Cardiology Abbreviations
229 abbreviations · part of Medical Abbreviations
Abbreviations for heart and blood vessel conditions, heart rhythms, cardiac tests, procedures, devices and risk scores, as written in cardiology notes, ECG and echocardiogram reports, cath lab records and discharge summaries. Many short forms carry more than one cardiac meaning (PDA is both a congenital defect and a coronary artery, SVT can be a rhythm or a leg-vein clot), so the section of the note or the test being reported decides the reading. Patient-facing documents and medication orders should spell terms out, and hospital "do not use" lists discourage ambiguous abbreviations such as MS.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AAA | Abdominal aortic aneurysm | Bulging of the abdominal aorta to 3 cm or more in diameter, usually below the kidney arteries. |
| ABI | Ankle-brachial index | Ratio of systolic blood pressure at the ankle to that in the arm, measured with a cuff and a Doppler probe. |
| ABPM | Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring | Blood pressure readings taken automatically every 15 to 30 minutes over 24 hours by a cuff and portable recorder while the patient goes about normal activities and… |
| ACC | American College of Cardiology | Professional society of cardiologists and cardiovascular care teams, founded in 1949 and based in Washington, D.C. |
| ACHD | Adult congenital heart disease | Subspecialty and patient population concerning adults born with heart defects, whether repaired, palliated or never diagnosed. |
| ACS | Acute coronary syndrome | Umbrella term for sudden reductions in coronary blood flow: unstable angina, NSTEMI and STEMI. |
| ADHF | Acute decompensated heart failure | Sudden or gradually worsening heart failure symptoms severe enough to need urgent care, usually from fluid overload. |
| AED | Automated external defibrillator | Portable device that analyzes heart rhythm through adhesive pads and, if it detects ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, prompts the rescuer… |
| AF | Atrial fibrillation | Chaotic electrical activity in the upper chambers that makes the heartbeat irregularly irregular, the most common sustained arrhythmia in adults. |
| AFib | Atrial fibrillation | Irregular, often rapid heartbeat arising in the atria, with symptoms ranging from none at all to palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness and fatigue. |
| AFL | Atrial flutter | Rapid, organized reentrant rhythm in the right atrium, typically circling the tricuspid valve at about 300 beats per minute while the AV node lets through every second… |
| AHA | American Heart Association | US nonprofit founded in 1924 that funds cardiovascular and stroke research, writes clinical guidelines with the American College of Cardiology, and sets the CPR and… |
| AI | Aortic insufficiency | Incompetence of the aortic valve leaflets that allows blood to flow back into the left ventricle with each diastole, the same lesion described as aortic regurgitation. |
| AICD | Automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator | Older name for the implantable defibrillator, still common on problem lists, nursing notes and patient wallet cards. |
| AMI | Acute myocardial infarction | Heart attack in its acute phase, the first days after onset when arrhythmias, heart failure and mechanical complications are most likely. |
| AR | Aortic regurgitation | Leakage of blood from the aorta back into the left ventricle during diastole, caused by valve disease (bicuspid valve, endocarditis, rheumatic disease) or a dilated… |
| ARVC | Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy | Inherited disease, usually from desmosome gene variants, in which right ventricular muscle is replaced by fat and scar, causing ventricular arrhythmias and sudden… |
| AS | Aortic stenosis | Narrowing of the aortic valve that obstructs outflow from the left ventricle, most often from age-related calcification or a congenitally bicuspid valve. |
| ASCVD | Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease | Collective term for conditions caused by atherosclerotic plaque: coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke and TIA, and peripheral artery disease. |
| ASD | Atrial septal defect | Hole in the wall between the left and right atria that lets blood shunt from left to right, enlarging the right heart over time. |
| AV | Atrioventricular | Describes the junction between the atria and ventricles, especially the AV node, the electrical relay that delays impulses so the atria can empty before the ventricles… |
| AVB | Atrioventricular block | Delay or interruption of electrical conduction from the atria to the ventricles. |
| AVNRT | Atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia | The most common form of paroxysmal SVT, caused by a reentry circuit using fast and slow pathways within or near the AV node. |
