Neither Steve nor I have any kind of medical background. When he started
having heart problems in 1995, and then needed a triple bypass operation we were
as lost as anyone. Doctors speak in their own language, and to be fair, they
have to. When someone is describing a medical condition they need to use precise
terms and each of us that are afflicted with a medical condition then need to
become familiar with what those terms mean. Only through understanding can we
participate in our own care and the care of those we love.
| Term |
Definition |
| ACE Inhibitor |
ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) - This is a drug
that lowers the blood pressure through a process that interferes with
the breakdown of a substance in your body that regulates blood pressure. |
| Angina |
Chest pain caused by diseased blood vessels
restricting blood flow to the heart. You can feel a pain or discomfort
in the chest, back, throat, neck, or arms. It can also feel like
tightness or pressure or even burning or numbness. |
| Angiogram |
This is a surgical procedure done in a hospital where
a cardiologist sticks a long instrument through an artery in the top of
the leg and snakes it up next to the heart so they can see the condition
of the arteries from inside the body. Sometimes (very rarely) things can
go wrong, so they always do this procedure in a hospital where a full-up
heart bypass operation can be done to be safe. |
| Artery |
Each of us have five (5) main arteries around our
heart. |
| Arteriosclerosis |
Over the course of time, junk builds up in the five
(5) main arteries around our heart and they can get blocked. When the
arteries are blocked your blood supply isn't there and your heart
doesn't get the blood and oxygen it needs to function. This is Bad. |
| Abdominal aorta |
|
| Ablation |
|
| Acetylcholine |
|
| Alveoli |
|
| Ambulatory ECG Monitor |
|
| Aneurysm |
|
| Angiography |
|
| Annulus |
|
| Antiarrhythmic |
|
| Anticoagulant |
|
| Antihypertensive |
|
| Aorta |
|
| Aortic Valve |
|
| Aphasia |
|
| Arrhythmia (Dysrhythmia) |
|
| Arterioles |
|
| Arteritis |
|
| Ascending Aorta |
|
| Atherectomy |
|
| Atria |
|
| Atrial Flutter |
|
| Atrial Septum |
|
| Atrioventricular Block |
|
| Atrioventricular (AV)
Node |
|
| Atrium |
|
| Autoregulation |
|
| Bacterial Endocarditis |
|
| Balloon Catheter |
|
| Balloon Valvuloplasty |
|
| Beta Blocker |
|
| Biopsy |
|
| Blood Clot |
|
| Blood Pressure |
|
| Bradycardia |
|
| Bundle-branch Block |
|
| Bypass |
|
| Calcium Channel Blocker |
|
| Capillaries |
|
| Cardiac Arrest |
|
| Cardiac Catheterization |
|
| Cardiac Enzymes |
|
| Cardiac Output |
|
| Cardiopulmonary Bypass |
|
| Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation (CPR) |
|
| Cardioversion |
|
| Cardiomyopathy |
|
| Carotid Artery |
|
| Carotid Duplex Doppler |
|
| Catheter |
|
| Catheterization |
|
| Cerebral Embolism |
|
| Cerebral Hemorrhage |
|
| Cerebral Thrombosis |
|
| Cerebrovascular |
|
| Cerebrovascular Accident |
|
| Cerebrovascular Occlusion |
|
| Cholesterol |
|
| Cineangiography |
|
| Circumflex Artery |
|
| Claudication |
|
| Collateral Circulation |
|
| Commissurotomy |
|
| Computed Tomography (CT
or CAT scan) |
|
| Conduction System |
|
| Congenital |
|
| Congenital Heart Defects |
|
| Congestive Heart Failure |
|
| Coronary Arteries |
|
| Coronary Artery Bypass
Graft (CABG) |
|
| Coronary Artery Disease
(CAD) |
|
| Coronary Care Unit (CCU) |
|
| Coronary Heart Disease |
|
| Coronary Occlusion |
|
| Coronary Thrombosis |
|
| Cyanosis |
|
| Cyanotic Heart Disease |
|
| Deep vein thrombosis |
|
| Defibrillator |
|
| Diabetes |
|
| Diastolic Blood Pressure |
|
| Digitalis |
|
| Dissecting Aneurysm |
|
| Diuretic |
|
| Doppler Ultrasound |
|
| Dysarthria |
|
| Dysrhythmia (Arrhythmia) |
|
| Echocardiography |
|
| Edema |
|
| Ejection Fraction |
|
| Electrocardiogram (ECG or
EKG) |
|
| Electroencephalogram
(EEG) |
|
| Electrolytes |
|
| Electrophysiological
Study (EPS) |
|
| Embolus (Embolism) |
|
| Endarterectomy |
|
| Endocardium |
|
| Endothelium |
|
| Endocarditis |
|
| Enlarged Heart |
|
| Enzyme |
|
| Epicardium |
|
| Exercise stress test |
|
| Familial
Hypercholesterolemia |
|
| Fatty Acids (Fats) |
|
