Medical Terminology
ABG's: Arterial Blood Gases. Blood drawn from an artery used to measure the amount of oxygenated blood.
Ablation: electric current or radio-frequency energy can be used via a catheter to destroy the extra pathways in the heart which are causing tachycardia (fast heart rate).
ACE Inhibitors: drugs used to dilate blood vessels and make it easier for the heart to pump blood.
Analgesic: medication given to stop pain
Angiogram: an x-ray of the hearts blood vessels assisted by a x-ray dye (contrast) injected through a catheter
Anticoagulant: a medication given to help prevent blood clots from forming
Aorta: the main artery coming off the heart which carries blood from the heart to the body
Aortic Stenosis: a narrowing of the aorta which restricts oxygenated blood from pumping out of the left ventricle into the body
Aortic valve: the valve between the left ventricle and the aorta
Arrhythmia: out of rhythm - the heart is beating too fast, too slow, or irregularly
Artery: a blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood (red blood) from the heart out to the body
Atresia: blocked or missing
Atria: plural for atrium. The left atrium pumps oxygenated blood into the left ventricle. The right atrium pumps deoxygenated blood into the right ventricle.
Atrium: an upper chamber of the heart where blood collects before passing to the ventricle
Balloon Dilation: using a tube (catheter) to reach the narrow (stenosed) part of the heart and making it bigger by inflating a balloon on the end of the catheter
Balloon Septostomy: a tube (catheter) is put into the heart and a balloon inflated on the end of it to make a hole, or increase the size of a hole, the the wall (septum) of the heart
Banding: making the pulmonary artery narrower with a band to reduce blood flow to the lungs
Beta Blockers: help block high levels of adrenaline in the blood stream to help improve strength of heart muscle
Bicuspid: (of a valve) having two cusps, or leaflets
Biopsy: removal of a small piece of tissue for examination
Blue Blood: blood which is returning from the body to the heart and so pumped to the lungs, where it will pick up oxygen and become red blood
Bradycardia: slow heart rate
Bronchiolitis: infection of the small breathing tubes in the lungs
BT Shunt: Blalock-Taussig Shunt. A hollow tube that connects the aorta to the pulmonary artery
Bypass: using a machine to bypass the heart and lungs during surgery
Candida: a fungal infection
Captopril (Capoten): a drug used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure. It decreases certain chemicals that tighten the blood vessels, so blood flows more smoothly and the heart can pump blood more efficiently.
Cardiac: relating to the heart
Cardiac Catheter: a tube which is put into the heart via a vein. It is used to help diagnosis, by measuring pressures very accurately, or can treat a problem such as widening an artery, or closing a hole.
Cardiologist: doctor who specializes in the heart
Cardiomyopathy: a disease of the heart muscle
Chest Tube: hollow, flexible drainage tubes used to drain away fluid, blood or air and allow full expansion of the lungs
CT Scan or CAT Scan: Computed Axial Tomography A scan which uses computers to generate a three-dimensional image.
Congenital: describes a condition which is present at birth
CPAP: Constant Positive Airway Pressure. A deliverance of air into the lungs keeping small airways open, used especially before completely off ventilation.
Cyanosis: a blue color of the skin due to not enough oxygen in the blood stream
Digoxin: a medicine given to increase the strength, or slow down the rate, of the contraction of the heart
Dilated Cardiomyopathy: a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and weak, sometimes because of a virus
Diuretics: medications that help the kidneys pass more water, so reducing excess fluid in the organs, especially the lungs
Duocal: a food supplement to help children gain weight faster
ECG or EKG: short for electrocardiogram - for measuring the electrical activity of the heart
Echo: short for echocardiogram - an image of the heart created by using high frequency sound waves
ECMO: (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) a by-pass machine which can be used to support the heart so that it can rest after surgery or during a viral illness, for example
Edema: swelling from build-up of extra fluid
EEG: a print-out of the electrical activity in the brain
Enalapril (Vasotec): a drug given to lower blood pressure and to prevent and treat heart failure
Endocarditis: an infection of the lining of the heart
Esophagus: the digestion tube that begins in the back of the oral cavity and extends down to the stomach
Gastric Tube (g-tube): a soft flexible tube that is placed through the skin into the stomach
Glenn Shunt: The superior vena cava, bringing blood back to the right side of the heart, is connected to the pulmonary artery where it takes blood directly to the lungs and bypasses the right ventricle.