| AVR | Aortic valve replacement | Replacement of a diseased aortic valve with a prosthesis, either by open surgery (SAVR) or by catheter (TAVR). |
| AVRT | Atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia | Reentrant tachycardia that uses an accessory pathway connecting atria and ventricles, as in Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. |
| BAV | Bicuspid aortic valve | Congenital aortic valve with two leaflets instead of three, the most common congenital heart abnormality, present in about 1 to 2 percent of people. |
| BBB | Bundle branch block | Delay or block in one of the two main branches of the conduction system below the AV node, producing a QRS duration of 120 ms or more. |
| BiV | Biventricular | Describes pacing of both the right and left ventricles, the core of cardiac resynchronization therapy, as well as biventricular assist devices and biventricular heart… |
| BMS | Bare-metal stent | Coronary or peripheral stent made of uncoated metal mesh, the original stent type before drug-eluting designs. |
| BNP | B-type natriuretic peptide | Hormone released by stretched ventricular muscle in response to pressure and volume overload, measured by blood test to diagnose and monitor heart failure. |
| CABG | Coronary artery bypass grafting | Open-heart operation that reroutes blood around blocked coronary arteries using blood vessels taken from elsewhere in the body. |
| CAC | Coronary artery calcium | Amount of calcified plaque in the coronary arteries measured by a low-dose, noncontrast CT scan and reported as an Agatston score. |
| CAD | Coronary artery disease | Narrowing of the heart's own arteries by atherosclerotic plaque, the most common form of heart disease and a leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. |
| CAS | Carotid artery stenting | Catheter-based alternative to carotid endarterectomy in which a stent is placed in the narrowed carotid artery, usually with an embolic protection device to catch debris. |
| CCS | Canadian Cardiovascular Society | Professional society whose angina grading scale classifies chest pain severity from class I (angina only with strenuous or prolonged exertion) to class IV (angina with… |
| CCTA | Coronary computed tomography angiography | CT scan with intravenous contrast, timed to the heartbeat, that shows the coronary arteries and plaque noninvasively. |
| CCU | Coronary care unit | Intensive care unit for critically ill cardiac patients, such as those with acute myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, dangerous arrhythmias, mechanical… |
| CEA | Carotid endarterectomy | Surgery that opens the carotid artery in the neck and removes plaque to prevent stroke. |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age 75 or older, Diabetes, Stroke or TIA, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74, Sex category | Stroke-risk score for atrial fibrillation that assigns points for heart failure, hypertension, age, diabetes, prior stroke or TIA (2 points), vascular disease and… |
| CHB | Complete heart block | Third-degree AV block in which no atrial impulses reach the ventricles, so atria and ventricles beat independently (AV dissociation). |
| CHD | Congenital heart disease | Structural heart defects present at birth, such as septal defects, tetralogy of Fallot or transposition of the great arteries. |
| CHF | Congestive heart failure | Chronic condition in which the heart cannot pump or fill well enough to meet the body's needs, so fluid backs up into the lungs and legs. |
| CI | Cardiac index | Cardiac output divided by body surface area, allowing comparison between people of different sizes; normal is about 2.5 to 4.0 liters per minute per square meter. |
| CIED | Cardiac implantable electronic device | Collective term for pacemakers, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization devices and implantable loop recorders. |
| CLI | Critical limb ischemia | Most severe stage of peripheral artery disease, with pain at rest, ulcers that will not heal or gangrene, lasting more than two weeks. |
| CMR | Cardiac magnetic resonance | MRI of the heart that gives precise measurements of chamber volumes and ejection fraction and characterizes tissue using late gadolinium enhancement and mapping… |
| CO | Cardiac output | Volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute, the product of heart rate and stroke volume, normally about 4 to 8 liters per minute at rest in adults. |
| CoA | Coarctation of the aorta | Narrowing of the aorta, usually just beyond the left subclavian artery near the ductus arteriosus. |
| CP | Chest pain | Presenting complaint in emergency and cardiology notes, covering causes from heart attack and aortic dissection to reflux, muscle strain and anxiety. |
