Heart Terms a-c

Abdominal aorta - The portion of the largest artery on the body that passes through the general area of the stomach in the body.

Ablation - Elimination or removal.

ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitor - A drug that lowers blood pressure by interfering with the breakdown of a protein-like substance involved in blood pressure regulation.

Alveoli - Air sacs in the lungs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.

Aneurysm - A sac-like protrusion from a blood vessel or the heart, resulting from a weakening of the vessel wall or heart muscle.

Angina or angina pectoris - Chest pain that occurs when diseased blood vessels restrict blood flow to the heart.

Angiography - An x-ray technique that uses dye injected into the arteries to study blood circulation through the vessels. The test allows physicians to measure obstruction to blood flow. Circulation through a coronary artery is not seriously reduced until the inside diameter of the vessel is more than 75% obstructed.

Angioplasty - A technique for treating diseased arteries by temporarily inflating a tiny balloon inside an artery, flattening the plaque against the blood vessel wall.

Anticoagulant - Any drug that keeps blood from clotting; a blood thinner.

Antihypertensive - Any drug or other therapy that lowers blood pressure.

Aorta - The largest artery in the body and the initial blood-supply vessel from the heart.

Aortic valve - The valve that regulates blood flow from the heart into the aorta.

Aphasia - The inability to speak, write or understand spoken or written language because of brain injury or disease.

Arrhythmia (or dysrhythmia) - An abnormal heartbeat.

Arterioles - Small, muscular branches of arteries. When they contract, they increase resistance to blood flow, and blood pressure in the arteries increases.

Artery - A vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood to the body.

Arteriosclerosis - A disease process, commonly called hardening of the arteries, which includes a variety of conditions that cause artery walls to thicken and lose elasticity.

Ascending aorta - The first portion of the aorta, emerging from the heart's left ventricle.

Atherectomy - A non-surgical technique for treating diseased arteries with a device that cuts or shaves away obstructing plaque or material inside the artery.

Atherosclerosis - A disease process that leads to the accumulation of a waxy substance, called plaque, inside blood vessels.

Atria - The two upper or holding chambers of the heart.

Atrial septal defect - See septal defect.

Atrioventricular block - An interruption or disturbance of the electrical signal between the heart's atria (upper two chambers) and the ventricles (lower two chambers).

Atrioventricular (AV) node - A group of cells located between the atria (upper two chambers) and the ventricles (lower two chambers) that regulates the electrical current (heart rhythm) that passes through it to the ventricles.

Atrium - Either one of the heart's two upper chambers.

Beta blocker - An antihypertensive drug that limits the activity of epinephrine, a hormone that increases blood pressure.

Biopsy - The process by which a small sample of tissue is taken for examination.

Blood clot - A jelly-like mass of blood tissue formed by clotting factors in the blood. Clots stop the flow of blood from an injury; they can also form inside an artery whose walls are damaged by atherosclerotic build-up and are the major cause of heart attack or stroke.

Blood pressure - The force or pressure exerted by the heart in pumping blood; the pressure of blood in the arteries.

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