Medical Glossary

Coronary Angioplasty

A procedure that opens up a coronary artery without surgery and that usually inserts a stent to keep the artery open.

Coronary Artery

A blood vessel that supplies blood to the heart muscle.

Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Grafting (CABG)

Open-heart surgery that uses arteries and veins from elsewhere in the body to go around obstructions in the coronary arteries to improve blood flow to the heart muscle. This procedure uses a heart-lung machine.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

A condition in which arteries to the heart muscle are blocked. CAD is responsible for heart attack, unstable angina, angina, and atypical symptoms of angina.

Defibrillation

A high energy electrical shock to the heart intended to normalize the heart rhythm. The machine used to deliver the shock is called the defibrillator.

Diabetes

A disease caused by elevated blood sugar. In type 1 diabetes, the cause is undersecretion of insulin; in type 2, insulin is underproduced or underutilized and the body's cells are unresponsive to it. Diabetes is a risk factor for coronary artery disease and stroke.

Diastolic Heart Failure

A type of heart failure where heart muscle function may be normal but the pressure within the heart is elevated, resulting in symptoms of shortness of breath, chest tightness, and wheezing. This type of heart failure is seen in coronary artery ischemia, hypertension, and diabetes.

Diastolic Phase

In the heart's two-phased pumping sequence, the filling phase.

Dietary Cholesterol

Cholesterol that is found in foods from animals (meat, poultry, seafood, and dairy products). Egg yolks and organ meats are especially high in dietary cholesterol. Dietary cholesterol can raise your blood cholesterol level and increase your risk of heart disease.

Digitalis

One of the first heart medications used to treat heart failure. It is still used to increase heart muscle contractility. Digoxin is one of the most commonly prescribed types of digitalis.

Diuretic

A class of medications commonly used to treat elevated blood pressure and to reduce fluid accumulation in heart failure. Also known as water pills.

Dysphagia

Impairment of the ability to swallow.