10/03/2010 22:48:02
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10/03/2010 22:48:02 |
Heart failure doesn't necessarily mean that the heart has stopped, it refers to the heart's inefficiency in pumping the blood around to meet the body's needs |
| Aneurysm | A ballooning of the wall of a blood vessel |
| Angioplasty | Stretching an artery or vein with a catheter with a balloon on the end |
| Anomalous | Not Normal |
| Anticoagulant | Drug used to reduce blood clotting. |
| Aorta | Main body artery |
| Aortic Arch | Top of the aorta, from which 3 arteries to the Head neck and arm arise |
| Aortic Valve | Valve between the main pumping chamber and the aorta |
| Arrhythmia | Abnormal heart action |
| Artery | Blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart |
| Ascites | Fluid in the tummy |
| Asystole | Stoppage of heart action |
| Atresia | Blocked, missing or never formed |
| Atrium | Receiving chamber of the heart |
| Bifurcation | Division into two |
| Blalock-Taussig Shunt | Operation to join subclavian artery to the pulmonary artery |
| Bradycardia | Slow heart rate |
| Capillaries | Fine blood vessels that food, oxygen and carbon dioxide can pass into and out of |
| Cardiomyopathy | Disease of heart muscle |
| Cardiopegia | Chemical used to protect the heart muscle during open heart surgery |
| Cardiopulmonary Bypass | A machine to replace heart and lung action while the heart is stopped |
| Catheter | Fine plastic tube to drain fluid |
| Chromosomes | Proteins that form your make up |
| Chronotrope | Increase heart rate |
| Coarctation | Narrowing in a blood vessel |
| Conduit | Artificial tube |
| Congenital | Present at birth |
| Cyanosis | Blue colour of skin due to lower amount of oxygen in the capillaries |
| Defibrillator | Machine to give electric shock to treat heart rhythm abnormalities |
| Diastole | Resting phase of heart action |
| Diastolic Blood Pressure | Lower blood pressure reading |
| Dhysphagia | Difficulty with swallowing |
| Dyspnoea | breathlessness |
| Echocardiagram | Picture of the heart and blood vessels made using reflected high frequency sound waves |
| Embolus | Abnormal substance in the blood stream |
| Embryo | Developing baby in the womb |
| Fibrillation | Disorganised heart contractions |
| Fetus/Foetus | Developing baby in the womb |
| Fontan Operation | Operation to connect right atrium to lung artery |
| Glenn Operation | Operation to connect the SVC to the lung artery |
| Hyper | Too much |
| Hypertension | Higher than normal blood pressure |
| Hypo | Too little |
| Hypotension | Lower than normal blood pressure |
| Inferia Vena Cava (IVC) | Body vein that brings blood from the lower half of the body to the heart |
| Infra | Below |
| Intra | Within |
| Macro | Large |
| Micro | Small |
| Mitral valve | 2 cusped valve between left atrium and left ventricle |
| Neonate | Baby in the first month of life |
| Oedema | Extra fluid in the tissues |
| Peri | Nearby |
| Pericardium | Bag in which heart is contained |
| Precordium | Part of chest in front of heart |
| Prognosis | Estimation of the outlook for the patient |
| Prophylaxis | Prevention |
| Pulmonary | Relating to the lungs |
| Septicaemia | Infection of the blood |
| Septum | A dividing structure |
| Shunt | Tube used to increase blood supply to the lungs |
| Stenosis | Narrowing in a blood vessel or valve |
| Sub | Below |
| Subclavian | Below the clavicle |
| Superia Vena Cava (SVC) | Body vein that brings blood from the top of the body to the heart |
| Supra | Above |
| Systole | Contraction of the pumping chambers |
| Systolic blood pressure | The high blood pressure measurement |
| Tachycardia | Rapid heart rate |
| Trachea | Wind pipe |
| Tracheostomy | Small tube inserted in the wind pipe to assist ventilation |
| Transposition | Unusual connection of the heart chambers or blood vessels |
| Tricuspid valve | 3 cusped valve between right atrium and right ventricle |
| Ventricle | Pumping chamber of the heart |
| Vasodilator | Drug that helps to open up the blood vesses |
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