Ch.5 Cardiovascular System Med Terms

□ ACE inhibitor - (angiotensin-converting enzyme), blocks the action of the enzyme that causes the blood vessels to contract, resulting in hypertension

□ anemia (ah-NEE-mee-ah) - lower-than-normal number of RBCs in the blood

□ aneurysm (AN-you-rizm) - localized weak spot or balloon-like enlargement of the wall of an artery

□ angina (an-JIGH-nuh) - aka angina pectoris, a condition in which severe episodes of chest pain occur due to an inadequate blood flow to the myocardium

□ angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee) - technique of mechanically widening a narrowed or obstructed blood vessel

□ anticoagulant (an-tih-koh-AG-you-lant) - slows coagulation and prevents new blood clots from forming (coagulation = process of clotting blood)

□ aplastic anemia (ay-PLAS-tick ah-NEE-mee-ah) - characterized by an absence of all formed blood elements by the failure of blood cell production in the bone marrow

□ arrhythmia (ah-RITH-mee-ah) - the loss of the normal rhythm of the heartbeat

□ atherectomy (ath-er-ECK-toh-mee) - surgical removal of plaque buildup from the interior of an artery

□ atherosclerosis (ath-er-oh-skleh-ROH-sis) - hardening and narrowing of the arteries caused by a buildup of cholesterol plaque on the interior walls of the arteries

□ atrial fibrillation (AY-tree-al fih-brih-LAY-shun) - aka A-fib, most common type of tachycardia, when the normal rhythmic contractions of of the atria are replaced by rapid, uncontrolled twitching of the muscular heart wall

□ automated external defibrillator (dee-FIB-rih-lay-ter) - aka AED, designed for use by nonprofessionals in emergency situations when defibrillation is required

□ beta-blocker - reduces the workload of the heart by slowing the rate of the heartbeat

□ bradycardia (brad-ee-KAR-dee-ah) - abnormally slow resting heart rate

□ cardiac arrest - event in which the heart abruptly stops beating or develops an arrhythmia that prevents it from pumping blood effectively

□ cardiac catheterization (KAR-dee-ack kath-eh-ter-eye-ZAY-shun) - diagnostic and treatment procedure in which a catheter is passed into a vein or artery and then guided into the heart

□ cardiomyopathy (kar-dee-oh-my-OP-ah-thee) - term used to describe all diseases of the heart muscle

□ carotid endarterectomy (kah-ROT-id end-ar-ter-ECK-toh-mee) - surgical removal of the lining of a portion of a clogged carotid artery leading to the brain

□ cholesterol (koh-LES-ter-ol) - a fatty substance that travels through the blood and is found in all parts of the body

□ chronic venous insufficiency - aka venous insufficiency, a condition in which venous circulation is inadequate due to partial vein blockage or to the leakage of venous valves

□ coronary artery disease - aka coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries that reduces the blood supply to the heart muscle

coronary thrombosis (KOR-uh-nerr-ee throm-BOH-sis) - damage to the heart muscle caused by a thrombus blocking a coronary artery

□ defibrillation (dee-fih-brih-LAY-shun) - emergency use of electrical shock to restore the heart’s normal rhythm

□ diuretic (dye-you-RET-ick) - administered to stimulate the kidneys to increase the secretion of urine to rid the body of excess sodium and water

□ electrocardiogram (ee-leck-troh-KAR-dee-oh-gram) - (EKG or ECG) is a record of the electrical activity of the myocardium

□ embolism (EM-boh-lizm) - the sudden blockage of a blood vessel by an embolus

□ embolus (EM-boh-lus) - a foreign object, such as a blood clot, a quantity of air or gas, or a bit of tissue or tumor, that is circulating in the blood

□ endocarditis (en-doh-kar-DYE-tis) - inflammation of the inner lining of the heart

□ erythrocytes (eh-RITH-roh-sights) - aka red blood cells (RBCs), mature red blood cells produced by the red bone marrow

□ hemoglobin (HEE-moh-gloh-bin) - oxygen-carrying blood protein pigment of the RBCs

□ hemolytic anemia (hee-moh-LIT-ick ah-NEE-mee-ah) - characterized by an inadequate number of circulating red blood cells due to the premature destruction of red blood cells by the spleens

