Blood Pressure & Measurement
This term represents the maximum force of blood against arterial walls when the ventricles contract, appearing as the top number on a blood pressure reading.
What is Systole (or Systolic Pressure)?
The full medical term for the diagnostic recording of electrical changes during the cardiac cycle.
What is an Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)?
Microscopic blood vessels where the actual exchange of nutrients and oxygen takes place between blood and tissues.
What are Capillaries?
The clinical term for an abnormally fast resting heart rate.
What is Tachycardia?
The acronym used to quickly recognize stroke symptoms: Balance, Eyes, Face, Arms, Speech, and Time.
What is B.E. F.A.S.T.?
The formal medical term for a blood pressure cuff and gauge.
What is a Sphygmomanometer?
The wave on an ECG tracing representing depolarization and contraction of the atria.
What is the P Wave?
The vascular process defined as the narrowing of blood vessel diameter.
What is Vasoconstriction?
The formal medical term for a heart attack caused by a blocked coronary artery.
What is a Myocardial Infarction (MI)?
An electrical device used to shock the heart to restore normal rhythm during life-threatening arrhythmias.
What is a Defibrillator?
A blood pressure reading of 120/80 mm Hg falls under this classification for an adult.
What is Normal (or Average)?
The wave complex on an ECG tracing representing ventricular depolarization.
What is the QRS Complex?
Thinner, less muscular vessels carrying blood back to the heart, equipped with valves to prevent backflow.
What are Veins?
The condition where fatty cholesterol deposits build up as plaque inside arteries, restricting blood flow.
What is Atherosclerosis (or Arteriosclerosis)?
During CPR, chest compressions should be at least 2 inches deep, in sets of 30, matching the ~100 bpm tempo of this classic song.
What is "Stayin' Alive" (by the Bee Gees)?
The blood pressure category defined by a systolic reading of 140–159 mm Hg or a diastolic reading of 90–99 mm Hg.
What is Hypertension Stage 1?
Known as the primary "pacemaker" of the heart, it initiates each cardiac conduction impulse.
What is the S-A Node (Sinoatrial Node)?
Three factors helping slow venous blood return to the heart are diaphragm contraction, skeletal muscle pumping, and these vessel structures.
What are Valves (in veins)?
A localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel.
What is an Aneurysm?
Procedure where a balloon catheter expands a blocked artery and a wire stent is placed to keep it open.
What is an Angioplasty?
Besides cardiac output, blood viscosity, and peripheral resistance, this factor (~5 liters in an average adult) directly influences blood pressure.
What is Blood Volume?
The region of the brainstem containing the cardiac center that controls heart rate for homeostasis.
What is the Medulla Oblongata?
Circular muscle rings at arteriole-capillary junctions that open and close to control local blood flow.
What are Precapillary Sphincters?
A disorder where a heart valve shifts out of place, producing a clicking sound near the end of contraction.
What is Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP)?
Abbreviated TAVR, this procedure uses a catheter (often via the femoral artery) to deploy a new valve inside a diseased aortic valve while the heart beats.
What is Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement?