Diagnostic tests & procedures
A radiograph test that uses a contrast agent (dye) and a camera to take pictures of the blood flow in arteries or veins.
Angiogram
The transfer of blood, or blood components such as red blood cells, from a donor to a recipient
blood transfusion
Medication used to prevent or alleviate angina (spasmodic chest pain).
antianginal
Blood pressure
BP
Disorder involving a deficiency of red blood cells or hemoglobin
anemia
Process of listening to the internal sounds of the body using a stethoscope
auscultation
The replacement of diseased bone-marrow cells in a patient with healthy bone-marrow cells from a donor
bone marrow transplant
An agent used to alleviate or prevent cardiac arrhythmia.
antiarrhythmic
bloodwork
BW
Disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce enough new red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets.
aplastic anemia
The pressure exerted by the blood on the wall of an artery or vein.
blood pressure (BP)
Procedure in which controlled electrical shocks are sent through the heart to restore normal cardiac rhythm in a patient with arrhythmia.
cardioversion
An agent used to prevent the formation of blood clots. Also known as a blood thinner.
anticoagulant
cardiovascular
CV
Disorder marked by excessive destruction of RBCs.
hemolytic anemia
Passage of a tiny plastic tube into the heart through a blood vessel, usually through the femoral artery in the leg; used to diagnose heart diseases or abnormalities
cardiac catheterization
Procedure used to stop atrial or ventricular fibrillation (an irregular and usually rapid heartbeat) by means of drugs or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) surgically placed in the chest or abdomen
defibrillation
Medication used to counteract high blood pressure.
antihypertensive
do not resuscitate
DNR
Genetic disease in which the body manufactures red blood cells that are shaped like a sickle, or crescent, rather than the normal disk shape
sickle-cell anemia
A record of the electrical activity of the heart
electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
The grafting of a living heart to a patient, from a donor who was clinically brain-dead but on life support.
heart transplant
Medications that help dissolve blood clots.
thrombolytic
heart rate
HR
Localized, balloon-like dilation of a blood vessel, usually an artery
aneurysm