Medical Language: Chapter 6 - Cardiology

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering cardiovascular anatomy, circulatory pathways, electrical conduction, diseases, diagnostic tests, medications, and surgical procedures from Medical Language (6th Edition).

Cardiology

The medical specialty that studies the anatomy and physiology of the cardiovascular system and uses diagnostic tests, medical and surgical procedures, and drugs to treat cardiovascular diseases.

Pericardium

A two-layered membrane that forms the U-shaped pericardial sac around the heart, composed of the outer parietal pericardium and the inner epicardium.

Parietal Pericardium

The outer layer of the two-layered pericardial membrane that encloses the heart.

Epicardium

The inner layer of the pericardium that lies next to the surface of the heart.

Pericardial Fluid

Fluid that fills the space between the parietal pericardium and epicardium to reduce friction.

Myocardium

The muscular layer of the heart that lies beneath the epicardium and forms the bulk of the heart wall.

Endocardium

The innermost layer of the heart that lines the four chambers and covers the valves.

Atrium

Each small upper chamber of the heart (right atrium or left atrium) that receives blood entering the heart.

Ventricle

Each large lower chamber of the heart (right ventricle or left ventricle) that pumps blood out of the heart.

Septum

The central wall of tissue that divides the heart into the right and left sides.

Tricuspid Valve

A heart valve with three cusps located between the right atrium and the right ventricle that prevents the backflow of blood.

Pulmonary Valve

A heart valve with three cusps located between the right ventricle and the pulmonary trunk/arteries.

Mitral Valve

A heart valve with two cusps located between the left atrium and the left ventricle (also known as the bicuspid valve).

Aortic Valve

A heart valve with three cusps located between the left ventricle and the aorta.

Chordae Tendineae

Ropelike strands that extend from the tricuspid and mitral valve leaflets to small muscles in the ventricular walls to keep the leaflets closed during ventricular contraction.

Mediastinum

An irregularly shaped central area within the thoracic cavity between the lungs that contains the heart, great vessels, esophagus, trachea, and thymus.

Lumen

The central opening within a tubular blood vessel through which blood flows.

Endothelium (Intima)

The smooth, innermost layer of epithelial cells lining the lumen of all blood vessels.

Vasoconstriction

Constriction or narrowing of the smooth muscle in the walls of arteries and arterioles, which decreases the lumen diameter and increases blood pressure.

Vasodilation

Relaxation or widening of the smooth muscle in the walls of arteries and arterioles, which increases the lumen diameter and decreases blood pressure.

Systemic Circulation

The circulatory pathway comprising blood vessels that supply blood to and from all parts of the body except the lungs.

Pulmonary Circulation

The circulatory pathway comprising blood vessels that transport deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs and return oxygenated blood back to the heart.

Sinoatrial (SA) Node

The heart's natural pacemaker, located in the upper wall of the right atrium, which initiates the electrical impulse that begins each heartbeat.

Atrioventricular (AV) Node

A node in the lower right atrium that receives the electrical impulse from the SA node and transmits it to the bundle of His.

Purkinje Fibers

Specialized cardiac muscle fibers in the ventricular walls that distribute electrical impulses from bundle branches, causing both ventricles to contract simultaneously.

Systole

The contraction phase of the heartbeat during which blood is pumped out of the heart chambers.

Diastole

The resting or relaxation phase of the heartbeat between contractions during which the chambers fill with blood.

Normal Sinus Rhythm (NSR)

The normal heart rhythm initiated and controlled by the sinoatrial (SA) node.

Acute Coronary Syndrome

A condition occurring when the flow of oxygenated blood through a coronary artery is limited by a clot or atherosclerosis; includes acute ischemia, heart attack, or unstable angina pectoris.

Angina Pectoris

Crushing, squeezing, or pressure-like chest pain caused by ischemia to the heart muscle, often radiating to the jaw, neck, back, or left arm.

Cardiomegaly

Enlargement of the heart, usually resulting from congestive heart failure.

Cardiomyopathy

A generalized disease of the heart muscle that includes cardiomegaly and heart failure.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Inability of the heart to pump sufficient amounts of blood, characterized by hypertrophy followed by loss of contractile ability.

Cardiac Tamponade

Compression of the heart caused by an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac, preventing the ventricles from filling and pumping properly.

Endocarditis

Infection and inflammation of the endocardium lining a heart valve, typically seen in individuals with preexisting structural valve defects.

Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)

A structural defect in which the cusps or leaflets of the mitral valve do not close tightly, bulging upward into the left atrium during ventricular contraction.

Murmur

An abnormal heart sound produced by turbulent blood flow or blood leaking backward through a defective or narrowed valve.

Myocardial Infarction (MI)

Death of tissue in the myocardium due to severe lack of oxygen when blood flow in a coronary artery is obstructed (commonly called a heart attack).

Pericarditis

Infection or inflammation of the pericardial sac, which often leads to an increased amount of pericardial fluid.

Rheumatic Heart Disease

An autoimmune reaction to a prior streptococcal infection that causes inflammation and scarring damage primarily to the mitral and aortic valves.

