| A | B |
|---|
| Afterload | Amount of resistance the left venricle must overcome to open the aortic valve. |
| Arteriosclerosis | Abnormal thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls |
| Atherosclerosis | Abnormal thickening and hardening of the arterial walls caused by fat and fibrin deposits |
| Bradycardia | Slow heart rate, usually defined as fewer than 60 beats per minute |
| Contractility | Capacity for shortening in response to stimuli |
| Diastole | Ventricles are at rest (relaxation phase); filling up with blood coming from the atria. |
| Dysrhythmias | Disturbance of a rhythm; arrhythmia |
| Hemodynamic | Study of the movement of blood and the forces that affect it. |
| Myocardial infarction | Death of myocardial tissue as a result of prolonged lack of blood and O2 supply. |
| Palpitation | Heartbeat that is strong, rapid, or irregular enough that the person is aware of it. |
| Perfusion | Passage of blood through the vessels of an organ |
| Preload | Amount of blood in the left ventricle at the end of diastole; the pressure generated at the end of diastole |
| Regurgitation | Backward flow |
| Syncope | Fainting |
| Systole | Contraction phase of the cardiac cycle |
| Tachycardia | Rapid heart rate; is usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute |
| Thromboembolism | Obstruction of a blood vessel with a blood clot transported through the bloodstream |
