| A |
| ACE
inhibitor (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor) |
| |
A type of heart
drug used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. |
| Aneurysm |
| |
A bulging out
of the muscular wall of a blood vessel or heart chamber, due to weakness
of the wall resulting from disease or injury |
| Angina |
| |
Chest discomfort
or pain resulting from an inadequate supply of blood and oxygen to the heart
muscle; also called "angina pectoris." |
| Angioplasty |
| |
A
procedure used to dilate the coronary arteries at the sites where they have
become narrowed by plaque build up; also called "percutaneous transluminal
coronary angioplasty" or "PTCA" |
| Aorta |
| |
Main artery in
the body that carries blood away from the left ventricle |
| Aortic
valve |
| |
The heart valve
between the left ventricle and the aorta. |
| Arrhythmia |
| |
Irregularity of
the heartbeat |
| Arteries |
| |
Blood vessels
that transport blood away from the heart to the rest of the body; arteries
transport oxygenated blood (with the exception of the pulmonary artery). |
| Atherosclerosis |
| |
Buildup of fatty
deposits (plaques) on the inner walls of the coronary or other arteries,
resulting in obstruction of the normal flow of food. |
| B |
| Beta-blocker |
| |
A type of heart
drug used to treat angina, high blood pressure, and other heart disorders. |
| Blood
pressure |
| |
The force that
blood exerts against the walls of the arteries when it is pumped out of
the left ventricle to the rest of the body; the systolic blood pressure
reflects the highest and the diastolic blood pressure the lowest amount
of pressure in the arteries at any given time. |
| Bypass
surgery |
| |
A surgical technique
by which blood is detoured around a blocked coronary atery with use of a
vein or an artery from another part of the body. |
| |
|
|
| This
glossary of cardiac was by the courtesy of Mary Easaw Chief Dietician of
the National heart Institute. |