Heart Murmur: a murmur is a sound made by blood moving around the heart, sometimes but not always this could be caused by a heart defect
Heart Block: the hearts electrical impulses are delayed or do not pass from the upper chambers to the lower chambers
Heparin: a drug given directly into a vein which thins the blood when there is a danger of clotting (an anticoagulant)
Homograft: putting in human tissue - such as a valve or an artery
Hypertension: high blood pressure
Hypertrophy: the heart muscle is thickened
Hypoplasia or Hypoplasty: failure of an organ or body part to grow and develop fully
ICD: (Implatable Cardiac Defibrillator) An electronic device installed inside the chest to provide an electrical "shock(s)" to the heart to stop an abnormal fast heart rhythm and return the heart to a normal rhythm.
Immunosupression: to reduce the body's ability to protect itself against infection and foreign substances
INR Test: a blood test to measure how fast the blood clots, used to adjust the amount of anticoagulant prescribed
Intubation: the placement of a tube through the nose or mouth into the trachea to facilitate mechanical ventilation
IV Antibiotics: (Intra-Venous) antibiotics given directly into the blood
IV Drugs: drugs given directly into the blood stream
Kidney Dialysis: used to take impurities from the blood when the kidneys are not working properly
MAPCA's: (Multi Aortopulmonary Arteries) A number of additional arteries that come off the aorta and supply the lungs with blood
Mechanical Ventilator: a machine used to supply a controlled flow of oxygen and air into the lungs
Meningitis: an infection of the lining of the brain
NG Tube: (Nasal-Gastric Tube) a hollow, flexible tube inserted into the nose down through the esophagus into the stomach used for feeding or medication administration
Oxygen: sometimes used as a medication to help increase the amount of oxygen in the blood stream and to reduce the heart's workload
Pacemaker: a small battery-powered implantable device placed under the skin and joined to the heart by pacing wires, which electrically stimulates the heart to contract and pump blood throughout the body
Pacing box or External pacer: a medical advice designed to regulate the electrical activity of the heart. It either stimulates or regulates the hearts electrical activity when the rate is not fast enough.
PCTU: Pediatric Cardiothoracic Unit
PDA: (Patent Ductus Arteriosus) a blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta and allows red (oxygenated) blood to return from the aorta back to the lungs
PICU: Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
Pericarditis: inflammation of the pericardium, which is the sac-like covering of the heart
Pericardial effusion: an accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac, the outer covering of the heart, which can be drawn off using a needle, or drained using diuretics
PLE: (Protein-Losing Enteropathy) a loss of protein molecules from the blood serum into the intestinal tract which can lead to a significantly depleted concentration of serum protein in the blood stream. A low concentration of serum protein can lead to the inability to maintain fluid within the vascular space causing diarrhea, swelling of the abdomen and legs.
Pneumonia: infection of the lung
Prophylactic: describes a medicine or procedure intended to prevent illness
Prostaglandin: a drug used to keep the ductus arteriosus from closing
Pulmonary: to do with the lungs
Pulmonary Artery: the blood vessel that takes blood from the heart to the lungs
Pulmonary Hypertension: high blood pressure in the arteries that supply the lungs
Pulmonary Stenosis: a narrowing of the pulmonic valve
Ross Procedure: replacing the child's aortic valve with his or her own pulmonary valve
RSV: (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) a virus that causes bronchiolitis
Red Blood: blood which has picked up oxygen from the lungs and travels through the left side of the heart to be pumped around the body
Sats: short for saturation levels (levels of oxygen in the blood)
Septum: the wall between the left and right chambers of the heart
Shunt: a natural or artificially created passageway that redirects the circulation of blood or cerebral spinal fluid
Situs Inversus: a mirror image arrangement of the organs, so that the heart and stomach are on the right and the liver and spleen on the left
Stenosis: narrowing
Stent: a short, metal mesh tube. Using balloon dilation this is expanded into a narrow artery to hold it open.
Sternum: the breast bone
Supraventricular Tachycardia: (SVT) a very fast heart beat
Tachycardia: fast heart beat
TCPC: (Total Cavo Pulmonary Connection) a surgical procedure that connects blood returning from the body directly to the pulmonary arteries, bypassing the right side of the heart
TPN: (Total Parenteral Nutrition) IV feeding that provides a patient with all the fluid and essential nutrients when they are unable to feed by mouth
Trachea: windpipe
Tracheotomy: a hole cut into the windpipe to help breathing
Tricuspid Valve: the valve between the right atrium and right ventricle which has three cusps
Tube Fed: the baby's feed is given through a tube in the nose directly into the stomach - this is so that breathless babies can get enough food
Vein: a blood vessel that carries un-oxygenated blood (blue blood) from the body back to the heart
Ventricles: pumping chambers of the heart - the left ventricle pumps blood out to the body and the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs
WBC: (White Blood Cells) the cells in the body that help fight infection
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