A

Angina. Angina occurs when blood flow is partly blocked and the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen. Discomfort characterized by pressure, tightness, or pain in your chest, arm, neck, back, or jaw. For women, this discomfort may occur in the upper abdomen rather than in the center of the chest. If you feel you have any of these signs for more than 10 minutes, call your health care provider or 911 right away.

Angioplasty. Transluminal Balloon Angioplasty is a procedure in which a catheter with a balloon attached is inserted into a blocked artery. Once in place at the narrowed part of the artery, the balloon is inflated one or more times, then deflated and withdrawn. A stent may be placed to hold the artery open. The goal of this procedure is to widen the artery, thus improving the blood flow to the heart.

Aneurysym. Meaning ?widening?, this refers to a weakening of the walls of an artery or blood vessel which cause it to widen. If untreated, an artery or major vessel can rupture with serious and dire consequences. Surgeons repair aneurysms in several different ways or can actually remove it by grafting a patient?s vein from another area or by using synthetic materials.

Atherectomy. Similar to an angioplasty to clear a blocked artery, a catheter with a special grinding device is inserted into the artery. Once the catheter reaches the narrowed part of the artery, a burr near its tip grinds the plaque into small pieces which are carried away by the bloodstream. Sometimes an angioplasty and atherectomy are done as combined procedures.

Arrhythmia. Any irregularity in a heart?s normal beating rhythm.

Aortic Valve. One of four valves of the heart. This is the final valve through which oxygenated blood passes into the blood vessels leading throughout your body.

B

Biopsy. Biopsies types include incisional and needle. Both involve going into a mass or growth identified either by palpitation (touch) or x-ray, and removing tissue samples of the growth or mass. The incisional biopsy involves obtaining a tissue sample through an opening created by an incision or cut using a scapel. A needle biopsy is where the physician inserts a needle into the mass to obtain samples of tissue.

Bronchoscopy. A physician is able to view the airway using a device call a bronchoscope, which may be either rigid or fiberoptic in design. The bronchoscope is passed through the nasal or oral cavity and down past the larynx. The physician can then view, and possibly sample, structure below the larynx, including lung tissue.

C

CABG (Coronary Artery By-pass Graft). Pronounced "cabbage", this is the coronary artery bypass surgery performed to restore healthy blood flow back to your heart muscle. New blood vessels are used to restore blood flow to the heart by creating new routes around your diseased arteries. The blood vessels used are typically the internal mammary arteries from the chest wall and the saphenous veins from the legs. Since you have other arteries that supply the chest wall and legs with blood, this procedure should not affect blood flow to or from those areas.

Cardioverter Defibrillator. A device typically implanted in a pocket under the skin that sends electrical signals through electrodes (leads) to the heart. These electronic signals promote proper contractions (beating) of the heart.

Chest Tube. A tube inserted into the chest cavity to allow drainage of excess fluids and reduce excess pressure within the chest cavity.

Congenital Heart Disease. Any heart disease or defect that is a result of a person?s genetics or growth process, unrelated to an infection or environmental insult (e.g., smoking, obesity, etc.).

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). A progressive disease involving the vessels providing blood to your heart muscle which results in narrowing or blocking of these vessels. Angina is one common symptom of CAD. If untreated, these vessels can become completely blocked, causing the heart muscle to die due to lack of blood flow. This is referred to as a heart attack.