Heart Terms d-j

Deep vein thrombosis - A blood clot in the deep vein in the calf.

Defibrillator - An electronic device that helps reestablish normal electrical and contraction rhythms in a malfunctioning heart.

Diabetes (diabetes mellitus) - A disease in which the body doesn't produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is needed to convert sugar and starch into the energy needed in daily life.

Diastolic blood pressure - The lowest blood pressure measured in the arteries, it occurs when the heart muscle is relaxed between beats.

Diuretic - A drug that lowers blood pressure by stimulating fluid loss; promotes urine production.

Doppler ultrasound - A technology that uses sound waves to assess blood flow within the heart and blood vessels and to identify leaking valves.

Dyspnea - Shortness of breath.

Echocardiography - A method of studying the heart's structure and function by analyzing sound waves bounced off the heart and recorded by an electronic sensor placed on the chest. A computer processes the information to produce a one-, two- or three-dimensional moving picture that shows how the heart and heart valves are functioning.

Edema - Swelling caused by fluid accumulation in body tissues.

Ejection fraction - A measurement of blood that is pumped out of a filled ventricle. The normal rate is 50 percent or more.

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG) - A test in which several electronic sensors are placed on the body to monitor electrical activity associated with the heartbeat.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) - A graphic record of the electrical impulses produced by the brain.

Electrophysiological study (EPS) - A test that uses cardiac catheterization to study patients who have arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats). An electrical current stimulates the heart in an attempt to cause an arrhythmia, which is then immediately treated with medication. EPS is used primarily to identify the origin of arrhythmias and to test the effectiveness of drugs used to treat abnormal heart rhythms.

Embolus - Also called embolism; a blood clot that forms in the blood vessel in one part of the body and travels to another part.

Endarterectomy - Surgical removal of plaque deposits or blood clots in an artery.

Endocardium - The smooth membrane covering the inside surfaces of the heart.

Endothelium - The smooth inner lining of many body structures, including the heart (endocardium) and blood vessels.

Endocarditis - A bacterial infection of the heart's inner lining.

Enlarged heart - A state in which the heart is larger than normal due to heredity, long-term heavy exercise, sustained alcohol abuse, or diseases and disorders such as obesity, high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease.

Enzyme - A complex chemical capable of speeding up specific biochemical processes in the body.

Epicardium - The thin membrane covering the outside surface of the heart muscle.

Estrogen - A female hormone produced by the ovaries that may protect women against heart disease. Estrogen is not produced after menopause.

Exercise stress test - A fairly common test for diagnosing coronary artery disease, especially in patients who have symptoms of heart disease. The test helps physicians assess blood flow through coronary arteries in response to exercise, usually walking at varied speeds and for various lengths of time on a treadmill. A stress test may include use of electrocardiography, echocardiography, and injected radioactive substances. Also called exercise test, stress test or treadmill test.

Familial hypercholesterolemia - A genetic predisposition to dangerously high cholesterol levels.

Fatty acids (fats) - Substances that occur in several forms in foods; different fatty acids have different effects on lipid profiles.

Fibrillation - Rapid, uncoordinated contractions of individual heart muscle fibers. The heart chamber involved can't contract all at once and pumps blood ineffectively, if at all.

Flutter - The rapid, ineffective contractions of any heart chamber. A flutter is considered to be more coordinated than fibrillation.

Gated blood pool scan - An x-ray analysis of how blood pools in the heart during rest and exercise. The test makes use of a radioactive substance injected into the blood to tag or label red cells. The test provides an estimate of the heart's overall ability to pump and its ability to compensate for one or more blocked arteries. Also called MUGA, for multi-unit gated analysis.

Heart attack - Death of, or damage to, part of the heart muscle due to an insufficient blood supply.

Heart block - General term for conditions in which the electrical impulse that activates the heart muscle cells is delayed or interrupted somewhere along its path.

Heart failure - See congestive heart failure.

Heart-lung machine - An apparatus that oxygenates and pumps blood to the body during open heart surgery.

Heredity - The genetic transmission of a particular quality or trait from parent to offspring.

High blood pressure - A chronic increase in blood pressure above its normal range.

High density lipoprotein (HDL) - A component of cholesterol, HDL helps protect against heart disease by promoting cholesterol breakdown and removal from the blood; hence, its nickname "good cholesterol."

Holter monitor - A portable device for recording heartbeats over a period of 24 hours or more.

Hypertension - High blood pressure.

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) - An overgrown heart muscle that creates a bulge into the ventricle and impedes blood flow.

Hypoglycemia - Low levels of glucose in the blood.

Hypotension - Abnormally low blood pressure.

Hypoxia - Less than normal content of oxygen in the organs and tissues of the body.

Immunosuppressive medications - Any drug that suppresses the body's immune system. These medications are used to minimize the chances that the body will reject a newly transplanted organ such as a heart.

Impedance plethysmography - A noninvasive diagnostic test used to evaluate blood flow through the leg.

Infarct - The area of heart tissue permanently damaged by an inadequate supply of oxygen.

Inferior vena cava - The large vein returning blood from the legs and abdomen to the heart.

Inotropic medications - Any drug that increases the strength of the heart's contraction.

Intravascular echocardiography - A marriage of echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. A miniature echo device on the tip of a catheter is used to generate images inside the heart and blood vessels.

Ischemia - Decreased blood flow to an organ, usually due to constriction or obstruction of an artery.

Ischemic heart disease - Also called coronary artery disease and coronary heart disease, this term is applied to heart ailments caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries, and therefore characterized by a decreased blood supply to the heart.

Jugular veins - The veins that carry blood back from the head to the heart.

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