| CPB | Cardiopulmonary bypass | Technique in which a heart-lung machine temporarily takes over pumping and oxygenating the blood during heart surgery, allowing the surgeon to stop the heart and… |
| CRT | Cardiac resynchronization therapy | Pacing treatment for heart failure in which leads in the right ventricle and, via the coronary sinus, on the left ventricle make both ventricles contract together. |
| CRT-D | Cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator | Combined device that provides biventricular pacing for heart failure plus the shock function of an implantable defibrillator. |
| CTO | Chronic total occlusion | Coronary artery completely blocked for three months or longer, usually filled from behind by collateral vessels. |
| CVD | Cardiovascular disease | Broad category covering diseases of the heart and blood vessels, including coronary disease, stroke, heart failure, hypertensive disease and peripheral artery disease. |
| CVI | Chronic venous insufficiency | Failure of leg vein valves that lets blood pool in the lower legs, leading to swelling, aching, varicose veins, skin discoloration and eventually ulcers near the ankle. |
| CVP | Central venous pressure | Pressure in the superior vena cava near the right atrium, measured through a central venous catheter and reflecting right-sided filling pressure. |
| D2B | Door-to-balloon time | Interval from a STEMI patient's arrival at the hospital to the first balloon inflation or device in the blocked artery, a key quality measure for heart attack care. |
| DAPT | Dual antiplatelet therapy | Combination of aspirin with a P2Y12 inhibitor such as clopidogrel, ticagrelor or prasugrel, used after acute coronary syndromes and coronary stenting to prevent stent… |
| DBP | Diastolic blood pressure | Lowest pressure in the arteries while the heart relaxes between beats, the bottom number of a blood pressure reading. |
| DCCV | Direct current cardioversion | Delivery of a synchronized electrical shock through pads on the chest to convert atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or other tachycardias back to normal rhythm… |
| DCM | Dilated cardiomyopathy | Heart muscle disease in which the left ventricle, or both ventricles, enlarge and pump weakly without enough coronary or valve disease to explain it. |
| DES | Drug-eluting stent | Metal mesh tube coated with a drug that slowly releases into the artery wall to prevent scar tissue regrowth (restenosis) after coronary angioplasty. |
| DSE | Dobutamine stress echocardiogram | Stress test for people who cannot exercise, in which dobutamine is infused in increasing doses to raise heart rate and contractility while ultrasound images look for… |
| DVT | Deep vein thrombosis | Blood clot in a deep vein, most often in the leg or pelvis, that can break off and travel to the lungs as a pulmonary embolism. |
| ECG | Electrocardiogram | Recording of the heart's electrical activity from electrodes on the skin, the most widely performed cardiac test. |
| echo | Echocardiogram | Ultrasound examination of the heart that shows chamber size, wall motion, valve function, pumping strength (ejection fraction) and fluid around the heart, without… |
| ECMO | Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation | Life support that pumps blood out of the body through an artificial lung, which adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide, then returns it. |
| EF | Ejection fraction | Percentage of blood in the left ventricle pumped out with each heartbeat, the most widely used measure of heart pumping function. |
| EKG | Electrocardiogram | Painless test that records the heart's electrical activity through skin electrodes, written EKG on most US order sets, pre-surgery checklists and job titles such as EKG… |
| EP | Electrophysiology | Cardiology subspecialty dealing with heart rhythm disorders, including diagnostic studies, catheter ablation, pacemakers and defibrillators. |
| EPS | Electrophysiology study | Invasive procedure in which catheters are threaded through leg veins to record electrical signals inside the heart and deliberately trigger arrhythmias to map their… |
| ESC | European Society of Cardiology | Nonprofit federation of national cardiac societies founded in 1950 and headquartered at Sophia Antipolis near Nice, France. |
| ETT | Exercise treadmill test | Stress test in which the patient walks on a treadmill with increasing speed and incline while heart rhythm, blood pressure and symptoms are monitored for ECG signs of… |
| EVAR | Endovascular aneurysm repair | Repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm by inserting a fabric-covered stent graft through the femoral arteries, sealing off the aneurysm from blood flow. |
| FFR | Fractional flow reserve | Pressure-wire measurement during cardiac catheterization comparing the pressure beyond a narrowing with the pressure in the aorta during maximal blood flow induced by… |
