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Reference: Davies, L., & Mann, M. (2000). Heart children a practical handbook for parents of babies and children with heart conditions. 4th Ed. Parent and Family Resource Centre Inc. Auckland.
Please select an alphabetic section below to view the glossary
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Echocardiogram
A picture of the heart and blood vessels using reflected high frequency sound
waves.
Electrocardiogram
ECG A graphic record of the electrical activity of the heart.
Electrodes
Fine wires that carry electrical activity from or into the heart.
Embolus
A clot or other matter that travels through the blood stream to lodge in a
small vessel and cause an obstruction to the circulation.
Endocardium
The thin, smooth lining on the inside of the heart which is in contact with
the blood.
Extrasystole
A contraction of the heart which occurs prematurely and interrupts the normal
rhythm.
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Familial
Runs in families.
Femoral Artery
The main blood vessel supplying blood to the leg.
Fibrillation
Unco-ordinated contractions of the heart muscle occurring when the individual
muscle fibres take up independent irregular contractions. With ventricular
fibrillation the heart effectively stops (cardiac arrest).
Foramen Ovale
An oval hole in the septum of the foetal heart between the right and left
atrium, which normally closes shortly afterbirth.
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Gallop Rhythm
An extra, clearly heard heart sound which, when the heart rate is fast, resembles
a horse's gallop. It occurs in heart failure but is also heard in many normal
children.
Gene
An inherited characteristic, a part of a chromosome.
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Haematoma
A localised collection of blood outside a vessel (bruise).
Haemodynamics
Blood flow and the forces involved.
Haemoglobin
The oxygen-carrying red pigment of the red blood cells. When it has absorbed
oxygen in the lungs, it is bright red and called oxy-haemoglobin. After it
has given up its oxygen in the tissues, it is purple in colour and is called
reduced haemoglobin.
Haemorrhage
Loss of blood from a blood vessel. In external haemorrhage, blood escapes
from the body. In internal haemorrhage, blood passes into the tissues surrounding
the ruptured blood vessel.
Heart Block
A condition in which the electrical impulse, which travels through the heart
and triggers the heart beat, is slowed or blocked. This causes a disturbance
to the rhythms of the upper and lower heart chambers.
Heart Lung Machine
A machine through which the blood stream is diverted for pumping and oxygenation
during heart surgery.
Heparin
A chemical substance which tends to prevent blood from clotting. Sometimes
used in cases of an existing clot in an artery or vein to prevent enlargement
of the clot, or the formation of new clots. An anticoagulant.
Hypertension
Commonly called high blood pressure. An unstable or persistent elevation of
blood pressure above the normal range, which may eventually lead to increased
heart size, kidney damage and heart failure.
Hypertrophy
The enlargement of a tissue or organ due to increase in the size of its constituent
cells. This may result from demand for increased work. In the heart it refers
to thickening of the walls, allowing a more powerful contraction.
Hypotension
Commonly called low blood pressure. Blood pressure below the normal
range. Most commonly used to describe an acute fall in blood pressure, as
occurs in shock.
Hypoxia
Less than normal content of oxygen in the organs and tissues of the body.
At very high altitudes a healthy person suffers from hypoxia because of insufficient
oxygen in the air that is breathed.
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Immunisation
A method of increasing patient's defence against infection. Incompetent Valve.
Any valve which does not close tight and leaks blood back in the wrong direction.
Also called valvular insufficiency.
Infarct
The area of tissue which is damaged or dies as a result of receiving an insufficient
blood supply.
Infusion
Fluid or medication given slowly into a vein.
Innominate Artery
One of the large branches of the aorta. It rises from the arch of
the aorta and divides to form the right common carotid artery and the right
subclavian artery.
Intubation
Passage of a tube into the windpipe to assist with breathing.
Ischaemia
A local, usually temporary deficiency of blood in some part of the body, often
caused by a constriction or obstruction in the blood vessel supplying that
part.
Isotope
A term applied to one of two elements, chemically identical, but differing
in some other characteristic, such as radioactivity. Radioactive isotopes
are often used in medicine to trace the fate of substances in the body.
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Jaundice
Yellow colouring of skin and eyes as a result of liver dysfunction or red
cell breakdown.
Jugular Veins
Veins which return blood from the head and neck to the heart.
Keloid
A hard, lumpy scar from excess fibrous tissue.
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Last Updated: March 2003
Last Reviewed: November 2003
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