| A | B |
|---|
| aortic regurgitation | backward flow of blood that occurs when the aortic valve does not close tightly |
| aortic stenosis | narrowing of the aortic valve's opening when its cusps become stiff and rigid |
| balloon valvuloplasty | invasive, nonsurgical procedure to enlarge a narrowed heart valve using a deflated balloon that is threaded through a peripheral blood vessel into the stenotic valve, then inflated to stretch the opening |
| commissures | area where the cusps of a cardiac valve contact each other |
| mitral regurgitation | backward flow of blood that occurs when the mitral valve does not close completely; sometimes referred to as mitral insufficiency |
| mitral stenosis | disorder in which the mitral valve does not open sufficiently to facilitate filling of the left ventricle |
| mitral valve prolapse | disorder in which the mitral valve cusps enlarge, become floppy, and gulge backward into the left atrium |
| mitral valve prolapse syndrome | cluster of symptoms associated with autonomic nervous system dysfunction in which changes in mitral valve tissue layers cause its cusps to distend, stretching the papillary muscles and leading to valvular incompetence |
| point of maximum impulse | place onthe chest wall where heart pulsations are most strongly felt |
| valvular incompetence | condition in which the valve does not close tightly |
| valvular regurgitation | leaking of blood backward through a valve that does not close tightly |
| water-hammer pulse | assessment finding characterized as strong radial pulse with quick, sharp beats followed by a sudden collapse of force |
