Acronyms

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Ross

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A glossary of the most used cardiac acronyms and medical shorthand found in ValveReplacement.com-Special thanks to Bonzodog, Aaronj, Bina, Ctyguy, Mary, Njean and Superbob for their help and support.

September 30, 2008


A

AAA – Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (a swollen and weak spot in

the part of the aortic artery that’s down near the stomach)

ACT - AntiCoagulation Therapy (when you take “blood thinner”

medication to avoid strokes)

AFib - Atrial Fibrillation (an abnormal heart rhythm)

AFlut – Atrial Flutter (an abnormal heart rhythm)

AI – Aortic Insufficiency (when there’s not enough blood to

fill the aortic artery after the heart beat)

Antibiotic Prophylaxis - (when you take antibiotics before a

dentist or other medical procedure)

AO – Aortic Valve Opening (how big the aortic valve can

open)

Ao – Aorta or Aortic Artery (the main blood vessel where

fresh blood leaves the heart to go to the brain and body)

APG – Aortic Pressure Gradient (the amount of force of the

blood flowing though the aortic valve)

AR – Aortic Regurgitation (when the aortic valve leaks)

AS – Aortic Stenosis (when the aortic valve is narrow from

being partially blocked)

ATAA – Ascending Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm also known as AA (a swollen and weak spot in the aortic root or arch

artery)

AV - Aortic Valve (the last heart valve blood passes through

before going to the body)

AV Node - AtrioVentricular Node (the area that controls the

electrical bursts that cause the heart to beat)

AVO – Aortic Valve Opening (how big the aortic valve can

open)

AVR - Aortic Valve Replacement or repair

B

BAV/BAVD - Bicuspid Aortic Valve/Bicuspid Aortic Valve

Disease (when a person is born with two flaps on his aortic

valve, instead of three)

BMP-Basic Metabolic Profile

BNP-Brain natriuretic peptide

BP - Blood Pressure (how much force the blood is pressing

with against your arteries)

BPM – Beats per Minute – (how fast the heart is beating)

C

CABG - Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (when they take a

section of vein from somewhere else in the body and use it

to run blood around a part of an artery that is blocked)

CAD - Coronary Artery Disease (when the arteries that bring

oxygen to your heart muscle is narrow or blocked)

CAT or CT Scan – see Computerized Axial Tomography Scan (a

super x-ray, that gives images in slices or even in 3D)

CATH – Cardiac Catheterization (when a tube is sent up a leg

or neck artery to the heart to measure valve opening sizes

and whether arteries to the heart are blocked.

CBC-Complete Blood Count

CCF – Cleveland Clinic Foundation – a heart surgery and

research hospital in Cleveland, OH.

CHD – Coronary Heart Disease (when the arteries that bring

oxygen to your heart muscle is narrow or blocked)

CHF – Congestive Heart Failure (when your heart is not

strong enough to pump out all the blood your body needs to

exercise)

COARCT - Coarctation of the Aorta (when there is a pinched

spot in the aortic artery)

CT/CAT Scan - Computerized Axial Tomography Scan (a super x

-ray, that gives images in slices or even in 3D)

CTD - Connective Tissue Disease (when your body produces

weak tissue, especially in the heart valves or the aortic

artery)

D

E

Echo – Echocardiogram (when the echo of a sound transmitter

is used to produce a picture of your heart – also called a

heart sonogram)

ECG –Echocardiogram (when the echo of a sound transmitter is

used to produce a picture of your heart – also called a

heart sonogram)

EF - Ejection Fraction (percent of blood pumped out of the

heart during one beat)

EKG – Electrocardiogram (a test that shows how the

electrical currents in your heart run, to see any abnormal

heart rhythms)

F

G

H

HIPAA – see Health Insurance Portability and Accountability

Act (US law that gives patients a right to a copy of all of

their medical records and keeps them private from others)

HR - Heart Rate (how fast your heart beats)

I

INR – International Normalization Ratio (measures whether

enough warfarin [Coumadin] is in your blood to avoid

strokes)

J

K

L

LA - Left Atrium (the smaller, upper chamber where “fresh”

blood first enters the heart)

LV - Left Ventricle (the large, lower chamber of the heart

that pumps “fresh” blood to the brain and body)

LVED, LVEDD – Left Ventricle End Diameter Diastolic (a

measurement of the size of the left, lower chamber of the

heart while the heart is resting between beats)

