Angina, also known as angina pectoris, is chest pain or pressure, usually due to insufficient blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardium).
Electrocardiography is the process of producing an electrocardiogram. It is a graph of voltage versus time of the electrical activity of the heart using electrodes placed on the skin. These electrodes detect the small electrical changes that are a consequence of cardiac muscle depolarization followed by repolarization during each cardiac cycle (heartbeat). Changes in the normal ECG pattern occur in numerous cardiac abnormalities, including cardiac rhythm disturbances, inadequate coronary artery blood flow, and electrolyte disturbances.
Aortic stenosis is the narrowing of the exit of the left ventricle of the heart, such that problems result. It may occur at the aortic valve as well as above and below this level. It typically gets worse over time. Symptoms often come on gradually with a decreased ability to exercise often occurring first. If heart failure, loss of consciousness, or heart related chest pain occur due to AS the outcomes are worse. Loss of consciousness typically occurs with standing or exercising. Signs of heart failure include shortness of breath especially when lying down, at night, or with exercise, and swelling of the legs. Thickening of the valve without narrowing is known as aortic sclerosis.
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graftsurgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery, is a surgical procedure to restore normal blood flow to an obstructed coronary artery. A normal coronary artery transports blood to the heart muscle itself, not through the main circulatory system.
The coronary arteries are the arterial blood vessels of coronary circulation, which transport oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. The heart requires a continuous supply of oxygen to function and survive, much like any other tissue or organ of the body.
Ventricular tachycardia is a fast heart rate arising from the lower chambers of the heart. Although a few seconds may not result in problems, longer periods are dangerous; and multiple episodes over a short period of time is referred to as an Electrical Storm. Short periods may occur without symptoms, or present with lightheadedness, palpitations, or chest pain. Ventricular tachycardia may result in ventricular fibrillation and turn into cardiac arrest. It is found initially in about 7% of people in cardiac arrest.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is thickening of the heart muscle of the left ventricle of the heart, that is, left-sided ventricular hypertrophy.
In electrocardiography, the T wave represents the repolarization of the ventricles. The interval from the beginning of the QRS complex to the apex of the T wave is referred to as the absolute refractory period. The last half of the T wave is referred to as the relative refractory period or vulnerable period. The T wave contains more information than the QT interval. The T wave can be described by its symmetry, skewness, slope of ascending and descending limbs, amplitude and subintervals like the Tpeak–Tend interval.
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a syndrome due to decreased blood flow in the coronary arteries such that part of the heart muscle is unable to function properly or dies. The most common symptom is centrally located chest pain, often radiating to the left shoulder or angle of the jaw, crushing, central and associated with nausea and sweating. Many people with acute coronary syndromes present with symptoms other than chest pain, particularly women, older patients, and patients with diabetes mellitus.
Variant angina, and less commonly Prinzmetal angina,vasospastic angina, angina inversa, coronary vessel spasm, or coronary artery vasospasm, is a syndrome typically consisting of angina in contrast to stable angina which is generally triggered by exertion or intense exercise, commonly occurs in individuals at rest or even asleep and is caused by vasospasm, a narrowing of the coronary arteries due to contraction of the heart's smooth muscle tissue in the vessel walls. In comparison, stable angina is due to the permanent occlusion of these vessels by atherosclerosis.
Unstable angina (UA), also called crescendo angina, is a type of angina pectoris that is irregular. It is also classified as a type of acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo syndrome (TTS), also known as stress cardiomyopathy, is a type of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy in which there is a sudden temporary weakening of the muscular portion of the heart. It usually appears after a significant stressor, either physical or emotional; when caused by the latter, the condition is sometimes called broken heart syndrome. Examples of physical stressors that can cause TTS are sepsis, shock, and pheochromocytoma, and emotional stressors include bereavement, divorce, or the loss of a job. Reviews suggest that of patients diagnosed with the condition, about 70-80% recently experienced a major stressor including 41–50% with a physical stressor and 26–30% with an emotional stressor. TTS can also appear in patients who have not experienced major stressors.
The 'U' wave is a wave on an electrocardiogram (ECG). It comes after the T wave of ventricular repolarization and may not always be observed as a result of its small size. 'U' waves are thought to represent repolarization of the Purkinje fibers. However, the exact source of the U wave remains unclear. The most common theories for the origin are:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to cardiology, the branch of medicine dealing with disorders of the human heart. 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 cardiology are called cardiologists.
ST elevation refers to a finding on an electrocardiogram wherein the trace in the ST segment is abnormally high above the baseline.
ST depression refers to a finding on an electrocardiogram, wherein the trace in the ST segment is abnormally low below the baseline.
Electrocardiography in suspected myocardial infarction has the main purpose of detecting ischemia or acute coronary injury in emergency department populations coming for symptoms of myocardial infarction (MI). Also, it can distinguish clinically different types of myocardial infarction.
A diagnosis of myocardial infarction is created by integrating the history of the presenting illness and physical examination with electrocardiogram findings and cardiac markers. A coronary angiogram allows visualization of narrowings or obstructions on the heart vessels, and therapeutic measures can follow immediately. At autopsy, a pathologist can diagnose a myocardial infarction based on anatomopathological findings.
Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a type of cardiomyopathy caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart. Typically, patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy have a history of acute myocardial infarction, however, it may occur in patients with coronary artery disease, but without a past history of acute myocardial infarction. This cardiomyopathy is one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death. The adjective ischemic means characteristic of, or accompanied by, ischemia — local anemia due to mechanical obstruction of the blood supply.
Wellens is a surname. It may refer to:
