Cr Definitions

Front 1

Acute Coronary Syndrome

Back 1

Term used to describe a person with abnormal cardiac enzyme troponin levels and plaque development

Front 2

Aerobic Exercise

Back 2

Exercise that usually works the larger muscles,and where the goal is improvement in the heart and lungs. The term aerobicrefers to “with oxygen”, as oxygen is being metabolized as the energy supply.Many types of exercise can be aerobic, such as walking, cycling, and swimming,etc. These exercises can be performed at varying intensities and periods oftime.

Front 3

Aneurysm Resection

Back 3

Surgical repair of sac formed by localizeddilatation of vessel wall, (usually an artery)

Front 4

Anaerobic Exercise

Back 4

Exercise “without oxygen”. Instead ofmetabolizing oxygen for energy, the body is using substances that are in themuscle tissue and are used up in a short period of time. The intensity isusually too high and clients become very short of breath in a few moments.Cardiopulmonary clients may also develop angina or lightheadedness.

Front 5

Anti-thrombolytic Therapy

Back 5

Use of certain medications designed to preventand/or treat blood clots. Drugs may be referred to as anti-coagulants.

Front 6

Aortic Stenosis

Back 6

Narrowing of artery leading from left ventricle

Front 7

Arrhythmia

Back 7

Variation from normal rhythm

Front 8

Asymptomatic

Back 8

Defined as having no symptoms or signs of illness or disease

Front 9

Arteriosclerosis

Back 9

Use of certain medications designed to preventand/or treat blood clots. Drugs may be referred to as anti-coagulants.

Front 10

Atherectomy

Back 10

Surgical removal of atheromatous plaque from theinside of the artery wall via a catheter that has a rotary blade on its tip.

Front 11

Atheroma / Atheromatous

Back 11

Abnormal mass of fatty or lipid material with a fibrous covering, existing as a discrete raised plaque within the intima of an artery.

Front 12

Atherosclerosis

Back 12

Abnormal mass of fatty or lipid material with a fibrous covering, existing as a discrete raised plaque within the intima of an artery.

Front 13

Bendopnea

Back 13

Shortness of breath when leaning forward orbending over when tying a shoe and especially in patients with CHF. Occurs withincreased severity of right sided HF due to more fluid in lungs.

Front 14

B/P

Back 14

Pressure of blood against the walls of the bloodvessels that reflects the pumping action of the heart.

Front 15

Bradycardia

Back 15

Slowness of the heart rate to below 60 perminute.

Front 16

Brain Naturetic Peptide (BNP)

Back 16

Blood test done to aid diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and helps to classify clients into severity levels of CHF. This material is secreted with over stretching or bulging of the ventricles which may occur during CHF.

Front 17

Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s (CCS)Grading of Angina

Back 17

Grade Level Description of Signs and / or Symptoms Grade I Ordinary physical activity causes no angina, such as walking and stairs. Angina occurs with strenuous or rapid or prolonged activity at work or recreation. Grade II Slight limitation of ordinary activity. Walking or climbing stairs rapidly, walking uphill, walking or stair climbing after meals, or in cold, or in wind, or under emotional stress, or only during the few hours after awakening. Grade III Marked limitation of ordinary physical activity. Walking one or two blocks on the level and climbing one flight of stairs in normal conditions and at normal pace. Grade IV Inability to carry on any physical activity without discomfort. Anginal syndrome may be present at rest.

Front 18

Cardiac Enzymes

Back 18

These are detected by blood tests and are used to determine whether aheart attack has recently occurred. Damage of myocardial cells releases theminto the blood system. Within 2 hours they can be detected, peak in 4 to 6 to48 hours, stay elevated for days and then decrease to normal level. Enzymestypically tested are Creatinine Kinase myocardial band (CK-MB), CreatininePhosphokinase (CPK) and Troponin t.

Front 19

Cardiac Rehabilitation

Back 19

This process includes the facilitation anddelivery of secondary prevention through risk factor identification andmodification in an effort to prevent disease progression

Front 20

Cardiac Tamponade

Back 20

Compression of the heart due to blood or fluid buildup in the pericardial sac. May occasionally be result of a puncture wound through the heart muscle during a procedure.

Front 21

Cardiac Transplantation

Back 21

Surgical procedure to replace a diseased heartwith a healthy heart from a donor

Front 22

Cardiomyopathy

Back 22

Diagnostic term designating primary myocardialdisease

Front 23

Cardiovascular Disease CVD

Back 23

Disease pertaining to heart and blood vessels.

