Cardiology is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease, and electrophysiology. Physicians who specialize in this field of medicine are called cardiologists, a specialty of internal medicine. Pediatric cardiologists are pediatricians who specialize in cardiology. Physicians who specialize in cardiac surgery are called cardiothoracic surgeons or cardiac surgeons, a specialty of general surgery.
Coronary artery disease (CAD), also called coronary heart disease (CHD), ischemic heart disease (IHD), myocardial ischemia, or simply heart disease, involves the reduction of blood flow to the heart muscle due to build-up of atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries of the heart. It is the most common of the cardiovascular diseases. Types include stable angina, unstable angina, myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death. A common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may travel into the shoulder, arm, back, neck, or jaw. Occasionally it may feel like heartburn. Usually symptoms occur with exercise or emotional stress, last less than a few minutes, and improve with rest. Shortness of breath may also occur and sometimes no symptoms are present. In many cases, the first sign is a heart attack. Other complications include heart failure or an abnormal heartbeat.
Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac arrest, is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. As a result blood will not be pumped around the body in normal circulation, consciousness will be rapidly lost, and breathing will be abnormal or absent. Without immediate intervention such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and possibly defibrillation, death will occur within minutes.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases, stroke, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, abnormal heart rhythms, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.
Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is a valvular heart disease characterized by the displacement of an abnormally thickened mitral valve leaflet into the left atrium during systole. It is the primary form of myxomatous degeneration of the valve. There are various types of MVP, broadly classified as classic and nonclassic. In severe cases of classic MVP, complications include mitral regurgitation, infective endocarditis, congestive heart failure, and, in rare circumstances, cardiac arrest.
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1915, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
The Fontan procedure or Fontan–Kreutzer procedure is a palliative surgical procedure used in children with univentricular hearts. It involves diverting the venous blood from the inferior vena cava (IVC) and superior vena cava (SVC) to the pulmonary arteries. The procedure varies for differing congenital heart pathologies. For example in tricuspid atresia, the procedure can be done where the blood does not pass through the morphologic right ventricle; i.e., the systemic and pulmonary circulations are placed in series with the functional single ventricle. Whereas in hypoplastic left heart syndrome, the heart is more reliant on the more functional right ventricle to provide blood flow to the systemic circulation. The procedure was initially performed in 1968 by Francis Fontan and Eugene Baudet from Bordeaux, France, published in 1971, simultaneously described in 1971 by Guillermo Kreutzer from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and finally published in 1973.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) (French: Institut de cardiologie de l'Université d'Ottawa ) is Canada's largest cardiovascular health centre. It is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It began as a department in The Ottawa Hospital, and since has evolved into Canada's only complete cardiac centre, encompassing prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, research, and education.
Catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) is an inherited genetic disorder that predisposes those affected to potentially life-threatening abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias. The arrhythmias seen in CPVT typically occur during exercise or at times of emotional stress, and classically take the form of bidirectional ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. Those affected may be asymptomatic, but they may also experience blackouts or even sudden cardiac death.
Troponin I is a cardiac and skeletal muscle protein family. It is a part of the troponin protein complex, where it binds to actin in thin myofilaments to hold the actin-tropomyosin complex in place. Troponin I prevents myosin from binding to actin in relaxed muscle. When calcium binds to the troponin C, it causes conformational changes which lead to dislocation of troponin I. Afterwards, tropomyosin leaves the binding site for myosin on actin leading to contraction of muscle. The letter I is given due to its inhibitory character. It is a useful marker in the laboratory diagnosis of heart attack. It occurs in different plasma concentration but the same circumstances as troponin T - either test can be performed for confirmation of cardiac muscle damage and laboratories usually offer one test or the other.
Atrial fibrillation is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods of abnormal beating, which become longer or continuous over time. It may also start as other forms of arrhythmia such as atrial flutter that then transform into AF.
A wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) is a non-invasive, external device for patients at risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). It allows physicians time to assess their patient's arrhythmic risk and make appropriate plans. It is a leased device. A summary of the device, its technology and indications was published in 2017 and reviewed by the EHRA Scientific Documents Committee.
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults – is called tachycardia, and a resting heart rate that is too slow – below 60 beats per minute – is called bradycardia. Some types of arrhythmias have no symptoms. Symptoms, when present, may include palpitations or feeling a pause between heartbeats. In more serious cases, there may be lightheadedness, passing out, shortness of breath or chest pain. While most cases of arrhythmia are not serious, some predispose a person to complications such as stroke or heart failure. Others may result in sudden death.
John S. Rumsfeld is an American cardiologist. He is the Chief Innovation Officer for the American College of Cardiology, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He was previously the National Director of Cardiology for the U.S. Veterans Health Administration. Rumsfeld was named as Chief Innovation Officer for American College of Cardiology in 2015.
Andrea Natale is an Italian-born American cardiologist and electrophysiologist, i.e. a heart rhythm specialist. Natale is known for his work in atrial fibrillation ablation, and he is currently the executive director at the Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Institute.
Yaariv Khaykin is a Canadian cardiologist and a clinical researcher in the area of electrophysiology. He is the director of the Newmarket Electrophysiology Research Group at the Southlake Regional Health Centre. He has published research into complex ablation and pioneered cardiac ablation methods.
The Mid America Heart Institute (MAHI) is located in Kansas City, Missouri and is one of the first and largest hospitals developed and designed specifically for cardiovascular care. It is a subsidiary of the not-for-profit Saint Luke's Hospital of Kansas City and is a part of Saint Luke's Health System. The Heart Institute is affiliated with the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and has earned the certification as a Comprehensive Cardiac Center from the Joint Commission.
George "Rick" Stouffer is an American cardiologist who is Chief of the Division of Cardiology at the University of North Carolina Medical Center, where he is a practicing interventional cardiologist. Stouffer was awarded the Ernest and Hazel Craige Distinguished Professorship of Medicine in 2018; prior to that he was the Henry A. Foscue Distinguished Professor of Medicine. Stouffer is also co-director of the McAllister Heart Institute. He is known for his research regarding inpatient ST elevation myocardial infarctions.
Reza Razavi is a professor of paediatric cardiovascular science, vice-president and vice-principal of research at the King's College London, the director of research at King's Health Partners, and the director of the King's Wellcome Trust EPSRC Centre For Medical Engineering.
Harlan M. Krumholz, MD, SM is an American cardiologist, leading research scientist, and the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, where he has been on faculty since 1992. A pioneer in the development of the field of outcomes research, his groundbreaking contributions to science have directly led to improvements in healthcare outcomes for patients and populations. He is an international expert in the science to evaluate and improve the quality and efficiency of care, reduce disparities, improve integrity in medical research, promote better health policies and regulations, and promote patient-centeredness in research and clinical care. He is the founder and director of the Yale New Haven Hospital Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation.
