healthy heart

Glossary:

Here is a quick view glossary explaining all heart health terms within this site.

Angina:

A 'tight' or 'heavy' pain caused by an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle; often triggered by exercise, stress or cold weather. Pain is typically felt across the chest, but may occur in the jaw, shoulder or arm. Unlike a heart attack, it doesn't damage the heart muscle and pain settles quickly.

Angioplasty or coronary angioplasty:

A treatment to improve the blood supply through an artery. A catheter (a fine, hollow tube) with a small inflatable balloon at its tip is inserted into an artery in the groin and passed through to the narrowed coronary artery. The balloon is then gently inflated so that it squashes the cholesterol deposits causing the narrowing, and widens the artery.

Arrhythmia:

Any abnormal rhythm of the heart beat.

Artery:

A blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart.

Atherosclerosis:

The process in which cholesterol deposits (plaques) cause narrowing and hardening of arteries.

Blood pressure:

The pressure of the blood in the arteries expressed as the highest (systolic) over the lowest (diastolic) in millimetres of mercury (mmHg).

Body mass index (BMI):

Your body weight in kilograms divided by the square of your height in metres. A BMI between 20-25 is considered normal.

Cardiac arrest:

A complete halt in the pumping action of the heart or when it quivers or 'fibrillates' instead, causing the person to collapse.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD):

A disease of the heart or circulation; such as coronary heart disease or stroke.

Cholesterol:

A white waxy substance mainly made in the body by the liver. Too much cholesterol can increase the risk of getting coronary heart disease.

Coronary arteries:

The arteries supplying blood to the heart.

Coronary artery bypass surgery:

An operation to bypass a narrowed section or sections or coronary arteries and improve the blood supply to the heart.

Coronary heart disease (CHD):

Heart disease resulting from atherosclerosis in the coronary arteries: it may cause angina, a heart attack, or sudden death.

Coronary thrombosis:

Formation of a blood clot in a coronary artery - a heart attack.

Defibrillator:

A device that delivers a controlled electric shock through the chest wall to the heart, in order to restore a normal heartbeat.

Diabetes:

The medical condition in which blood glucose levels rise as a result of inadequate production (or response to) insulin.

Diastole:

The period in which the heart muscle relaxes between beats.

Diastolic blood pressure:

When measuring blood pressure, the diastolic blood pressure is the lowest pressure, which happens in between heartbeats. It is the second and lower number recorded.

Essential hypertension:

High blood pressure for which no specific cause is found.

Familial Hypercholesterolaemia:

An inherited condition causing very high blood cholesterol levels. Drug treatment, in addition to lifestyle management, is essential to prevent early death from heart disease.

HDL-cholesterol:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Cholesterol in this form is being transported away from the artery walls. It is often called 'the good cholesterol' because higher levels of HDL-cholesterol are linked with lower risk of heart disease.

Heart Attack:

Blockage of a coronary artery resulting in death of an area of heart muscle.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT):

Replacement of the female hormone oestrogen (with or without progesterone) after output from the ovaries has declined or stopped.

LDL-cholesterol:

Cholesterol in this form is sometimes called 'bad cholesterol' because it can be deposited in plaques, and higher levels are linked with higher death rates from heart disease.

Menopause:

A woman's last menstrual period.

mmol/L:

A measure of concentration - the number of millimoles (mmols) of a substance in one litre (L) of a fluid. A millimole is the molecular weight (or atomic weight) in milligrams (mg). In the UK, cholesterol levels are expressed as millimoles of cholesterol in one litre of serum. In the USA, they measure mg/dL - milligrams per decilitre (one-tenth of a litre). To convert a cholesterol measurement in mmol/L to mg/dL you multiply by 39. A cholesterol level of 5.2 mmol/L is just over 200mg/dL.

Monounsaturated fatty acids:

Fatty acids in which only one area of the molecule is not saturated with hydrogen. Replacing saturates with monounsaturates helps to lower LDL-cholesterol without reducing HDL-cholesterol.

Myocardial infarction:

A heart attack.

Myocardium:

The heart muscle.

Omega-3 fatty acids:

A type of fatty acid found in large quantities in oily fish such as herring, kippers, mackerel, pilchards, sardines, salmon, fresh tuna, trout and anchovies. Eating foods containing omega-3 fatty acids can help prevent blood clotting and help reduce triglyceride levels.

Plaques:

Deposit, consisting of fatty substances such as cholesterol, hardened with fibrous matter and calcium, in an artery affected by atherosclerosis.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids:

A type of fat found in foods from plants and fish, such as sunflower oil, fish oil and some margarines and spreads. Eating polyunsaturated fats rather than saturated fats helps to reduce the blood cholesterol level.

Saturated fatty acids:

A type of fat found mainly in food from animal sources (particularly dairy and meat products).

Simvastatin:

A type of statin (drug) used to reduce cholesterol levels.

Stanols and sterols:

Can be added to foods to reduce absorption of cholesterol from the gut.

Stroke:

Damage to part of the brain resulting from a breakdown in the blood supply (which can be caused by a thrombus, an embolus or a bleed). The consequences reflect the area of brain damaged and may include defects of speech, vision, sensation and movement.

Systolic blood pressure:

When measuring blood pressure, systolic blood pressure is the highest pressure, which occurs when the beat or contraction of your heart forces the blood around the circulation. It is the first and highest number recorded.

Thrombosis:

The formation of a blood clot within the circulation. Thrombosis in an artery can result in a heart attack or stroke.

Thrombus:

A blood clot.

Trans fatty acids:

Trans fatty acids have the same unwanted effects as saturated fatty acids. Hard margarines and hydrogenated vegetable oils are likely to contain high levels of trans fatty acids.

Triglycerides:

Triglycerides are the chemical name for the fats found in our food and stored in our body. They are used as an energy source. The blood triglyceride concentration is measured as part of a fasting lipid test. If you have a high level of triglycerides and a low level of high-density cholesterol (good cholesterol) you have a greater risk of developing heart disease. Very high levels raise the risk of pancreatitis.

Unstable angina:

Angina that has just developed for the first time, or which has recently got worse, or which happens while you are resting. You need to tell your doctor immediately and it may mean you have to be admitted to hospital.

Ventricular fibrillation:

A life-threatening disturbance in the heart rhythm which causes the heart to quiver or 'fibrillate' in a chaotic way.