Circulatory System Medical Terminology

cardi/o

heart; endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis (inflammation of the lining, the muscle layer, the outer layer of the heart)

brady

slow; bradycardia refers to a slower than normal heart rate, typically under 60 beats per minute.

tachy

fast; tachycardia refers to a faster than normal heart rate, typically over 100 beats per minute.

angio

vessel; angiography, angiogram (x-ray of artery)

veno/phlebo

vein; venogram (x-ray of veins), phlebitis (inflammation of veins)

-stasis

to stop; hemostasis (to stop bleeding), hemostat (clamp-like instrument)

-cyte

cell, erythrocytes (RBC), leukocytes (WBC)

hem/o, -emia

blood; hypoxemia (low O2), hematosalpinx (blood in the uterine tubes)

atherosclerosis

hardening of arteries that are caused by the calcification of fatty plaques (from high fat diets) that line the blood vessel. when blood vessels become less stretchable, blood pressure rises and can result in heart and kidney damage and strokes.

myocardial infarction (MI)

heart attack; blockage of blood flow to a coronary artery resulting in the death of muscle tissue (ie, cardiac tissue), depending on the amount of muscle tissue death, a pt can survive and undergo cardiac rehabilitation or may die.

mitral valve prolapse

a heart condition where the mitral valve’s flaps bulge/prolapse into the left atrium during heart contraction; sometimes causes the valve to leak and causes backward flow (called regurgitation). sometimes the valve is abnormally narow causing partial obstruction constricting flow (stenosis = narrowing)

angina pectoris

“pain in the chest” that is associated with the heart; “crushing, vise-like”, accompanied by dyspnea, fatigue, nausea. the pain indicates that not enough blood is getting to the heart muscle, and the heart is protesting and begging for more. pts with this history take nitroglycerin tablets to relieve the pain by increasing bloow flow to the heart muscle.

arrhythmia/dysrhymia

abnormal heart rate (ex: v-tach, afib)

ischemia

muscle is not getting enough blood flow and the O2 within the blood is insufficient to sustain muscle which has a very high metabolic rate and O2 demand. typically, the pt will suffer from angina pain and may think they’re having a heart attack.

cardiologist

physician specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the circulatory system, especially the heart. DOES NOT DO SURGERY

hematologist

physician specializing in the diseases of the blood

electrocardiogram (EKG/ECG)

a print-out recording the electrical activity of the heart

echocardiography

using ultra high frequency sound ways to form an image of the inside of the heart; procedure can demonstrate valve damage, congenital defects, and other abnormalities.

cardiac catheterization

a long hollow tube can be threaded into an artery up into the heart. then material opaque to x-rays can be released into the blood flow through the heart imaging the details of coronary arteries; usually used to identify a blockage and location int he coronary circulation

phlebotomist/venipuncturist

specially trained nurse or technician thta draws blood for lab tests and may also start IVs (intravenous fluids)