| FH | Familial hypercholesterolemia | Inherited disorder, most often from LDL receptor gene variants, that causes very high LDL cholesterol from birth and premature heart disease. |
| GDMT | Guideline-directed medical therapy | Medications and doses recommended by current practice guidelines for a condition, most often used in heart failure to describe the full set of proven drugs titrated to… |
| GRACE | Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events | International registry whose risk score estimates in-hospital and six-month mortality after acute coronary syndrome from age, heart rate, blood pressure, creatinine… |
| GXT | Graded exercise test | Exercise stress test in which workload increases in stages, on a treadmill or bicycle, while ECG, blood pressure and symptoms are recorded. |
| HAS-BLED | Hypertension, Abnormal kidney or liver function, Stroke, Bleeding, Labile INR, Elderly, Drugs or alcohol | Score estimating the risk of major bleeding in patients with atrial fibrillation on anticoagulants, with one point for each factor and a maximum of 9. |
| HBP | High blood pressure | Plain-language term for hypertension used in public-health campaigns, patient handouts and surveys. |
| HCM | Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy | Inherited heart muscle disease, usually from sarcomere gene variants, in which the left ventricle thickens without another cause such as hypertension. |
| HF | Heart failure | Clinical syndrome of breathlessness, fatigue and fluid retention caused by a structural or functional heart abnormality and confirmed by elevated natriuretic peptides… |
| HFimpEF | Heart failure with improved ejection fraction | Category for patients whose ejection fraction was once 40 percent or lower and has since risen by at least 10 points to above 40 percent, often after medical therapy… |
| HFmrEF | Heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction | Heart failure with an ejection fraction of 41 to 49 percent, a middle category between HFrEF and HFpEF. |
| HFpEF | Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction | Heart failure symptoms with an ejection fraction of 50 percent or more, caused by a stiff ventricle that fills poorly rather than weak pumping. |
| HFrEF | Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction | Heart failure with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40 percent or less, often called systolic heart failure. |
| HHD | Hypertensive heart disease | Structural and functional heart changes caused by long-standing high blood pressure, including left ventricular hypertrophy, diastolic dysfunction, left atrial… |
| HLD | Hyperlipidemia | Elevated levels of lipids in the blood, especially LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, a major modifiable risk factor for atherosclerosis. |
| HLHS | Hypoplastic left heart syndrome | Severe congenital defect in which the left ventricle, mitral valve, aortic valve and ascending aorta are underdeveloped, leaving the right ventricle to support the… |
| HOCM | Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy | Form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which the thickened septum and forward motion of the mitral valve block blood leaving the left ventricle. |
| HRS | Heart Rhythm Society | International professional organization for electrophysiologists and allied professionals specializing in heart rhythm disorders, founded in 1979 as the North American… |
| hs-cTn | High-sensitivity cardiac troponin | Generation of troponin assays able to measure very low concentrations, detectable in most healthy people, allowing heart attack to be ruled in or out within one to… |
| HTN | Hypertension | Persistently high blood pressure in the arteries, defined by the ACC/AHA as 130/80 mmHg or higher and by many international guidelines as 140/90 or higher. |
| IABP | Intra-aortic balloon pump | Mechanical support device in which a balloon in the descending aorta inflates during diastole to boost coronary blood flow and deflates just before systole to reduce… |
| ICD | Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator | Implanted device that continuously monitors heart rhythm and treats dangerous ventricular arrhythmias with rapid pacing or an internal shock. |
| ICM | Ischemic cardiomyopathy | Weakened, often enlarged left ventricle caused by coronary artery disease, typically after one or more heart attacks or long-standing ischemia. |
| IE | Infective endocarditis | Infection of the heart's inner lining, usually the valves, by bacteria or fungi that form vegetations. |
| iFR | Instantaneous wave-free ratio | Resting pressure-wire index measured during a window of diastole when coronary resistance is naturally lowest, avoiding the need for adenosine. |
| IHD | Ischemic heart disease | Heart disease caused by an inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to the myocardium, usually from coronary atherosclerosis. |
