Cardiac Procedures, Devices, and Related Terms

28 vocabulary flashcards summarise key cardiac procedures, devices, and terms from the lecture notes.

Ablation (Catheter Ablation)

Minimally-invasive procedure that uses a catheter to heat or freeze heart tissue causing abnormal electrical signals, aiming to correct arrhythmias.

Radiofrequency Ablation

Ablation technique that destroys arrhythmia-producing tissue with high-frequency heat energy delivered through a catheter tip.

Cryoablation

Ablation method that freezes and deactivates heart tissue responsible for abnormal electrical signals.

Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy (CRT)

Treatment for certain heart-failure patients that uses a specialised pacemaker to coordinate left and right ventricular contractions.

Biventricular Pacemaker

The pacing device used in CRT; has leads in both ventricles to synchronise their pumping action.

CRT-D

A CRT device combined with a defibrillator, capable of resynchronising the heart and delivering shocks for dangerous rhythms.

Cardioversion

General term for restoring an abnormal heart rhythm to normal rhythm by electrical shock or medication.

Electrical Cardioversion

Sedated procedure where a defibrillator delivers a timed shock to reset the heartbeat to normal.

Pharmacological Cardioversion

Use of anti-arrhythmic drugs in hospital to convert an abnormal rhythm to normal while monitoring the patient.

Coronary Angioplasty

Catheter-based procedure that inflates a tiny balloon to widen a narrowed coronary artery and improve blood flow.

Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

Umbrella term for coronary angioplasty, with or without stent insertion, performed via skin puncture rather than open surgery.

Stent

Small mesh tube left inside a coronary artery after angioplasty to keep the vessel open.

Defibrillation

Emergency treatment delivering an electric shock to restart or normalise a heart that has stopped or is in a life-threatening rhythm.

Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

Portable defibrillator with voice prompts enabling laypersons to treat cardiac arrest in public settings.

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)

Small implanted device that continuously monitors heart rhythm and delivers pacing or shocks to correct dangerous arrhythmias.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)

Life-support machine that temporarily takes over heart and lung function to allow them to heal.

Heart Bypass Surgery (CABG)

Open-heart operation that grafts a healthy vessel around blocked coronary arteries to restore blood flow.

Heart Transplant

Surgical replacement of a failing heart with a donor heart, reserved for end-stage heart-failure patients.

Balloon Valvuloplasty / Valvotomy

Catheter procedure that inflates a balloon inside a narrowed heart valve to widen the opening.

Heart Valve Surgery

Open-heart operation that repairs or replaces malfunctioning valves with mechanical or biological prostheses.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)

Minimally-invasive insertion of a new valve inside a diseased aortic valve to treat aortic stenosis.

Intra-aortic Balloon Pump (IABP)

Catheter-based balloon in the aorta that inflates/deflates with the cardiac cycle to enhance blood flow during acute heart failure.

Pacemaker

Implanted device that sends small electrical impulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate when the natural pacemaker fails.

Thrombolysis (Thrombolytic Therapy)

Intravenous ‘clot-busting’ medication used to dissolve blood clots, often following heart attack to restore coronary flow.

Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)

Mechanical pump implanted to help a weakened heart circulate blood, used as bridge to transplant or long-term therapy.

Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS)

Umbrella term for situations (heart attack, unstable angina) where blood supply to heart muscle is suddenly reduced.