Term

Description

Ablation

Procedure to cure irregular heartbeats (arrhythmia) using a catheter placed within a beating heart that creates a small scar using an energy source to stop the arrhythmia

Acute MI

Acute myocardial infarction (heart attack)

AFib (AF)

Atrial fibrillation (upper chambers beat much faster than the lower heart chambers in an irregular and rapid fashion that places a patient at risk of stroke)

Angina

Pain or discomfort that comes when your heart does not get enough oxygen; angina is usually a symptom of a heart problem known as coronary artery disease (CAD) or coronary heart disease (CHD)

Angiogram

Image of artery blood vessels that can be seen after the patient receives an injection of dye to outline the vessels

Arrhythmia

Erratic heartbeats or heartbeats that are too slow, too rapid, irregular, or too early

Atherosclerosis

Buildup of waxy plaque inside the artery walls that is restricting blood flow

Bradycardia

Abnormally slow heartbeat

CABG

Coronary artery bypass graft (bypass surgery, a type of open-heart surgery)

CAD

Coronary artery disease (see arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis)

Cardiac Arrest

Sudden stoppage of the heart pumping function, due to a very irregular heart beat that is often caused by a heart attack

Cardiac Catheterization

Diagnostic procedure to gather information about potential heart artery blockages, heart pumping functions, or problems with the heart valves (a left heart catheterization involves a coronary artery angiogram; see angiogram)

Cardiac CT

Cardiac computerized tomography takes detailed images of the heart and its blood vessels and stacks the images to create a three-dimensional picture of the heart

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a disease involving changes in the heart muscle that can lead to a chronic condition called heart failure

Cardioversion

Electrical shock to the heart to restore normal heart rhythm

CHF

Congestive heart failure is when the heart fails to pump blood properly, causing fluid to build up around heart and in the lungs

CVD

Cardiovascular disease affects the heart structure or blood vessels

Deep Vein Thrombosis

When blood clots form in a vein deep inside your body

Defibrillator

Surgically implanted medical device that restores heart rhythm by delivering an electrical shock to the heart

Echocardiogram

Echocardiogram uses sound waves (ultrasound) to generate moving images to assess the chambers and valves of your heart

EKG

Electrocardiogram (also ECG) is a painless test that uses electrodes placed on the skin to record the heart’s rhythm (electrical activity)

Endocarditis

Bacterial infection of one or more of the heart valves

Fibrillation

Fibrillation is the rapid, irregular, and unsynchronized contraction of muscle fibers within the upper or lower or both chambers of the heart

HF

Heart failure (HF) means the heart can’t pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs

ICD

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a device that is put within the body to recognize and correct certain types of life-threatening heart rhythms

Low EF

Low ejection fraction (insufficient amount of blood pumping out of the heart’s ventricle)

LVAD

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) is a mechanical device placed inside or outside the body that “assists” the heart to pump oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the body

MI

Myocardial infarction (heart attack)

Pacemaker

Surgically implanted device that assists the heart in maintaining normal rhythm

Palpitations

Palpitations are unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful or fast beating of the heart

PCI

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a nonsurgical procedure that relieves narrowing and obstruction of the arteries to the muscle of the heart usually by placing a coronary artery stent

Pericarditis

Inflammation of the outer membranes and sac around the heart

Prolapse

Drooping down or abnormal bulging of the mitral valve’s leaflets backward into the heart’s atrium during the contraction of the heart

Restenosis

The reclosing or renarrowing of an artery that has been previously opened in a PCI and is supported by an inserted stent

SCA

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is when the heart abruptly stops beating

Sinus Rhythm

The normal regular rhythm of the heart set by the natural pacemaker of the heart called the sinus node

Stent

Medical device made of expandable metal mesh inserted into a coronary artery, via a catheter, to hold the artery open

Tachycardia

A very rapid and often uncontrolled heartbeat

TEE

Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) is a diagnostic test that employs ultrasound waves to make images of the heart chambers, valves, and surrounding structures and is done through the esophagus

Valve

A heart valve problem usually involves damage to the one-way-doors within the heart itself caused by abnormal structure of one or more of the heart valves (tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral [bicuspid], and aortic)