Ablation – intentional destruction of a small amount of cardiac tissue to permanently isolate,interrupt or destroy an abnormal rhythm.
Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) – additional interventions required to support life, for example intubation or reperfusion therapies.
Angina (pectoris) – discomfort or pain that is typically severe and crushing with a feeling of pressure and suffocation due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. Usually located in the chest just behind the breastbone (the sternum) but can be elsewhere e.g.down the left arm.
Angiography – radiography of the blood vessels after introduction of a contrast medium (dye).
Anti-coagulation – thinning of the blood with drugs, usually warfarin, to prevent thrombosis (clots).
Aortic aneurysm/ rupture - bulging weak spots in the body's main artery, which could rupture and cause death.
Arrhythmia – an abnormality of the heart’s rhythm. The heart may beat too fast, too slow or in an irregular way.
Arteriosclerosis – a group of diseases characterised by thickening and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls.
Atrial fibrillation – abnormal irregular heart rhythm arising from the atria of the heart.
Automated external defibrillator (AED) – small portable piece of equipment that can deliver an electric shock to a person in order to convert a cardiac arrhythmia (ventricular fibrillation) into a natural rhythm.
Basic life support (BLS) – emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation, control of bleeding,treatment of shock or poisoning, stabilisation of injuries and wounds, and basic first aid.
Brugada syndrome – an inherited condition due to an abnormality in the sodium channels in the membranes of the heart muscle cells which can lead to life threatening ventricular arrhythmias.
Cardiac arrest – a medical emergency with absent or inadequate contraction of the heart usually due to ventricular fibrillation that causes circulatory failure, loss of consciousness and brain death within about 10 minutes if normal heart rhythm is not restored.
Cardiac auscultation – examination of the sounds of the heart through a stethoscope.
Cardiac pathologist – a qualified medical doctor (pathologist) specially trained to identify disease in organs and tissue, in particular in the examination of the heart.
Cardiac rehabilitation – a programme for people with heart disease, designed to improve function and reduce future cardiac risks.
Cardiologist – a qualified doctor who specialises in the prevention and treatment of disease of the heart and cardiovascular system.
Cardiomyopathy (hypertrophic or dilated) – a disease of the heart muscle, which may cause thickening, thinning and weakness, or replacement of muscle with fibrous tissue or fat. Patients with cardiomyopathies are at increased risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) – the emergency substitution of heart and lung action to restore life to someone who appears dead. The two main components of CPR are chest compression to make the heart pump and mouth-to-mouth ventilation to breath for the victim.
Chain of survival – a process of four linked steps to be enacted to ensure an effective response to cardiac emergency.
Channelopathy – a disease involving dysfunction of an ion channel, due to an abnormal chemical reaction in the molecular pores in the heart’s muscle cells.
Cholesterol – the most common type of steroid in the body, cholesterol is carried in the bloodstream as lipoproteins. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is the "bad" cholesterol because elevated LDL levels are associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Conversely, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is the "good" cholesterol since high HDL levels are associated with less coronary disease.
Collapse – sudden loss of posture with or without loss of consciousness.
Commotio cordis – sudden cardiac arrest from a blunt, non-penetrating blow to the chest.
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) – a surgical procedure which involves bypassing diseased (narrowed) coronary arteries with veins obtained from the patient’s legs.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) – can also be referred to as coronary artery disease (CAD) or ischaemic heart disease. The coronary arteries arise from the aorta adjacent to the heart and supply the heart muscle with blood that is rich in oxygen. CHD refers to narrowing or blockages in the vessels, usually due to atherosclerosis.
Congenital heart disease – malformation of the heart or the large blood vessels near the heart caused by deformed development of the heart in the womb. It means “born with” or “present at birth”.
Defibrillation – the use of a carefully controlled electric shock, administered either through a device on the exterior of the chest wall or directly to the exposed heart muscle, to restart or normalise heart rhythm.
Echocardiography (Echo) – use of ultrasound to provide moving images of the heart muscle and valves, to measure function and identify damaged tissues.
Ejection fraction (EF) – a test used to determine how well a heart pumps with each beat. The fraction of blood volume in the left ventricle that is pumped out with each heartbeat. Greater than 0.55 (55%) is normal.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) – a non-invasive test that is used to reflect underlying heart conditions by measuring the electrical activity of the heart. By positioning leads (electrical sensing devices) on the body in standardised locations, information about many heart conditions can be obtained by looking for characteristic patterns on the ECG.
First degree relatives – a person’s mother, father, sister or brother (parents and siblings).
First responder – a person trained as a minimum in basic life support and the use of an AED,who attends a potentially life threatening emergency. This response may be by the statutory ambulance service or complementary to it. If complementary, first responders can be linked with the statutory emergency services or they can be independent and stand alone.
Gene mutation – alteration in a person’s DNA causing disease.
Genetic testing – testing a population to identify individuals at risk for a genetic disease or for transmitting it.
