Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List
Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «H»:
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Heart rehab
Heart rehab: See: Cardiac rehabilitation....
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Heart rhythm disorders
Heart rhythm disorders: Abnormal rhythm of the heartbeat due to
irregularities in transmission of the electrical signals that normally control
heart rate and rhythm. Also known as arrhythmias. With an arrhythmia, the
heartbeats may be irregular or too slow (bradycardia), too rapid (tachycardia), ...
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Heart septum
Heart septum: The septum of the heart is the dividing wall between the right and left sides of the heart.
That portion of the septum that separates the two upper chambers (the right and left atria) of the heart is termed the atrial (or interatrial) septum while the portion of the septum that lies be...
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Heart test, EPS
Heart test, EPS: ElectroPhysiologic Study of the heart, a test of the electrical conduction system of the heart (the system that generates the heart beat).
EPS is done by threading thin plastic tubes (catheters) into a vein where the leg connects to the abdomen. A local anesthetic is given as well...
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Heart transplant
Heart transplant: A surgical procedure in which a diseased heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased person.
The world's first heart transplant was done on December 3, 1967 by South African surgeon Christiaan Bernard (1922-2001). The recipient was Louis Washkansky, a grocer. The ...
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Heart valves
Heart valves: There are four
heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the
heart first passes through the tricuspid valve and then the
pulmonary valve. After returning from the lungs, the blood
passes through the mitral (bicuspid) valve and exits via
the aortic valve. ...
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Heart ventricle
Heart ventricle: One of the two lower chambers of the heart.
The right ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the lungs via the pulmonary artery while the left ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it into the syste...
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Heart, artificial
Heart, artificial: A manmade
heart. An artificial heart was temporarily implanted in
1969 by Denton Cooley in Houston, Texas. Complete
replacement of the heart by an artificial heart was done in
1982 by William DeVries at Salt Lake City, Utah. Barney
Clark was the patient. ...
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Heart, left
Heart, left: The heart is
composed functionally of two hearts - the right heart and the
left heart. The left heart consists of the left atrium
which receives oxygenated blood from the lung and the left
ventricle which pumps it out to the body under high
pressure....
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Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National
Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute, National (NHLBI): One of the National Institutes of
Health in the U.S., the NHLBI's mission is to "provide
leadership for a national research program in diseases of
the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood and in
transfusion medicine through support of inn...
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Heart, right
Heart, right: The heart is
composed functionally of two hearts - the right heart and the
left heart. The right heart consists of the right atrium
which receives deoxygenated blood from the body and the
right ventricle which pumps it to the lungs. The right
heart is a low pressure system....
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Heart-hand syndrome
Heart-hand syndrome: See: Holt-Oram syndrome....
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Heart-lung machine
Heart-lung machine: A machine
that does the work both of the heart (pump blood) and the
lungs (oxygenate the blood). Used, for example, in open
heart surgery. Blood returning to the heart is diverted
through the machine before returning it to the arterial
circulation. John H. Gibson invented t...
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Heartburn
Heartburn: An uncomfortable
feeling of burning and warmth occurring in waves rising up behind the breastbone
(sternum) toward the neck. It is usually due to gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the rise of stomach acid back up into the esophagus. Heartburn has nothing whatsoever to do with the ...
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Heartworm
Heartworm: Dirofilaria immitis. A common parasite of dogs in many parts of the world that occurs in other animals, including cats, but rarely infects humans. The adult worms, which are up to 10 inches (25 cm) in length, typically live in the dog's pulmonary artery and right side of the heart. Infl...
