| A | B |
|---|
| cardiovascular disease (CVD) | The collective term for various forms of diseases of the heart and blood vessels |
| pulmonary circulation | The part of the circulatory system governed by the right side of the heart |
| systemic circulation | The part of the circulatory system governed by the left side of the heart |
| atria | The two upper chambers of the heart in which blood collects before passing to the ventricles; also called; auricles |
| vena cava | The large vein through which blood is returned to the right atrium of the heart |
| ventricles | The two lower chambers of the heart from which blood flows through arteries to the lungs and other parts of the body |
| aorta | The large artery that receives blood from the left ventricle and distributes it to the body |
| systole | Contraction of the heart |
| diastole | Relaxation of the heart |
| veins | Vessels that carry blood to the heart |
| arteries | Vessels that carry blood away from the heart |
| coronary arteries | Two arteries branching from the aorta that provide blood to the heart muscle |
| capillaries | Very small blood vessels that distribute blood to all parts of the body |
| platelets | Microscopic disk-shaped cell fragments in the blood-they aid in the formation of blood clots |
| hypertension | Sustained abnormally high blood pressure |
| atherosclerosis | A form of CVD in which the inner layers of artery walls ae made thick and irregular by plaque deposits |
| low-density lipoproteins (LDL) | Blood fat that transports cholesterol from the liver to organs and tissues - "bad" cholesterol |
| high-density lipoproteins (HDL) | Blood fat that helps transport cholesterol out of the arteries - "good" cholesterol |
| glycemic index | A measure of how the ingestion of a particular food affects blood glucose levels |
| plaque | A deposit of fatty (and other) substances on the inner wall of the arteries |
| coronary heart disease (CHD) | Heart disease caused by artheroslerosis in the arteries; also called coronary artery disease |
| heart attack | Damage to, or death of, heart muscle; also known as myocardial infraction (MI) |
| coronary thrombosis | A clot in a coronary artery, often causing sudden death |
| angina pectoris | A condition in which the heart muscle does not receive enough blood - causes severe pain in the chest, left arm and shoulder |
| arrhythmia | A change in the normal pattern of the heartbeat |
| sudden cardiac death | A nontraumatic, unexpected death from sudden cardiac arrest, most often due to arrhythmia |
| cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) | A technique involving mouth-to-mouth breathing and chest compression to keep oxygen flowing to the brain |
| electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) | A test to detect abnormalities by measuring the electrical activity in the heart |
| magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | A computerized imaging technique that uses a strong magnetic field and radio frequency signals |
| angiogram | A picture of the arterial system taken after injecting a dye that is opaque to X rays; also called arteriogram |
| balloon angioplasty | A technique in which a catheter with a balloon on the tip is inserted into an artery |
| coronary bypass surgery | Surgery in which a vein is grafted from a point above to a point below an obstruction in a coronary artery |
| stroke | An impeded blood supply to some part of the brain resulting in the destruction of brain cells; also called cerebrovascular accident |
| ischemic stroke | Impeded blood supply to the brain caused by the obstruction of a blood vessel by a clot |
| hemorrhagic stroke | Impeded blood supply to the brain caused by the rupture of a blood vessel |
| thrombus | A blood clot in a blood vessel that usually occurs at the point of its formation |
| embolus | A blood clot that breaks off from its place of origin in a blood vessel and travels through the bloodstream |
| aneurysm | A sac formed by a distention or dilation of the artery wall |
| transient ischemic attack (TIA) | A small stroke; usually a temporary interruption of blood supply to the brain, causing numbness or difficulty with speech |
| computed tomography (CT) | The use of computerized X ray images to create a cross-sectional depiction (scan) of tissue density |
| pulmonary edema | The accumulation of fluid in the lungs |
| congestive heart failure | A condition resulting from the heart's inability to pump out all the blood that returns to it |
| congenital heart disease | A defect or malformation of the heart or its major blood vessels, present at birth |
| hypertrophic cardiomyopathy | An inherited condition in which there is an enlargement of the heart muscle, especially between the two ventricles |
| rheumatic fever | A disease, mainly of children, characterized by fever, inflammation, and pain in the joints; often damages the heart muscle |
| mitral valve prolapse (MVP) | Valve "billows" out during ventricular contraction, possibly allowing leakage of blood from the left ventricle into left atrium |