Aneurysm

An area of dilation and weakness in the wall of an artery that balloons outward with each pulse and carries a risk of rupture.

Arteriosclerosis

A progressive degenerative disease producing narrowed, hardened, and inflexible artery walls.

Atherosclerosis

A form of arteriosclerosis characterized by the deposition of fatty cholesterol plaques (atheromas) along the arterial lining, narrowing the lumen.

Bruit

A harsh, rushing sound heard during auscultation caused by turbulent blood flow passing through an artery narrowed by plaque.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Arteriosclerosis occurring within the coronary arteries, which restricts arterial blood supply to the myocardium and can lead to angina or myocardial infarction.

Hyperlipidemia

An abnormally elevated level of fats or lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides) in the bloodstream.

Hypertension (HTN)

A persistent elevation of resting blood pressure defined as systolic and diastolic levels $\gt 120/80\,\text{mmHg}$.

Hypotension

Abnormally low blood pressure defined as a reading $\lt 90/60\,\text{mmHg}$, often caused by decreased blood volume.

Orthostatic Hypotension

A sudden, temporary decrease in systolic blood pressure occurring when an individual moves to an upright standing posture.

Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)

Arteriosclerosis affecting arteries of the lower extremities, commonly producing intermittent claudication and peripheral cyanosis.

Phlebitis

Inflammation or infection of a vein, often accompanied by erythema, swelling, and localized pain.

Raynaud Disease

Sudden, severe vasoconstriction of arterioles in the fingers and toes in response to cold or emotional stress, causing digits to turn white or cyanotic.

Varicose Veins

Tortuous, swollen, and twisted veins caused by incompetent or damaged venous valves that permit backflow and pooling of blood.

Arrhythmia

Any abnormality or irregularity in the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat.

Bradycardia

A type of cardiac arrhythmia in which the heart beats at an abnormally slow rate.

Tachycardia

A cardiac arrhythmia characterized by a fast but regular heart rhythm (up to 200 beats/min).

Flutter

An arrhythmia marked by extremely rapid yet regular contractions of either the atria or ventricles, reaching up to 250 beats/min.

Fibrillation

A severe arrhythmia characterized by rapid, erratic, uncoordinated quivering of myocardial fibers rather than synchronized pumping.

Asystole

Complete absence of electrical and mechanical activity of the heart, resulting in a lack of cardiac output (cardiac arrest).

Palpitation

An uncomfortable sensation of a fluttering, pounding, or skipped "thump" inside the chest, often resulting from premature cardiac contractions.

Cardiac Catheterization

A diagnostic procedure where a flexible catheter is threaded through the vascular system into the heart chambers or coronary vessels to measure pressures and assess anatomy.

Cardiac Exercise Stress Test

A procedure evaluating cardiovascular functional response and electrical changes during controlled physical exertion on a treadmill or stationary bicycle.

Electrocardiography (ECG, EKG)

A noninvasive diagnostic test using body-surface electrodes from 12 leads to record the heart's electrical depolarization and repolarization waves.

Holter Monitor

A portable ECG recording device worn continuously for 24 hours to detect and document intermittent or infrequent arrhythmias.

Telemetry

Continuous, real-time wireless transmission of a hospital patient's ECG tracings to a central monitoring station for observation.

Angiography

A radiologic procedure in which radiopaque contrast dye is injected into a blood vessel to visualize the lumen on an x-ray.

Doppler Ultrasonography

An ultrasound imaging technique that applies Doppler sound technology to determine the velocity, direction, and patency of blood flow through a vessel.

Echocardiography

An ultrasound procedure that bounces ultra high-frequency sound waves off cardiac structures to create real-time diagnostic images of chambers, walls, and valves.

Multiple-Gated Acquisition (MUGA) Scan

A nuclear medicine procedure using radioactive tracer bound to red blood cells paired with ECG gating to calculate cardiac chamber volume and ejection fraction.

Auscultation

The clinical assessment method of listening to internal body sounds, particularly heart sounds, using a stethoscope.

Sclerotherapy

A medical procedure involving the injection of a sclerosing drug into a varicose vein to irritate, occlude, and fibrose the vessel, redirecting blood flow.

Cardiopulmonary Bypass

A surgical technique used during open-heart procedures wherein venous blood is mechanically diverted to a heart-lung machine for oxygenation and pumping.

Carotid Endarterectomy

Surgical removal of atherosclerotic plaque lining the interior of a narrowed carotid artery to restore cerebral perfusion and prevent strokes.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)

A surgical procedure bypassing occluded sections of coronary arteries by grafting a harvested blood vessel segment to restore myocardial perfusion.

Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)

A catheter-based interventional procedure used to compress atheromatous plaque in a coronary artery using balloon inflation or stent placement.

Pericardiocentesis

A procedure in which a needle is inserted through the thoracic wall into the pericardial sac to aspirate excess pericardial fluid.

Radiofrequency Ablation

A procedure where high-frequency electrical energy is delivered through an intracardiac catheter to selectively destroy arrhythmogenic ectopic myocardial tissue.

Valvuloplasty

Surgical reconstruction or repair of a defective or stenotic cardiac valve to restore normal valvular competence.