| Fibrillation |
|
| First-degree Heart Block |
|
| Flutter |
|
| Fusiform Aneurysm |
|
| Gated Blood Pool Scan |
|
| Heart Attack |
|
| Heart Block |
|
| Heart-lung Machine |
|
| Heart Valve Prolapse |
|
| High Blood Pressure |
|
| High Density Lipoprotein
(HDL) |
|
| Holter Monitor |
|
| Hypertension |
|
| Hypertrophic Obstructive
Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) |
|
| Hypertrophy |
|
| Hyperventilation |
Rapid breathing that is often caused by anxiety. It
can be made worse if the person feels like they can't get enough air and
breathes even more heavily or rapidly. It can lead to tingly arms and
legs, numbness, and even fainting. |
| Hypoglycemia |
Blood glucose levels that are abnormally low |
| Hypotension |
Abnormally low blood pressure |
| Hypoxia |
|
| Implantable
Cardioverter/Defibrillator |
|
| Immunosuppressives |
|
| Impedance Plethysmography |
|
| Incompetent Valve |
|
| Infarct |
|
| Infective Endocarditis |
|
| Inferior Vena Cava |
|
| Inotropics |
A classification of drug which increases the strength
of the contraction of the heart. |
| Intracoronary Ultrasound |
A technique using echoes from sound waves to
visualize blood flows and structures within the heart |
| Intravascular
Echocardiography |
A miniature echo device is placed on the tip of a
catheter to generate images inside the blood vessels and the heart. It
|
| Invasive Procedure |
Any procedure that involves going through skin or
muscle in order to get to something inside your body |
| Ischemia |
A decrease in blood flow to an organ. It can happen
if there is a narrowing or blockage in an artery. |
| Jugular Veins |
|
| Left Ventricular Assist
Device |
|
| Lesion |
|
| Lipid |
|
| Lipoprotein |
|
| Low-density Lipoprotein
(LDL) |
|
| Lumen |
|
| Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) |
|
| Minimally Invasive Heart
Surgery |
|
| Mitral Stenosis |
|
| Mitral valve |
|
| Mitral Valve Prolapse |
|
| Mitral Valve
Regurgitation |
|
| Monounsaturated Fats |
|
| Mortality |
|
| Mortality Rate
(Risk-Adjusted) |
|
| Murmur |
|
| Myocardial Infarction |
|
| Myocardial Ischemia |
|
| Myocardium |
|
| Myxomatous Degeneration |
|
| Nitroglycerin |
|
| Necrosis |
|
| Noninvasive Procedures |
|
| Nuclear Cardiology |
|
| Obesity |
|
| Occluded Artery |
|
| Open Heart Surgery |
|
| Pacemaker |
|
| Palpitation |
|
| Patent Ductus Arteriosus |
|
| Percutaneous Transluminal
Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) |
|
| Pericardiocentesis |
|
| Pericardium |
|
| Peripheral Vascular
Disease (PVD) |
|
| Plaque |
|
| Platelets |
|
| Polyunsaturated Fat |
|
| Positron Emission
Tomography (PET) |
|
| Premature ventricular
contraction (PVC) |
|
| Prevalence |
|
| Pulmonary |
|
| Pulmonary Embolism |
|
| Pulmonary Edema |
|
| Pulmonary Valve |
|
| Pulmonary Vein |
|
| Pulse oximeter |
|
| Radiofrequency ablation
(RFA) |
|
| Radioisotope |
|
| Radionuclide imaging |
|
| Radionuclide
ventriculography |
|
| Regurgitation |
|
| Renal |
|
| Rheumatic Fever |
|
| Rheumatic Heart Disease |
|
| Risk Factor |
|
| Nonmodifiable risk
factors |
|
| Rotoblade |
|
| Saccular Aneurism |
|
| Saturated Fat |
|
| Second-degree Heart Block |
|
| Septal Defect |
|
| Septum |
|
| Shock |
|
| Shunt |
|
| Silent Ischemia |
|
| Sinus (SA) Node |
|
| Sphygmomanometer |
|
| Stent |
|
| Stenosis |
|
| Stethoscope |
|
| Streptococcal Infection |
|
| Streptokinase |
|
| Sternum |
|
| Stress |
|
| Stroke |
|
| Subarachnoid Hemorrhage |
|
| Sudden Death |
|
| Superior Vena Cava |
|
| Syncope |
|
| Systolic Blood Pressure |
|
| Tachycardia |
|
| Tachypnea |
|
| Thallium Stress Test |
|
| Third-degree Heart Block |
|
| Thrombolysis |
|
| Thrombosis |
|
| Thrombolytic therapy |
|
| Tissue Plasminogen
Activator (TPA) |
|
| Trans Fat |
|
| Transesophageal
Echocardiography (TEE) |
|
| Transient Ischemic Attack
(TIA) |
|
| Transmyocardial
Revacularization (TMR) |
|
| Tricuspid Valve |
|
| Triglyceride |
|
| Ultrasound |
|
| Valves |
|
| Valve Replacement |
|
| Valvuloplasty |
|
| Varicose Vein |
|
| Vascular |
|
| Vasopressors |
|
| Vein |
|
| Ventricle |
|
| Ventricular fibrillation |
|
| Ventricular Tachycardia |
|
| Vertigo |
|
| Wolff-Parkinson-White
syndrome |
|
| X-ray |
|
