HEART, NECK VESSELS, AND PERIPHERAL VASCULAR SYSTEM DEFINITIONS Kim and StephanieNSG 173

Aneurysm  localized, blood-filled dilation of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall

Angina  spasmodic, choking, or suffocating pain

Apical  Relating to the apex of a pyramidal or pointed structure

Arrhythmia  An irregularity in the force or rhythm of the heartbeat

Arteriosclerosis  Any of a group of chronic diseases in which thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls result in impaired blood circulation. Also called arterial sclerosis

Bradycardia  A slowness of the heartbeat, usually under 60 beats per minute in adults

Bruits  an abnormal sound or murmur heard in auscultation

Diastole  the rhythmic period of relaxation and dilation of a chamber of the heart during which it fills with blood

Edema  an abnormal accumulation of fluid in intercellular spaces of the body

Embolism  the sudden blocking of an artery by a clot or foreign material which has been brought to its site of lodgment by the blood current.

Fibrillation  a small, local, involuntary, muscular contraction, due to spontaneous activation of single muscle cells or muscle fibers whose nerve supply has been damaged or cut off.

Myocardial infarction  Necrosis of a region of the myocardium caused by an interruption in the supply of blood to the heart, usually as a result of occlusion of a coronary artery. Also called cardiac infarction.

Orthostatic hypotension  A form of low blood pressure precipitated by moving from a lying or sitting position to standing up straight

Palpitation  a subjective sensation of an unduly rapid or irregular heartbeat

Pericardial  pertaining to the pericardium that surrounds the heart.

Phlebitis  Inflammation of a vein

Precordium  the region of the anterior surface of the body covering the heart and lower thorax

Stroke volume  The volume of blood pumped out of one ventricle of the heart in a single beat

Systole  the contraction, or period of contraction, of the heart, especially of the ventricles, during which blood is forced into the aorta and pulmonary artery

Tachycardia  abnormally rapid heart rate

Thrombophlebitis  Inflammation of a vein caused by or associated with the formation of a blood clot.