| ILR | Implantable loop recorder | Small heart rhythm monitor inserted under the skin of the chest through a tiny incision, recording continuously for up to about three years. |
| ISR | In-stent restenosis | Gradual renarrowing inside a previously placed stent, caused mainly by scar tissue growth (neointimal hyperplasia) and sometimes by new atherosclerosis. |
| IVC | Inferior vena cava | Largest vein in the body, returning blood from the legs, pelvis and abdomen to the right atrium. |
| IVCD | Intraventricular conduction delay | ECG finding of a QRS duration above about 110 ms that does not meet criteria for right or left bundle branch block. |
| IVUS | Intravascular ultrasound | Imaging catheter with a miniature ultrasound probe advanced into a coronary artery to show the vessel wall, plaque, lumen size and stent expansion from the inside. |
| JVD | Jugular venous distension | Visible bulging of the internal or external jugular veins in the neck, a bedside sign of raised right-sided filling pressure. |
| JVP | Jugular venous pressure | Estimate of central venous pressure made by measuring the vertical height of the internal jugular pulsation above the sternal angle and adding about 5 cm for the… |
| LA | Left atrium | Upper chamber on the left side of the heart that receives oxygenated blood from the four pulmonary veins and passes it through the mitral valve to the left ventricle. |
| LAA | Left atrial appendage | Small, ear-shaped pouch off the left atrium where blood stagnates during atrial fibrillation; it is the source of about 90 percent of clots in nonvalvular AF. |
| LAAO | Left atrial appendage occlusion | Procedure that seals off the left atrial appendage with an implanted plug, typically delivered by catheter through the groin and across the atrial septum, to reduce… |
| LAD | Left anterior descending artery | Coronary artery running down the front of the heart in the groove between the ventricles, supplying the anterior wall, much of the septum and the apex. |
| LAE | Left atrial enlargement | Dilation of the left atrium, commonly from mitral valve disease, hypertension, diastolic dysfunction or atrial fibrillation. |
| LAFB | Left anterior fascicular block | Block of the anterior fascicle of the left bundle branch, producing marked left axis deviation (usually beyond -45 degrees) with small q waves in I and aVL and a normal… |
| LBBB | Left bundle branch block | Conduction block in the left bundle branch, so the left ventricle is activated slowly from right to left. |
| LCx | Left circumflex artery | Branch of the left main coronary artery that wraps around the left side of the heart in the groove between the left atrium and ventricle, supplying the lateral and… |
| LHC | Left heart catheterization | Invasive procedure in which a catheter is passed from the radial or femoral artery to the left side of the heart and coronary arteries, injecting contrast to show… |
| LIMA | Left internal mammary artery | Artery running along the inside of the chest wall beside the breastbone, the preferred conduit for coronary bypass surgery and usually connected to the LAD. |
| LM | Left main coronary artery | Short trunk arising from the left side of the aorta that divides into the left anterior descending and circumflex arteries, supplying most of the left ventricle. |
| Lp(a) | Lipoprotein(a) | Genetically determined LDL-like particle carrying an extra protein, apolipoprotein(a), that promotes atherosclerosis, inflammation and clotting. |
| LQTS | Long QT syndrome | Disorder of ventricular repolarization that prolongs the QT interval and predisposes to torsades de pointes, fainting and sudden death. |
| LV | Left ventricle | Thick-walled lower chamber on the left side of the heart that pumps oxygenated blood into the aorta and to the entire body. |
| LVAD | Left ventricular assist device | Implanted mechanical pump that draws blood from the left ventricle and propels it into the aorta, supporting circulation in advanced heart failure. |
| LVEDP | Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure | Pressure in the left ventricle at the end of filling, just before contraction, measured during left heart catheterization. |
| LVEF | Left ventricular ejection fraction | Fraction of blood ejected from the left ventricle with each contraction, the formal term used in guidelines, trial eligibility and device criteria. |
| LVH | Left ventricular hypertrophy | Thickening of the left ventricular wall, most often from long-standing high blood pressure or aortic stenosis, and also seen in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and trained… |
| LVOT | Left ventricular outflow tract | Passage through which blood leaves the left ventricle toward the aortic valve, bordered by the septum and the anterior mitral leaflet. |
