficiency. When this occurs, the heart is unable to provide adequate blood flow to other organs, such as the brain, liver, and kidneys.
thrombophlebitis
Inflammation of a vein that occurs when a blood clot forms.
phlebitis
Inflammation of a vein.
pericarditis
Inflammation of the lining around the heart that causes chest pain and accumulation of fluid around the heart.
endocarditis
Inflammation of the lining, valves and muscle of the heart.
cardiac enzymes
Measure the levels of enzymes and proteins that are linked with injury of the heart muscle.
aortic valve
One of the four valves of the heart which is positioned at the beginning of the aorta. It normally permits blood from the left ventricle to flow into the aorta, and prevents blood in the aorta from returning to the heart.
vasoconstriction
Narrowing of the blood vessels that results from contraction of the muscular walls of the vessels.
pulmonary vein
One of four vessels that carry aerated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart; the only veins that carry bright-red oxygenated blood.
tricuspid valve
One of the four heart valves, the first one that blood encounters as it enters the heart which stands between the right atrium and the right ventricle, and it allows blood to flow only from the atrium into the ventricle.
angina pectoris
Pain in the center of the chest, generally provoked by exercise but sometimes spontaneous. It may be severe and felt also in the arms and the jaw. The condition is the result of the heart's demand for blood being greater than that which the coronary arteries can provide.
angiography
Radiography of blood vessels made visible by injecting into them a radio-opaque substance.
percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
The use of a balloon-tipped catheter to enlarge a narrowed coronary artery.
Purkinje fibers
Specialized cardiac muscle fibers at the end of the impulse-conducting network of the heart which rapidly transmit impulses from the atrioventricular (AV) node to the ventricles causing the ventricles to contract.
systole
The contraction of the heaert. It alternates with the resting phase. The two occupy, respectively, about one-third and two-thirds of the cycle of heart action
necrosis
The death of living cells or tissues. From the Greek nekros, meaning "dead body."
atrioventricular (AV) node
The electrical relay station between the upper and lower chambers of the heart
cardiovascular system
The heart and blood vessels. Also known as circulatory system.
sinoatrial node
The heart's natural pacemaker, one of the major elements in the cardiac conduction system, the system that controls the heart rate.
inferior vena cava
The large vein that receives blood from the lower extremities, pelvis, and abdomen and then empties that blood into the right atrium of the heart.
superior vena cava
The large vein that returns blood to the right atrium of the heart from the head, neck, and both upper limbs which is located in the middle of the chest and is surrounded by rigid structures and lymph nodes.
defibrillation
The treatment for immediately life-threatening arrhythmias with which the patient does not have a pulse (ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT)).
aorta
The largest artery in the body, the major conduit from the heart to the body. The aorta arises from the left ventricle of the heart, ascends a little, arches, and then descends through the chest and the abdomen, ending by dividing into two arteries, the common iliac arteries, that supply blood to the lower extremities. Anatomically, the aorta is traditionally divided into the ascending aorta, the aortic arch, and the descending aorta. The descending aorta is, in turn, subdivided into the thoracic aorta, which goes from the heart to above the diaphragm, and the abdominal aorta, which is below the diaphragm. The aorta has branches to the head and neck, the arms, the major organs in the chest and abdomen, and the legs. It supplies them all with oxygenated blood.
vena cava
The name of either of the two large vessels that open into the right atrium of the heart.
normal sinus rhythm
The normal regular rhythm of the heart that is set by the sinoatrial (or sinus) node, which is located in the wall of the right atrium (the right upper chamber of the heart).
SA node
The pacemaker of the heart; controls the heart rate.
telemetry
The process of automatic measurement and transmission of data regarding heart rate and rhythm from remote sources.
diastole
The relaxation of a hollow organ. The term is applied in particular to the HEART, to indicate the resting period between the beats (systole), while blood is flowing into the organ.
flutter
The term applied to a form of abnormal cardiac rhythm, in which the atria contract at a rate of 200-400 beats a minute, and the ventricles more slowly. The abnormal rhythm is the result of a diseased heart.
Doppler
Ultrasonography applying the Doppler effect, with frequency-shifted ultrasound reflections produced by moving targets (usually red blood cells) in the bloodstream along the ultrasound axis in direct proportion to the velocity of movement of the targets, to determine both direction and velocity of blood flow.
vasodilation
Widening of blood vessels that results from relaxation of the muscular walls of the vessels. What widens is actually the diameter of the interior (lumen) of the vessel.
lipid/o-
fat, lipid
AAA
abdominal aortic aneurysm
trans-
across, over, beyond
angi/o-
blood or lymph vessel
BP
blood pressure
tele/o-
distant, far
EKG or ECG
electrocardiography
-megaly
enlargement, large
scler/o-
hard, sclera
HTN
hypertension (high blood pressure)
mm Hg / mmHg
millimeters of mercury
MVP
mitral valve prolapse
my/o-
muscle
MI
myocardial infarction
PTCA
percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
PAD
peripheral artery disease
PVC
premature ventricular contraction
SA (node)
sinoatrial node
sphygm/o-
pulse
ech/o-
reflected sound
-plasty
surgical correction or repair of tissue
phleb/o-
vein
ven/o-
vein