Holter monitor – a test which measures the heart rhythm (ECG) over a 24 hour period while the patient records their symptoms and activities in a diary.
Hypertension – defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg (a systolic pressure above 140 with a diastolic pressure above 90 millimeters of mercury).
Hypotension – blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individual in a given environment. Hypotension is a relative term because the blood pressure normally varies greatly with activity, age, medications, and underlying medical conditions.
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) – a self-contained device implanted under the skin or muscle of the upper chest wall and connected via electric leads which pass through the veins to be fixed to the muscle of the atrium and / or ventricles of the heart. The defibrillator corrects the heart rhythm by delivering precisely calibrated and timed electrical shocks, when needed, to restore a normal heartbeat.
Ion – positively or negatively charged electron particle which forms part of an atom.
Ischaemic heart disease – see coronary heart disease.
Long QT syndrome – an inherited defect in the heart rhythm that predisposes to syncope without warning (sudden fainting spells), dizziness, palpitations,seizures and sudden death.The name of the syndrome comes from the QT segment in the tracing on the ECG.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI scan) – a special imaging technique used to image internal structures of the body, particularly soft tissues such as the heart.
Marfan syndrome – a genetically determined condition of the connective tissue that can result in life threatening dilatation of the aorta and potentially sudden death if the aorta ruptures.
Morbidity – the incidence or prevalence of a disease or of all diseases in a population.
Mortality rate – the number of deaths as a proportion of the total population, frequently expressed as a rate per 100,000.
Myocardial infarction – death of some of the heart muscle (myocardial tissue) usually caused by arteriosclerosis with narrowing of the coronary arteries, the culminating event being a thrombosis (clot).
Myocarditis – inflammation of the muscular walls of the heart.
Palpitations – sensations of irregular and / or forceful beating of the heart. In some patients with palpitations, no heart disease or abnormal heart rhythms can be found and reasons for their palpitations are unknown. In others, palpitations result from abnormal heart rhythms (see arrhythmias).
Pacemaker – a system that sends electrical impulses to the heart in order to set the heart rhythm. The pacemaker can be the normal “natural” pacemaker of the heart or it can be an electronic device.
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or intervention (PCI) – Dilatation of an occluded coronary artery (or arteries) by means of a balloon catheter to restore blood supply to the heart. A small device called a stent may be placed in the artery to keep it open after the catheter is withdrawn.
Post-mortem or autopsy – the examination of the body of a person who has died. The procedure is performed to verify the cause of death and / or examine the effects of treatment.
Public access defibrillation (PAD) – the open availability of automated external defibrillators to be used by members of the public.
Pulmonary embolism – the obstruction of the pulmonary artery or a branch of it leading to the lungs by a blood clot, usually from veins in the leg, or foreign material causing sudden closure of the vessel.
Pulmonary oedema – increased fluid within the lung that usually results from the ineffective pumping function of the heart.
Reperfusion therapies – interventions developed within the last two decades which have the potential to re-open obstructed coronary arteries; they include drug therapies (thrombolysis) and balloon catheters (percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]).
Revascularisation – an invasive procedure to increase blood circulation such as angioplasty and stenting (see percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty) or a surgical procedure called coronary artery bypass graft. (see CABG).
Risk assessment – the qualitative or quantitative estimation of the likelihood of adverse effects that may result from exposure to specified health hazards or from the absence of beneficial influences.
Screening – see risk assessment.
Statin – medications that lower cholesterol levels.
Sudden Adult/Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) – a term used when sudden death occurs in an adult and no definite cause of death can be found, even after theheart has been examined by an expert cardiac pathologist.
Sudden cardiac death – death due to natural causes within an hour of the onset of symptoms, in the absence of any other cause and assumed to have a cardiac cause.
Syncope – transient, partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of oneself and one’s surroundings. When the loss of consciousness is temporary and there is spontaneous recovery, it is referred to as syncope or fainting.
Tachycardia (tachyarrhythmia) – a fast heart beat over 100 beats per minute.
Uniformed responders – personnel who respond to an emergency either on or off duty e.g. fire service personnel, gardaí, EMTs, voluntary and auxiliary organisations, security staff etc.
Valvular heart disease – a general term that applies to any abnormality of one of the heart valves.
Ventricular fibrillation (VF) – a disorganised heart rhythm that results in chaotic contraction of the lower chamber of the heart (ventricle) that fails to effectively eject blood from the heart.
Ventricular tachycardia (VT) – an abnormal heart rhythm arising from the muscle of the ventricles, rather than arising through the normal mechanism in the atrium. It is an unstable rhythm that may result in fainting, low blood pressure, shock or sudden death.
Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) – a heart condition with an additional abnormal electrical connection between the heart’s chambers which may cause the heart to race. Young person/young athlete – for the purpose of this report, a person aged 14 years or older and under the age of 40.
The Medical Specialist
Balppa House
57-61 Newington Causeway
London
SE1 6BD
t. 0207 403 5294
f. 0207 378 9849
info@cardiacscreen.co.uk
