Ablation: Removal or excision. Ablation is usually carried out surgically. For example, surgical removal of the thyroid gland (a total thyroidectomy) is ablation of the thyroid. The word ablation comes from the Latin ablatum meaning to carry away.
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Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer ).
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Adenosine: A nucleoside containing adenine as its base. Adenosine acts to dilate the coronary arteries and is employed in the adenosine thallium scan of the heart.
Alcohol: An organic chemical in which one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups are attached to carbon (C) atoms in place of hydrogen (H) atoms. Common alcohols include ethyl alcohol or ethanol (found in alcoholic beverages), methyl alcohol or methanol (can cause blindness) and propyl alcohol or propanol (used as a solvent and antiseptic ). Rubbing alcohol is a mixture of acetone , methyl isobutyl ketone, and ethyl alcohol. In everyday talk, alcohol usually refers to ethanol as, for example, in wine, beer, and liquor. It can cause changes in behavior and be addictive.
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Atrial: Pertaining to the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, as in atrial fibrillation and atrial septal defect.
Atrium: One of the two smaller chambers of the heart. Each atrium consists of an open space with recessed walls. The plural of atrium is atria.
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AV node: An electrical relay station between the atria (the upper) and the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart). Electrical signals from the atria must pass through the AV node to reach the ventricles.
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Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.
Bowel: Another name for the intestine . The small bowel and the large bowel are the small intestine and large intestine , respectively.
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Caffeine: A stimulant found naturally in coffee beans, tea leaves, cocoa beans (chocolate) and kola nuts (cola) and added to soft drinks, foods, and medicines. A cup of coffee has 100-250 milligrams of caffeine. Black tea brewed for 4 minutes has 40-100 milligrams. Green tea has one-third as much caffeine as black tea.
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Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is added to bones by cells called osteoblasts and is removed from bones by cells called osteoclasts. Calcium is essential for healthy bones. It is also important for muscle contraction, heart action, nervous system maintenance, and normal blood clotting. Food sources of calcium include dairy foods, some leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and collards, canned salmon, clams, oysters, calcium-fortified foods, and tofu. According to the National Academy of Sciences, adequate intake of calcium is 1,200 milligrams a day (four glasses of milk) for men and women 51 and older, 1,000 milligrams a day for adults 19 through 50, and 1,300 milligrams a day for children 9 through 18. The upper limit for calcium intake is 2.5 grams daily.
Cardioversion: The conversion of one cardiac rhythm or electrical pattern to another, almost always from an abnormal to a normal one. This conversion can be accomplished by pharmacologic means using medications or by electrical cardioversion using a defibrillator.
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Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen . The chest contains the lungs , the heart and part of the aorta . The walls of the chest are supported by the dorsal vertebrae , the ribs , and the sternum .
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease ; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies . 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Electrocardiogram : A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. An electrocardiogram is a simple, non-invasive procedure. Electrodes are placed on the skin of the chest and connected in a specific order to a machine that, when turned on, measures electrical activity all overaround the heart. Output is usually in the form of a long scroll of paper displaying a printed graph of activity. Newer models output the data directly to a computer and screen, although a print-out may still be made.
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Electrophysiology: The biomedical field dealing with the study of electric activity in the body. Electrophysiology includes the study of the production of electrical activity and the effects of that electrical activity on the body. See, for example: Electrophysiologic retinal testing ; and Electrophysiologic study of the heart.
Event: A set of outcomes. Cardiovascular events might include a heart attack and gastrointestinal events a GI bleed. The use of the term "event" in medicine comes from probability theory.
Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Heart rate: The number of heart beats per unit time, usually per minute. The heart rate is based on the number of contractions of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart). The heart rate may be too fast ( tachycardia ) or too slow ( bradycardia ). The pulse is bulge of an artery from the wave of blood coursing through the blood vessel as a result of the heart beat. The pulse is often taken at the wrist to estimate the heart rate.
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Holter monitor: A type of portable heart monitor. The Holter monitor is a small portable electrocardiogram ( ECG ). The device is worn in a pouch around the neck or waist. It keeps a record of the heart rhythm, typically over a 24-hour period, while the patient keeps a diary recording their activities and any symptoms they may feel. The ECG recording is then correlated with the person's record of their activities and symptoms. The Holter monitor is useful for identifying disturbances which are sporadic and which are not readily identified with the usual resting electrocardiogram test.
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Lightheadedness: A feeling you are "going to faint." Lightheadedness is medically distinct from dizziness, unsteadiness, and vertigo. See: Dizziness, Unsteadiness, and Vertigo.
Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses chemical and electrical signals to transmit sensory and motor information from one body part to another. See: Nervous system.
Node: Literally a knot, a node is a collection of tissue. For example a lymph node, is a collection of lymphoid tissue. A nodule is a small node, a little collection of tissue.
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Pacemaker: A system that sends electrical impulses to the heart in order to set the heart rhythm. The pacemaker can be the normal "natural" pacemaker of the heart or it can be an electronic device.
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Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In some patients with palpitations, no heart disease or abnormal heart rhythms can be found. In others, palpitations result from abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias refer to heartbeats that are too slow, too rapid, irregular, or too early.
Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia: Abbreviated PAT. Bouts of rapid, regular heart beating that originate in the upper chamber (atrium) of the heart due to abnormalities in the atrioventricular (AV) node that lead to rapid firing of electrical impulses from the atrium that bypass the AV node. PAT tends to occur under certain conditions, including excess alcohol consumption, stress, caffeine use, overactive thyroid or excessive thyroid hormone intake, and use of certain drugs. PAT is an example of an arrhythmia in which the abnormality is in the electrical system of the heart, while the heart muscle and valves may be normal.
PAT: Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia .
Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom or disease after a remission. The reappearance of cancer cells at the same site or in another location is, unfortunately, a familiar form of recurrence.
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Recurrent: Back again. A recurrent fever is a fever that has returned after an intermission: a recrudescent fever.
Shock: In medicine, shock is a critical condition brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow through the body. There is failure of the circulatory system to maintain adequate blood flow. This sharply curtails the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to vital organs. It also compromises the kidney and so curtails the removal of wastes from the body. Shock can be due to a number of different mechanisms including not enough blood volume (hypovolemic shock) and not enough output of blood by the heart (cardiogenic shock). The signs and symptoms of shock include low blood pressure (hypotension), overbreathing (hyperventilation), a weak rapid pulse, cold clammy grayish-bluish (cyanotic) skin, decreased urine flow (oliguria), and mental changes (a sense of great anxiety and foreboding, confusion and, sometimes, combativeness).
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Supraventricular tachycardia: Abbreviated SVT. A regular, abnormally fast heart beat (tachycardia) caused by rapid firing of electrical impulses from a focus above the atrioventricular node (A-V node) in the heart. Called supraventricular because the tachycardia originates above the ventricles of the heart.
Tachycardia: A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute. The tachycardias include sinus tachycardia, paroxysmal atrial tachycardia (PAT), and ventricular tachycardia.
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Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of the mouth , consisting anatomically of the pharynx and larynx . The throat contains the trachea and a portion of the esophagus .
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Tissue: A tissue in medicine is not like a piece of tissue paper. It is a broad term that is applied to any group of cells that perform specific functions. A tissue in medicine need not form a layer. Thus, - The bone marrow is a tissue;
- Connective tissue consists of cells that make up fibers in the framework supporting other body tissues; and
- Lymphoid tissue is the part of the body's immune system that helps protect it from bacteria and other foreign entities.
Vagus nerve: A remarkable nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx ( voice box ), trachea ( windpipe ), lungs , heart , esophagus , and the intestinal tract as far as the transverse portion of the colon . The vagus nerve also brings sensory information back to the brain from the ear , tongue , pharynx, and larynx.
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Ventricle: A chamber of an organ. For example, the four connected cavities (hollow spaces) in the central portion of the brain and the lower two chambers of the heart are called ventricles.
Ventricles: 1, The right ventricle and the left ventricle, the lower two chambers of the heart. 2. Two or more of the four connected spaces within the central portion of the brain.
Ventricular: Pertaining to the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, as in ventricular fibrillation and ventricular septal defect.
Ventricular tachycardia: An abnormally rapid heart rhythm that originates from a ventricle , one of the lower chambers of the heart. Although the beat is regular, ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because it can lead to a dreaded condition, ventricular fibrillation .
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