Heart Diseases Flashcards
Activity that requires continuous rhythmic muscle contraction of the legs and/or arms.
Aerobic exercise
Bulging of the wall of a vein, artery or heart due to weakening by disease, injury, or birth defect.
Aneurysm
heart muscle doesn’t receive a sufficient blood supply, resulting in pain in the chest and often in the left arm and shoulder.
Angina Pectoris
Test done by injecting contrast dye into a body organ to observe the heart or systemic circulation.
Angiogram
Medicine which delays clotting of the blood.
If given when a blood vessel is blocked by a clot, it tends to prevent new clots from forming or the existing clot from enlarging, but does not dissolve an existing clot.
Anticoagulant
Largest artery in the body.
It carries blood from the heart’s left ventricle and distributes it throughout the body.
Aorta
Irregular heart rhythm.
Arrhythmia
Condition in which the walls of the arteries thicken and lose their elasticity, decreasing blood flow through them.
May be due to a buildup of fibrous tissue, lipids or minerals.
Also called hardening of the arteries and usually occurs naturally with aging.
Arteriosclerosis
Blood vessels which carry blood to various parts of the body. Arteries carry oxygenated blood.
Artery
Hardening of the arteries caused by a buildup of lipids and other substances in the blood vessels.
Atherosclerosis
Force that flowing blood exerts against artery walls.
Blood Pressure
Occurs when the heart stops beating and the circulation of blood ceases.
Cardiac arrest
Disease of the heart muscle that reduces the ability of the heart to pump enough blood.
Cardiomyopathy
Emergency measure used by one or two people to try to revive a person whose heart and breathing have stopped.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
Pertaining to the heart, blood and blood vessels.
Cardiovascular
Use of low voltage electric shock to stop an abnormally fast heart rhythm through paddles placed on the chest surface.
Cardioversion
Thin, flexible tube which can be guided into a body organ.
Catheter
Cramping of the muscles (typically the calf muscles) with exercise, produced by inadequate blood flow.
Claudication
Condition in which the heart is unable to pump enough blood. Loss of this pumping power can lead to weakened circulation and fluid collection in body organs and tissues.
Congestive Heart Failure
Arteries arising from the base of the aorta which carry blood to the heart muscle.
Coronary arteries
Surgery done to bypass narrowed or obstructed areas to improve blood flow.
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
Condition caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries resulting in decreased blood supply to the heart (ischemia)
Coronary Heart Disease
Obstruction in a coronary artery which interrupts flow of blood to the heart muscle. Also called a heart attack.
Coronary occlusion
Blocking of a blood vessel by a blood clot or other substance carried in the blood stream.
Embolism
Condition which results in a block or a slowing of the electrical impulses which travel through the heart.
Heart block
Number of times the heart beats in one minute.
Heart Rate
Area of tissue which is damaged or dies because of a blocked blood supply.
Infarct
Closed sac around the heart.
Pericardium
A stainless steel device that helps hold any artery open. It is placed by a balloon catheter inflated in the artery.
Stent