Front 24

Cardioversion

Back 24

Procedure of using an electrical charge to stopa rapid rhythm originating in the atriums

Front 25

CVA

Back 25

Disease pertaining to the blood vessels of thebrain, commonly called a stroke.

Front 26

Chronic Disease

Back 26

These are prolonged conditions that often do notimprove and are rarely (if ever) cured completely.

Front 27

CDM

Back 27

This is an approach to health care managementthat emphasizes risk factor modification to help individuals maintainindependence and stay healthy. This is done through prevention, earlydetection, education and management of chronic diseases.

Front 28

COPD

Back 28

A chronic condition of persistent and permanentobstruction of bronchial air flow. It can involve chronic bronchitis, pulmonaryemphysema, interstitial lung disease, and cystic fibrosis, etc. May alsoinvolve asthma, which can be reversible.

Front 29

Chronotropic Effect

Back 29

Effect ofsympathetic nerves stimulating the atria and the ventricles of the heart tobeat faster.

Front 30

Collateral Circulation

Back 30

This term pertains to small arteries in theheart which normally remain closed. When blockages occur in the largerarteries, resulting in ischemia, these smaller arteries may open andgrow into the areas of heart muscle that are not getting adequate circulation.This is a goal of cardiac rehabilitation. These small arteries can act asdetours or alternate routes for blood supply and are often termed a naturalbypass.

Front 31

Congenital Heart Defects

Back 31

Structural defect of the heart or great vessels present at and existing from the time of birth. Defects may occur singly or in combination. Example is ventricular septal defect.

Front 32

CHF

Back 32

Inability of the heart muscle to maintain acirculation sufficient to meet the body's needs, most often applied tomyocardial failure affecting the right or left ventricle.

Front 33

Co-morbidity

Back 33

This is a term used to describe a client thathas more than one illness or disease process.

Front 34

Coronary Angiogram

Back 34

A specialized x-ray of the heart and major bloodvessels.

Front 35

CABG

Back 35

Surgery designed to reroute blood aroundblockages in the coronary arteries.

Front 36

CAD

Back 36

Disease of decreased supply of blood to the myocardium resulting from constriction or obstruction of the coronary arteries.

Front 37

Crash Cart

Back 37

a cart that holds emergency equipment such as adefibrillator and cardiac drugs.

Front 38

Cryoblation

Back 38

Localized application of cold to specific areas of the heart muscle as a means of terminating irregular heart rhythms.

Front 39

Defibrillation

Back 39

Technique of using an electrical charge to stopa rapid life threatening rhythm originating in the ventricles

Front 40

De-saturating or Desaturation

Back 40

This occurs with hypoxia and is defined as an O2 saturation of less than90%.

Front 41

Diabetes Type 1

Back 41

Used to be termed “juvenile” diabetes and IDDM or “insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.” This is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by elevated fasting blood glucose, which can be caused by an inability to produce insulin due to destruction of pancreatic beta cells. This inability may be due to auto-immune, viral, or idiopathic causes. Clients usually require insulin injections and are very prone to keto-acidosis.

Front 42

Diabetes Type 2

Back 42

Used to be termed “adult onset” or “non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus” (NIDDM). This is a chronic metabolic disease due to insulin resistance with an insulin secretory defect. It can range from pre-diabetic, requiring diet and exercise adjustments, to fully confirmed diabetes type 2, which may require oral medications and/or insulin, plus exercise and diet adjustments. A common feature of this disease is excess body fat, especially in the upper body (waist and belly) area.

Front 43

Diabetic Neuropathies

Back 43

This term describes a group of nerve disordersthat are common in clients with diabetes. They may include autonomic,peripheral and retinopathy.

Front 44

Dyspnea

Back 44

Dyspnea is difficult or labored breathing, as in shortness of breath.

Front 45

Dyslipidemia

Back 45

Consistent abnormally high blood lipid results.

Front 46

Dysrhythmias

Back 46

Disturbance of normal rhythm.

Front 47

Echocardiogram

Back 47

Diagnostic test which uses ultrasound pulsestransmitted into the body.

Front 48

ECPR (ECMO)

Back 48

Extracorporeal CPR(ECPR) is an addition to CPR that passes the patient's blood through anexternal device to provide oxygen

Front 49

Ejection FractionEF%

Back 49

Ratio of blood ejected from left ventricle with each contraction to the volume of blood in leftventricle at end of diastole.

Front 50

Electrophysiologic Studies

EPS

Back 50

Studies of the electrical conduction of the heart