| MACE | Major adverse cardiovascular events | Composite end point in cardiology trials that typically combines cardiovascular death, nonfatal heart attack and nonfatal stroke, sometimes adding hospitalization or… |
| MAP | Mean arterial pressure | Average pressure in the arteries over one cardiac cycle, estimated as diastolic pressure plus one-third of the pulse pressure. |
| MAT | Multifocal atrial tachycardia | Irregular rhythm faster than 100 beats per minute with at least three different P-wave shapes, reflecting several competing atrial sites. |
| METs | Metabolic equivalents | Unit expressing exercise intensity as a multiple of resting energy use, where 1 MET equals about 3.5 mL of oxygen per kilogram per minute. |
| MI | Myocardial infarction | Death of heart muscle caused by prolonged loss of blood flow, usually when a ruptured coronary plaque triggers a clot. |
| MINOCA | Myocardial infarction with nonobstructive coronary arteries | Heart attack confirmed by troponin and clinical findings in which angiography shows no artery narrowed by 50 percent or more. |
| MPI | Myocardial perfusion imaging | Nuclear stress test that injects a radioactive tracer at rest and during stress, then images the heart to show regions with reduced blood flow. |
| MR | Mitral regurgitation | Backward leakage of blood through the mitral valve into the left atrium during each heartbeat, graded mild, moderate or severe by echocardiography. |
| MRG | Murmurs, rubs or gallops | Cardiac exam shorthand covering the three main abnormal heart sounds: murmurs from turbulent flow, pericardial friction rubs and gallop rhythms (S3 or S4). "No MRG"… |
| MS | Mitral stenosis | Narrowing of the mitral valve opening that obstructs flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle, raising left atrial pressure. |
| MUGA | Multigated acquisition scan | Nuclear scan that labels the patient's red blood cells with technetium-99m and records the heart's blood pool across many cardiac cycles to calculate ejection fraction. |
| MV | Mitral valve | Two-leaflet valve between the left atrium and left ventricle that opens during diastole and closes during systole. |
| MVP | Mitral valve prolapse | Billowing of one or both mitral valve leaflets back into the left atrium during systole, affecting about 2 to 3 percent of people. |
| MVR | Mitral valve replacement | Replacement of the mitral valve with a mechanical or tissue prosthesis when repair is not possible, most often for rheumatic disease, heavily calcified valves or failed… |
| NICM | Nonischemic cardiomyopathy | Ventricular dysfunction not explained by coronary artery disease, a catch-all covering dilated, genetic, viral, toxic, infiltrative, peripartum and tachycardia-induced… |
| NSR | Normal sinus rhythm | Standard heart rhythm generated by the sinoatrial node at 60 to 100 beats per minute in adults, with an upright P wave before every QRS complex in lead II and a… |
| NSTEMI | Non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction | Heart attack confirmed by elevated troponin but without persistent ST elevation on the ECG, typically reflecting a partially blocked or intermittently occluded artery. |
| NSVT | Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia | Run of three or more ventricular beats at over 100 beats per minute that ends on its own within 30 seconds without causing collapse. |
| NT-proBNP | N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide | Inactive fragment released alongside BNP when the ventricles are stretched, measured in blood to diagnose, exclude and monitor heart failure. |
| NYHA | New York Heart Association | Organization best known for its functional classification of heart failure, which grades symptoms from class I (no limitation of physical activity) to class IV… |
| OH | Orthostatic hypotension | Drop in blood pressure of at least 20 mmHg systolic or 10 mmHg diastolic within three minutes of standing, causing lightheadedness, blurred vision or fainting. |
| OM | Obtuse marginal artery | Branch of the left circumflex artery that runs along the lateral wall of the left ventricle, near the heart's obtuse margin. |
| OPCAB | Off-pump coronary artery bypass | Bypass surgery performed on the beating heart without the heart-lung machine, using stabilizers to hold the target artery still while grafts are sewn. |
| PAC | Premature atrial contraction | Early heartbeat triggered from a spot in the atria rather than the sinus node, appearing on the ECG as an early, abnormally shaped P wave. |
| PAD | Peripheral artery disease | Atherosclerotic narrowing of arteries outside the heart and brain, mostly in the legs, reducing blood flow to muscles. |
| PAF | Paroxysmal atrial fibrillation | Atrial fibrillation that starts and stops on its own or with treatment, with episodes lasting less than seven days and often only minutes to hours. |