□ hemorrhage (HEM-or-idj) - the loss of a large amount of blood in a short time

□ hemostasis (hee-moh-STAY-sis) - to stop or control bleeding

□ leukemia (loo-KEE-mee-ah) - a type of cancer characterized by a progressive increase in the number of abnormal leukocytes found in blood-forming tissues, other organs, and in the circulating blood

□ leukocytes (LOO-koh-sights) - aka white blood cells, the blood cells involved in defending the body against infective organisms and foreign substances

□ leukopenia (loo-koh-PEE-nee-ah) - a decrease in the number of disease-fighting white blood cells circulating in the blood

□ megaloblastic anemia (MEG-ah-loh-blas-tickah-NEE-mee-ah) - blood disorder characterized by anemia in which the red blood cells are larger than normal

□ mitral valve prolapse (MY-tral VALV proh-LAPS) - (MVP) abnormal protrusion of a heart valve that results in the inability of the valve to close completely

□ myelodysplastic syndrome (my-eh-loh-dis-PLAS-tick SIN-drohm) - a type of cancer in which there is insufficient production of one or more types of blood cells due to dysfunction of the bone marrow

□ myocardial infarction (my-oh-KAR-dee-al in-FARK-shun) - (MI) aka heart attack, is the occlusion (blockage) of one or more coronary arteries caused by plaque buildup

□ orthostatic hypotension (or-thoh-STAT-ick high-poh-TEN-shun) - aka postural hypotension, low blood pressure that occurs upon standing up and remains lower than normal as long as the patient remains standing

□ pericardium (pehr-ih-KAR-dee-um) - aka the pericardial sac, the double-walled membranous sac that encloses the heart

□ pernicious anemia (per-NISH-us ah-NEE-mee-ah) - caused by a lack of the protein intrinsic factor (IF) that helps the body absorb vitamin B12 from the gastrointestinal tract

□ phlebitis (fleh-BYE-tis) - inflammation of a vein

□ Raynaud’s disease (ray-NOHZ) - a peripheral arterial occlusive disease in which the intermittent attacks are triggered by cold temperatures or stress

□ sepsis (SEP-sis) - aka septicemia, potentially life-threatening infection that results from bacteria or other infectious organisms entering the bloodstream

□ sickle cell anemia - serious genetic disorder that causes abnormal hemoglobin, resulting in some red blood cells assuming an abnormal sickle shape

□ tachycardia (tack-ee-KAR-dee-ah) - abnormally rapid resting heart rate

□ temporal arteritis (TEM-poh-ral ar-teh-RYE-tis) - aka giant cell arteritis, inflammation of the temporal arteries supplying blood to the head and brain

□ thallium stress test (THAL-ee-um) - nuclear imaging test performed to evaluate how well blood flows through the coronary arteries of the heart muscle during exercise by injecting a small amount of thallium into the bloodstream

□ thrombocytopenia (throm-boh-sigh-toh-PEE-nee-ah) - a condition in which there is an abnormally small number of platelets

□ thrombolytic (throm-boh-LIT-ick) - aka a clot-busting drug, dissolves or causes a thrombus to break up

□ thrombosis (throm-BOH-sis) - abnormal condition of having a thrombus

□ thrombotic occlusion (throm-BOT-ick ah-KLOO-zhun) - blocking of an artery by a thrombus

□ thrombus (THROM-bus) - a blood clot attached to the interior wall of an artery or vein

□ transfusion reaction - a serious complication of a blood transfusion in which a severe immune response occurs because the patient’s blood and the donated blood do not match

□ varicose veins (VAHR-ih-kohs VAYNS) - abnormally swollen veins that usually occur in the superficial veins of the legs

□ venous thromboembolism - (VTE), a blood clot that originates in a vein

□ ventricular fibrillation (ven-TRICK-you-lar fih-brih-LAY-shun) - aka V-fib, consists of rapid, irregular, and useless contractions of the ventricles

□ ventricular tachycardia (ven-TRICK-you-lar tack-ee-KAR-dee-ah) - aka V-tach, very rapid heartbeat that begins within the ventricles