Cardiovascular Basics and Pathology: Crossword Clues

What is a valve disorder in which the valve does not open fully?

Stenosis

What ECG feature is associated with ventricular depolarization?

QRS complex

What is the term for the bulging of part of the mitral valve backward into the left atrium?

Prolapse

What is the heart's natural pacemaker located in the right atrium?

Sinoatrial node

What circulation carries blood from the right side of the heart to the lungs?

Pulmonary

What is a break in an arterial plaque that can trigger clot formation?

Rupture

What is the term for difficulty breathing when lying flat, often associated with left-sided heart failure?

Orthopnea

What is the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen that may occur with right-sided heart failure?

Ascites

What are the cordlike structures that help keep the AV valves from turning backward?

Chordae tendineae

What part of the conduction system briefly delays the impulse before it reaches the ventricles?

Atrioventricular node

What are the two large veins that return blood from the body to the right atrium?

Vena cava

What is the procedure in which a balloon catheter is inflated to widen a narrowed artery?

Angioplasty

What is the outer layer of the heart wall, also called the visceral pericardium?

Epicardium

What is the smooth inner lining of the heart?

Endocardium

What is the fluid accumulation in the lungs commonly associated with left-sided heart failure?

Pulmonary edema

What is the small expandable support that may be left in an artery after balloon treatment?

Stent

What are the tiny air spaces in the lungs where fluid can accumulate during acute pulmonary edema?

Alveoli

What are the receptors that detect changes in blood pressure?

Baroreceptors

What is the valve between the right atrium and right ventricle?

Tricuspid

What form of cardiomyopathy has thickened and stiff ventricular walls?

Hypertrophic

What is the part of the cardiac cycle when a chamber contracts?

Systole

What is the period when ventricular filling slows as the pressure difference between atria and ventricles decreases?

Diastasis

What is the valve between the left atrium and left ventricle?

Mitral

What is the major artery that receives blood from the left ventricle?

Aorta

What is the middle layer of a blood vessel wall, containing smooth muscle and elastic tissue?

Tunica media

What is the cholesterol-containing buildup along an artery's inner lining?

Plaque

What describes irregular, swirling blood flow, especially near branches and bends?

Turbulent

What form of cardiomyopathy is characterized by enlarged ventricles?

Dilated

What is the backward leakage of blood through a valve that does not close properly?

Regurgitation

What form of cardiomyopathy has stiff ventricular walls that are not necessarily thickened?

Restrictive

What are the specialized fibers that distribute the electrical impulse through the ventricles?

Purkinje fibers

What vessel collects venous blood from the heart muscle and empties into the right atrium?

Coronary sinus

What is the muscular layer of the heart wall that contracts?

Myocardium

What is the part of the cardiac cycle when a chamber relaxes and fills?

Diastole

What circulation carries blood from the left side of the heart to the rest of the body?

Systemic