| PCI | Percutaneous coronary intervention | Catheter-based procedure that opens narrowed or blocked coronary arteries, usually by inflating a balloon and placing a stent, accessed through the wrist or groin. |
| PCWP | Pulmonary capillary wedge pressure | Pressure measured when a balloon-tipped catheter in a pulmonary artery branch is inflated and "wedged," giving an indirect estimate of left atrial pressure. |
| PDA | Patent ductus arteriosus | Persistence after birth of the fetal vessel linking the pulmonary artery and aorta, which normally closes within the first days of life. |
| PEA | Pulseless electrical activity | Cardiac arrest rhythm in which the monitor shows organized electrical activity but no palpable pulse because the heart is not pumping effectively. |
| PFO | Patent foramen ovale | Small, flap-like opening between the atria that persists after birth in about 25 percent of adults, left over from the fetal circulation. |
| PMI | Point of maximal impulse | Spot on the chest wall where the heartbeat is felt most strongly, normally in the fifth intercostal space at the midclavicular line and no larger than a coin. |
| POBA | Plain old balloon angioplasty | Informal cath lab term for balloon angioplasty without a stent, used when stenting is impossible or undesirable, such as in small side branches, some cases of in-stent… |
| POTS | Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome | Chronic disorder in which heart rate rises by 30 beats per minute or more (40 in adolescents) within ten minutes of standing, without a significant drop in blood… |
| PPM | Permanent pacemaker | Implanted battery-powered device that senses the heart's own rhythm and delivers electrical impulses through leads when the rate is too slow. |
| PS | Pulmonic stenosis | Narrowing at or near the pulmonary valve that obstructs flow from the right ventricle to the lungs, nearly always congenital. |
| PSVT | Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia | Episodes of regular, rapid heartbeat that start and stop abruptly, arising from a reentrant circuit involving the AV node or an accessory pathway. |
| PTA | Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty | Balloon dilation of a narrowed artery or vein through a catheter inserted via a needle puncture, used in leg arteries, kidney arteries, dialysis access and other… |
| PTCA | Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty | Balloon angioplasty of a coronary artery, in which a balloon-tipped catheter is inflated at the narrowing to compress plaque and widen the lumen. |
| PTS | Post-thrombotic syndrome | Long-term complication of deep vein thrombosis in which damaged valves and persistent obstruction cause chronic leg pain, heaviness, swelling, skin changes and… |
| PVC | Premature ventricular contraction | Extra heartbeat that starts early in a ventricle, interrupting the normal rhythm and usually followed by a pause. |
| PVD | Peripheral vascular disease | Broad term for disease of blood vessels outside the heart and brain, covering arterial narrowing, venous insufficiency and lymphatic disorders. |
| PVI | Pulmonary vein isolation | Catheter ablation that electrically disconnects the pulmonary veins from the left atrium, removing the most common triggers of atrial fibrillation. |
| PVR | Pulmonary vascular resistance | Resistance to blood flow through the lungs, calculated during right heart catheterization as the difference between mean pulmonary artery pressure and wedge pressure… |
| QRS | QRS complex | Main spike on the ECG representing depolarization of the ventricles, normally lasting 80 to 110 ms. |
| QTc | Corrected QT interval | QT interval on the ECG adjusted for heart rate, since the raw QT shortens as the heart speeds up. |
| RA | Right atrium | Upper chamber on the right side of the heart that receives deoxygenated blood from the superior and inferior venae cavae and the coronary sinus. |
| RAD | Right axis deviation | ECG finding in which the QRS axis lies between +90 and 180 degrees, shown by a negative QRS in lead I and a positive QRS in aVF. |
| RBBB | Right bundle branch block | Conduction delay in the right bundle branch, so the right ventricle is activated late through muscle. |
| RCA | Right coronary artery | Coronary artery arising from the right side of the aorta that runs in the groove between the right atrium and ventricle, supplying the right ventricle and, in most… |
| RCM | Restrictive cardiomyopathy | Least common of the major cardiomyopathies, in which stiff ventricular walls fill poorly while systolic function is often near normal. |
| RFA | Radiofrequency ablation | Use of heat from high-frequency alternating current, delivered through a catheter tip, to destroy small areas of tissue that cause an arrhythmia. |
| RHC | Right heart catheterization | Procedure in which a catheter is passed through a vein into the right atrium, right ventricle and pulmonary artery to measure pressures, cardiac output and oxygen… |
