Medical Terms
The glossary below defines terms you’ll find in our web site, and will frequently encounter as you learn more about heart defect and repair, circulatory disease and vascular occlusion. Always ask your doctor to help you understand medical issues and treatments. Your medical provider is your best resource for complete information about treatment options and their risks and benefits.
Angiogram - An x-ray of blood vessels or heart chambers filled with contrast media that allows your doctor to see moving pictures of your heart.
Antiplatelet and/or Anticoagulation Therapy - Medication that helps prevent blood clots.
Aorta - The largest blood vessel in the body. The aorta is connected to the heart’s left ventricle. The aorta carries oxygen-enriched blood to the body.
Apnea - Temporary absence of breathing.
Arrhythmia - Loss of regular heart rhythm.
Arteries - Blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood away from the heart and to other tissues throughout the body (except for the pulmonary artery, which carries oxygen-poor blood to the lungs.
Atrial Septal Defect (ASD) - An opening between the upper two chambers (atria) of the heart.
Atrial Septum - The wall that divides the upper two chambers (atria) of the heart.
Atrium – (plural. atria) One of the upper two chambers of the heart (right and left atrium).
Atrioventricular Valves (AV) - The valves located between the atria and ventricles. The tricuspid valve is the valve between the right atrium and ventricle, and the mitral valve is is the valve between the left atrium and ventricle
Blood vessel - The pathways through which blood travels in the body.
Brachial plexus injury - Injury to the nerves in the arm and lower neck that can result from positioning a patient on an x-ray table.
Cardiac catheterization - A procedure in which catheters are passed through the arteries and veins and into the heart. Pressures may measured, x-rays and echocardiography pictures may be taken, and blood samples may be taken from within the heart and its major blood vessels.
Carotid Arteries - Two major arteries, one on each side of the neck, that carry blood from the heart to the head.
Catheter - A sterile, flexible, hollow plastic tube designed for insertion into a vessel to permit injection or withdrawal of fluids, and/or to deliver medical devices that can pass through the tube.
Conventional Drug Therapy - A therapeutic dosage of a medication, such as an anti-platelet or anti-coagulation drug.
Cryptogenic Stroke - A stroke where the origin or cause is unknown.
Cyanosis - A bluish tint to the skin, lips, fingernails and other parts of the body, usually observed with low oxygen level in the blood.
Ductus Arteriosus - Small blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta.
Echocardiography/Echocardiogram/Echocardiographic (Echo) - The use of ultrasound to look at the heart, valves and blood vessels.
Endocarditis - Redness and swelling of the lining of the heart and its valves. Usually caused by inflammation from bacterial or viral infection.
Endocarditis Prophylaxis - Medicine taken to prevent endocarditis.
Embolus - A mass, such as an air bubble or blood clot, that travels in the bloodstream and gets stuck in a blood vessel and blocks or decreases blood flow.
Esophagus - The part of the body that connects the mouth to the stomach.
Fenestrated Fontan procedure - A surgical procedure that helps relieve symptoms in patients with various forms of congenital heart disease.
Heart Defect - Imperfection or malformation of the heart, usually existing at birth.
Heart Murmurs - Abnormal heart sounds caused by congenital defects or damaged heart valves that do not close properly.
Hematoma - A mass of blood which is a result of a break in a blood vessel.
Hypertension - High blood pressure.
Hypotension - Abnormally low blood pressure.
Imaging Probe - A flexible, tube-like medical instrument with a camera that shows a picture on a screen of what is inside the body.
Intracardiac Echocardiography (ICE) - An ultrasound test to visualize the heart, where an imaging probe with a camera is inserted in a blood vessel and positioned next to the heart.
Lungs - Pair of breathing organs located within the chest, which remove carbon dioxide and bring oxygen to the blood. There is a right and left lung.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) - A type of test used to visualize body tissue that uses a magnetic field.
Myocardial Infarction - Heart attack. Damage or death of myocardial (heart muscle) tissue caused by an interruption of blood flow to that area of the heart.
Occlusion - to occlude or block an opening.
Patent – Open. For instance, a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) is an "open" path between the left and right atrium through the foramen ovale.
Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) - A term used to describe an open arterial duct connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta.
Paradoxical Embolism – A small clot or piece of debris causing decreased or blocked blood flow in an artery.
Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) - A term used to describe a small hole or flap in the section of the atrial septum that is called the Foramen Ovale. PFO is a very common congenital heart defect.
Percutaneous - Passed through the skin.
Pulmonary Artery - The artery connected to the heart’s right ventricle that carries oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs.
Right Ventricular (RV) volume overload - Excess amounts of blood being pumped into the right ventricle. This usually causes the right ventricle to enlarge.
Shunt - The term used to describe blood passing through an opening, short circuiting its normal flow through the heart.
Stroke - The sudden loss of brain function caused by a blocked or broken blood vessel to the brain.
Thrombus - Blood clot.
Transcatheter - Through a catheter.
Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE) - An ultrasound test to visualize the heart, where an imaging probe with a camera is placed in the esophagus near the heart.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) - A temporary lack of oxygen to the brain.
Vascular Occlusion – Blocking blood flow through a vein or artery.
Valvular Regurgitation - An abnormal backward flow of blood through a valve.
Ventricles (right and left) - The two lower chambers of the heart.
Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) - A hole between the two lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). There are two types of VSDs, muscular and membranous.