- abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA)
- aorta in the abdomen is clogged with plaque, so it balloons out in an attempt to keep the blood flowing
- ablation
- procedure that creates scars in the heart tissue that block the abnormal electrical impulses to help the heart maintain a normal rhythm
- acute coronary syndrome (ACS)
- umbrella term that includes the following: non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction (NSTEMI), ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI), and unstable angina
- afterload
- amount of pressure the heart needs to exert during ventricular contraction
- aneurysm
- enlargement of an artery, due to weakened wall from high velocity flows of blood
- angina
- chest pain or discomfort that occurs when blood flow to the heart is reduced
- angiography
- procedure in which a catheter is threaded into the femoral artery and fluoroscopy dye is injected into the patient’s coronaries to assess the presence of coronary blockages
- arteriosclerosis
- widespread hardening of the arteries
- asystole
- cardiac activity ceases to occur due to termination of electrical conduction
- atherosclerosis
- form of arteriosclerosis in which there is narrowing and reduced blood flow through the arterial wall due to plaque formations
- atrial depolarization
- interval between the P wave and the R wave in the QRS complex; measurement of the time needed for electricity to travel from the atria to the ventricles
- atrial fibrillation (AFib)
- irregular, fast cardiac rhythm originating from the atria with multiple impulses being fired
- atrial flutter (A flutter)
- atrial dysrhythmia that has a regular but tachycardic rhythm caused by electrical re-entry in the right atrial circuity; classic “saw tooth pattern”
- bruit
- “swooshing” sound
- cardiac output
- number of liters of blood that exit the aorta in a minute
- cardiomegaly
- ventricular enlargement to accommodate excess fluid
- cardioversion
- procedure performed by a machine or medicine that restores a normal heart rhythm when the heart is beating too fast or irregularly
- carotid artery disease
- condition that occurs when the carotid arteries become narrowed or blocked by the presence of plaque; also known as carotid artery stenosis
- congestive heart failure (CHF)
- chronic condition that reduces perfusion to the body because the heart works inefficiently; commonly called heart failure (HF)
- coronary artery bypass graft (CABG)
- surgical procedure in which veins from other parts of the body are placed over diseased coronaries to restore blood flow
- creatine kinase MB (CK-MB)
- enzyme that is leaked during a myocardial infarction and is a blood test used in the diagnosis of a myocardial infarction
- diaphoresis
- excessive sweating
- dyspnea
- difficulty breathing
- echocardiogram
- digital image that offers visualization of valve competency, filling pressures, measurements of ventricular thickness, and compliance of the ventricles
- ectopic beat
- occasional, singular, irregular beat that may originate from the atria or the ventricles
- ejection fraction
- measure of ventricular compliance, expressed as a fraction
- first-degree heart block
- cardiac rhythm in which the PR interval is consistently greater than 0.20 seconds while QRS is normal and regular
- hepatosplenomegaly
- liver and spleen enlargement from excess fluid
- hypertensive urgency
- when a patient has a blood pressure over 160/90 mm Hg and has symptoms of headache, shortness of breath, blurred vision, or chest pain
- infarction
- death of tissue due to a lack of perfusion
- intermittent claudication
- leg pain during ambulation caused by a perfusion defect due to narrow, constricted arteries
- ischemia
- temporary blockage of blood through an artery due to blockage
- left ventricular hypertrophy
- compensatory thickening of the ventricle due to increased myocardial stress and increased pressure
- left-sided heart failure
- left ventricle muscle is damaged and weak and can no longer pump enough blood through the body
- malignant hypertension
- the same features as hypertensive urgency, but with signs of target organ disease, such as kidney failure or heart failure
- Mobitz I second-degree heart block
- cardiac rhythm in which the PR interval gets longer with each beat until a QRS is dropped, and the pattern repeats
- Mobitz II second-degree heart block
- heart rhythm in which the PR interval remains constant, but some of the QRSs are randomly dropped
- normal sinus rhythm
- cardiac rhythm originating from the sinus node that describes the characteristic rhythm in the healthy human heart
- orthopnea
- difficulty breathing while lying flat
- pacemaker
- electrical device surgically implanted to regulate an abnormal heartbeat
- peripheral arterial disease
- compromised blood flow of the arterial system
- peripheral vascular disease (PVD)
- chronic, progressive disorder that causes blood vessels, both venous and arterial, outside of the heart and brain to narrow, block, or spasm
- peripheral venous disease
- compromised blood flow of the venous system
- preload
- initial stretch of the cardiac cells prior to contraction
- premature atrial contraction (PAC)
- ectopic beat originating from the atrium that causes an early, irregular occurrence of P and QRS waves
- premature ventricular contraction (PVC)
- ectopic beat originating from the ventricle that causes an early, irregular occurrence of a wide QRS wave
- primary hypertension
- hypertension that is multi-factorial and does not have one distinct cause; also called essential hypertension
- right-sided heart failure
- increased fluid pushes fluid back into the pulmonary system, and congests the right side of the heart, causing the right ventricle to fail
- secondary hypertension
- hypertension caused by another medical condition, such as thyroid issues or adrenal or kidney disease
- sinus bradycardia
- cardiac rhythm with a rate less than 60 bpm, with regular PR and QRS intervals
- sinus tachycardia
- cardiac rhythm with a rate greater than 100 bpm, with regular PR and QRS intervals
- stroke volume
- amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle during systolic contraction
- supraventricular tachycardia (SVT)
- umbrella term utilized to discuss rhythm disturbances that occur above the ventricles
- third-degree heart block
- loss of electrical impulses between the atria and the ventricles
- transcutaneous pacing
- noninvasive procedure that uses electrical impulses to temporarily pace a patient’s heart
- troponins
- proteins that leak during a myocardial infarction, can be measured from a blood test
- varicose veins
- due to venous insufficiency, veins may “pop” out more and can be painful
- venous stasis ulcer
- ulcer that can form due to venous insufficiency
- ventricular depolarization
- measurement of time electricity travels through the ventricles to conduct a ventricular contraction and is represented by the QRS complex
- ventricular fibrillation
- potentially life-threatening cardiac rhythm in which the ventricle beats rapidly at over 200 bpm; chaotic with no discernible QRS, PRs, or P waves
- ventricular tachycardia
- potentially life-threatening cardiac rhythm in which the ventricle beats rapidly at 150 to 200 bpm, with wide QRS complexes and no discernible PRs or P waves