| RHD | Rheumatic heart disease | Permanent damage to heart valves, especially the mitral valve, following one or repeated episodes of acute rheumatic fever triggered by untreated group A streptococcal… |
| RRR | Regular rate and rhythm | Cardiac exam phrase meaning the heart rate is within the normal range and the beats are evenly spaced, written as part of a normal cardiovascular examination. |
| RV | Right ventricle | Lower chamber on the right side of the heart that pumps deoxygenated blood through the pulmonary valve into the lungs. |
| RVH | Right ventricular hypertrophy | Thickening of the right ventricular wall from pressure overload, as in pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary stenosis, chronic lung disease or congenital defects such as… |
| RVR | Rapid ventricular response | Fast ventricular rate, usually over 100 to 110 beats per minute, occurring with atrial fibrillation or flutter because too many atrial impulses pass through the AV… |
| RVSP | Right ventricular systolic pressure | Echocardiographic estimate of the pressure in the right ventricle during contraction, calculated from the tricuspid regurgitation jet velocity plus estimated right… |
| RWMA | Regional wall motion abnormality | Segment of heart muscle that moves less than normal (hypokinesis), not at all (akinesis) or outward (dyskinesis) on echocardiography or other imaging. |
| S-ICD | Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator | Defibrillator placed entirely under the skin along the left side of the chest, with a lead running beside the breastbone instead of through the veins into the heart. |
| S1 | First heart sound | The "lub" of the heartbeat, produced by closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves at the start of ventricular systole and best heard at the apex. |
| S2 | Second heart sound | The "dub" of the heartbeat, produced by closure of the aortic and pulmonary valves at the end of systole and best heard at the base of the heart. |
| S3 | Third heart sound | Low-pitched extra sound in early diastole, just after S2, caused by rapid filling of a stiff or overloaded ventricle; the rhythm sounds like "Ken-TUCK-y." In adults… |
| S4 | Fourth heart sound | Low-pitched sound in late diastole, just before S1, created when the atrium contracts against a stiff ventricle; the cadence sounds like "TEN-nes-see." It suggests left… |
| SA | Sinoatrial | Describes the sinoatrial node, the heart's natural pacemaker, a cluster of specialized cells in the upper right atrium near the entrance of the superior vena cava. |
| SAVR | Surgical aortic valve replacement | Open-heart operation in which the diseased aortic valve is cut out and replaced with a mechanical or biological (tissue) prosthesis, using the heart-lung machine. |
| SBE | Subacute bacterial endocarditis | Older term for endocarditis that develops over weeks to months, classically from viridans streptococci infecting a previously damaged valve. |
| SBP | Systolic blood pressure | Peak pressure in the arteries when the heart contracts, the top number of a blood pressure reading. |
| SCA | Sudden cardiac arrest | Abrupt loss of heart function, breathing and consciousness, usually caused by ventricular fibrillation. |
| SCAD | Spontaneous coronary artery dissection | Tear in the wall of a coronary artery that creates a blood-filled false channel compressing the true lumen, causing a heart attack without typical atherosclerosis. |
| SCD | Sudden cardiac death | Unexpected natural death from a cardiac cause, usually within an hour of symptom onset or during sleep, most often from ventricular fibrillation. |
| SEM | Systolic ejection murmur | Crescendo-decrescendo murmur that begins after the first heart sound and ends before the second, produced by blood flowing across the aortic or pulmonary valve or… |
| SSS | Sick sinus syndrome | Dysfunction of the heart's natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, causing inappropriately slow rates, pauses, or alternating slow and fast rhythms known as tachy-brady… |
| ST | ST segment | Portion of the ECG between the end of the QRS complex (the J point) and the start of the T wave, when the ventricles are fully depolarized. |
| STEMI | ST-elevation myocardial infarction | Heart attack in which a coronary artery is fully blocked, producing ST-segment elevation in two or more contiguous ECG leads. |
| SVG | Saphenous vein graft | Segment of the great saphenous vein, harvested from the leg, that is sewn from the aorta to a coronary artery beyond a blockage during bypass surgery. |
| SVR | Systemic vascular resistance | Resistance the left ventricle must overcome to pump blood through the body, calculated from mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure and cardiac output. |
| SVT | Supraventricular tachycardia | