Question | Answer |
arteriosclerosis | thickening, loss of elasticity, and calcification (hardening) of the arterial walls |
artherosclerosis | buildup of fatty substances within the walls of the arteries |
atheromatous plaque | a swollen area within the lining of an artery caused by the buildup of fat (lipids) |
thrombus | a stationary blood clot |
embolus | a clot (airm fatm foreign object) carried in the bloodstream that obstructs when it lodges = "a stopper" |
stenosis | condition of narrowing of a part |
constriction | compression of a part |
occlusion | plugging: obstruction or a closing off |
ischemia | to hold back blood; decreased blood flow to tissue caused by constriction or occlusion of a blood vessel |
perfusion deficit | a lack of flow through a blood vessel caused by narrowing, occlusion etc |
infarct | to stuff; a localized area of necrosis (condition of tissue death)caused by ischemia as a result of occlusion of a blood vessel |
angina pectoris | chest pain caused by a temporary loss of oxygenated blood to heart muscle often caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries (angina = to choke) |
aneurysm | a widening; bulging of the wall of the heart, the aorta, or an artery caused by congenital defect or acquired weakness |
saccular | a sac-like bulge on one side |
fusiform | a spindle-shaped bulge |
dissecting | a split or tear of the vessel wall |
claudication | to limp; pain in a pain (especially the calf) while walking that subsides after rest; it is caused by inadequate blood supply |
diaphoresis | profuse sweating |
heart murmur | an abnormal sound from the heart produced by defects in the chambers or valves |
palpitation | subjective experience of pounding, skipping, or racing heartbeats |
vegetation | to grow; an abnormal growth of tissue around a valve, generally a result of an infection such as bacterial endocarditis |
arrhythmia | any of several kinds of irregularity or loss of rhythm of the heartbeat |
dysrhythmia | any of several kinds of irregularity or loss of rhythm of the heartbeat |
bradycardia | slow heart rate (<60bpm) |
fibrillation | chaotic, irregular contractions of the heart as in atrial or ventricular fibrillation |
flutter | extremely rapid but regular contractions of the heart, as in atrial or ventricular flutter (250-350 bpm) |
heart block | an interference with the normal electrical conduction of the heart defined by the location of the block (ex AV block) |
premature ventricular contraction (PVC) | a ventricular contraction preceeding the normal impulse initiated by the SA node (pacemaker) |
tachycardia | fast heartrate >100 bpm |
arteriosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) | a degenerative condition of the arteries characterized by thickening of the inner lining loss of elasticity, and susceptibility to rupture - seen most often in the aged or smokers |
bacterial endocarditis | a bacterial inflammation that affects the endocardium of the heart valves |
cardiac tamponade | compression of the heart produced by the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac as results from pericarditis or trauma, causing rupture of a blood vessel within the heart (tampo = plug) |
cardiomyopathy | disease of the heart muscle |
congenital anomaly of the heart | malformation of the heart present at birth |
atrial septal defect (ASD) | an opening in the septum separating the atria |
coarctation of the aorta | narrowing of the descending portion of the aorta resulting in a limited flow of blood to the lower part of the body |
patent ductus arteriosus | abnormal opening between the pulmonary artery and the aorta caused by the failure of the fetal ductus arteriosus to close after birth |
tetralogy of fallot | anomaly that has 4 defects: pulmonary stenosis, ventricular septal defect, malposition of the aorta, right ventricular hypertrophy - causes blood to bypass the pulmonary circulation so that deoxygenated blood goes into the systemic circulation = cyanosis |
ventricular septal defect (VSD) | opening of the septum separating the ventricles |
congestive heart failure (CHF) | = Left ventricular failure. left ventricle doesnt pump the enough blood to meet the demands of the body = bottleneck of congestion in the lungs that may extend to veins and cause edema in lower body |
cor pulmonale | = right ventricular failure. condition of enlargement of the right ventricle as a result of chronic disease within the lungs that causes congestion within the pulmonary circulation and resistance of blood flow to the lungs |
coronary artery disease (CAD) | affects arteries of the heart, reduces blood flow and delivery of oxygen to the myocardium, most often caused by artherosclerosis |
hypertension | persistently high blood pressure |
essential (primary) hypertension | high blood pressure attributed to no single cause but risks include smoking obesity increased salt intake hypercholesterolemia and hereditary |
secondary hypertension | high blood pressure caused by the effects of another disease ex kidney disease |
mitral valve prolapse (MVP) | protrusion of one or both cusps of the mitral valve back into the left atrium during ventricular contraction resulting in incomplete closure and backflow of blood |
myocardial infarction (MI) | heart attack. death of myocardial tissue owing to loss of blood flow (ischemmia) as a result of an occlusion of the coronary artery . usually caused by atherosclerosis. symp: pain chest, upper body, SOB, diaphoresis & nausea |
myocarditis | inflammation of the myocardium most often caused by viral or bacterial infection |
pericarditis | inflammation of the pericardium |
phlebitis | inflammation of a vein |
rheumatic heart disease | damage to heart muscle and heart valves by rheumatic fever (streptococcal infection) |
thrombophlebitis | inflammation of vein associated with a clot formation |
varicose veins | abnormally swollen, twisted veins with defective valves, most often seen in the legs |
deep vein thrombosis (DVT) | formation of a clot in a deep vein of the body, occuring most often in the femoral and iliac veins |