LVES, LVEDS – see Left Ventricle End Diameter (a measurement

of the size of the left, lower chamber of the heart while

the heart is in the middle of a beat)

LVH –Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (when the left, lower

chamber of the heart grows too big)


M

MAZE - MAZE Procedure/Modified MAZE procedure (a way of

cutting or damaging the heart just right to stop abnormal

heartbeats like atrial fibrillation)

MI – Mitral Insufficiency (when the mitral valve leaks)

MR – Mitral Regurgitation (when the mitral valve leaks)

MRA - Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (an MRI test done with

injected dye done to look at the heart and the arteries near

the heart)

MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging (test like an x-ray that

uses magnets instead of radiation to make the pictures)

MS – Mitral Stenosis (when the mitral valve is narrow or

blocked)

MT or MTD – see Myxomatous Tissue Disorder (when your body

produces weak tissue, especially in the heart valves or the

aortic artery)

MV - Mitral Valve (the first heart valve that fresh blood

from the lungs goes through)

MVP - Mitral Valve Prolapse (when the mitral valve is

floppy, and pushes in where it’s not supposed to be)

MVR - Mitral Valve Replacement or Repair

N

NSR – see Normal Sinus Rhythm (a normal heartbeat)

O

OHS - Open Heart Surgery

On-X – a particular brand of mechanical valve.

P

PA – Pulmonary Artery (the main blood vessel where “old”

blood leaves the heart to go to the lungs)

PAC - Premature Atrial Contraction (an abnormal heartbeat)

PCP - Primary Care Provider (an insurance name for your

family doctor or general practitioner)

PH - Pulmonary Hypertension (when there is high blood

pressure in the lungs)

PI – Pulmonary Insufficiency (when there isn’t enough blood

to completely fill the pulmonary artery after the heart

beats)

PR – Pulmonary Regurgitation (when the pulmonary valve

leaks)

Premedication - Antibiotic Prophylaxis (when you take

antibiotics before a dentist or other medical procedure)

Prophylactic Antibiotics - see Antibiotic Prophylaxis (when

you take antibiotics before a dentist or other medical

procedure)


PS – Pulmonary Stenosis (when the pulmonary valve is

narrowed or partially blocked)

PV – Pulmonary Valve (the valve where “old” blood leaves the

heart to go to the lungs)

PVC – Premature Ventricular Contraction (an abnormal

heartbeat)

PVR - Pulmonary Valve Replacement or Repair.

Q

R

RA - Right Atrium (the small, upper chamber where “old”

blood enters the heart)


RV - Right Ventricle (the large, lower chamber of heart that

pumps “old” blood to the lungs for oxygen)

RVH – Right Ventricular Hypertrophy (when the right, lower

chamber of the heart grows too big)


S

SOB – Short of Breath or Shortness Of Breath

ST - Sinus Tachycardia (a rapid, but otherwise normal

heartbeat)

SVD – Small Vessel Disease (when the blood vessels that feed

the heart muscle are narrowed by many small plaques, rather

than by a few larger ones)

SVT - SupraVentricular Tachycardia (an abnormal heartbeat)



T

TATT - Tired All The Time

TEE – TransEsophogeal/TransOesophageal Echo (an

echocardiogram done by placing the transducer into the

patient’s throat)

TI – Tricuspid insufficiency (when the tricuspid vlave

leaks)

TIA - Transient Ischemic Attack (a “warning” stroke, which

goes away quickly and completely)

TOE – see TransEsophogeal/TransOesophageal Echo (the first

heart valve that fresh blood from the lungs goes through)

TR – Tricuspid Regurgitation (when the tricuspid valve

leaks)

TS – Tricuspid Stenosis (when the tricuspid valve is

narrowed or partially blocked)

TV - Tricuspid Valve (the first heart valve that “old” blood

from the body goes through)

TVR - Tricuspid Valve Replacement or repair

U


V

VC – Vena cava (the large vein that “old” blood comes into

the heart from)


Vfib - Ventricular Fibrillation (an abnormal heartbeat)

VH – Ventricular Hypertrophy (when a lower heart chamber

grows too large)

VR - Valve Replacement or Valve Repair

V Tach – Ventricular Tachycardia (an abnormal heartbeat)

W

X

X-ray – a technique where controlled radiation is fed into

the body on one side and collected on the other, either on

film for viewing or in an active collector for

interpretation by computer software. See also Computerized

Axial Tomography Scan.

Y

Z


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