Chapter 18 Cardiovascualr Emergencies Flashcards
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS)
a term used to describe a group of symptoms caused by myocardial ischemia; includes angina and myocardial infarction.
Acute myocardial infarction (AMI)
Heart attack; death of heart muscle following obstruction of blood flow to it. Acute in this context means new or happening right now.
Angina pectoris
Short lived chest discomfort caused by a partial or temporary blockage of blood flow to the hear muscle.
Aorta
The main artery that receives blood from the left ventricle and delivers it to all the other arteries that carry blood to the tissues of the body.
Aortic aneurysm
A weakness in the wall of the aorta that makes it susceptible to rupture
Aortic valve
Between left ventricle and the aorta; keeps blood from flowing back into left ventricle after blood is ejected into the aorta.
Arteriosclerosis
Thickening of the arterial walls that results in a loss of elasticity and concomitant reduction in blood flow.
Artifact
A tracing on an electrocardiogram that is the result of interference, such as patient movement, rather than the heart’s electrical activity.
Asystole
Complete absence of heart electrical activity.
Atherosclerosis
Disorder in which cholesterol and possibly calcium build up inside the walls of blood vessels, forming plaque, which eventually leads to partial or complete blockage of blood flow; a plaque can become a site where blood clots can form, detach, and travel elsewhere in the circulatory system (embolize); the most common form of arteriosclerosis.
Atrioventricular (AV) node
Site located in the right atrium adjacent to the septum that is responsible for transiently slowing electrical conduction.
Atrioventricular valves
Two valves through which blood flows from the atria to the ventricles.
Atrium
One of the two (right and left) upper chambers of the heart.
Automaticity
Ability for cardiac muscle to create it’s own impulse to contract.
Bradycardia
Slow hear rate; less than 60 bpm in adults; less than 80 bpm in children; less than 100 bpm in infants.
Capillaries
Thin walled- vessels between arterioles and venules through which the exchange of o2, co2, nutirents and waste happens between tissue and blood.
Cardiac arrest
When heart fails to generate an effective and detectable blood flow; pulses are not palpable in cardiac arrest, even if muscular and electrical activity continues in the heart
Cardiac cycle
The repetitive pumping process that begins with the the onset of cardiac muscle contraction and ends just before the beginning of the next contraction.
Cardia output
The amount of blood pumped by the heart per minute; Calculated by multiplying the stroke volume by the pulse rate per minute.
Chordae tendineae
Fibrous tissue that attach to the valves in the heart and prevent them from inverting, preventing regurgitation of blood through the valves from the ventricles to the atria.
Chronotropic state
Related to control of the hearts contraction
Circumflex coronary artery
One of the two branches of the left main coronary artery.
Contractility
Strength of heart muscle contraction
Coronary arteries
Arteries that arise from the aorta shortly after it leaves the left ventricle and suppply the heart with oxygen and nutrients
Coronary artery disease
The condition that results when atherosclerosis and arterioscleosis is present in the arterial walls.
Coronary sinus
End of the great cardiac vein that collects blood returning from the walls of the heart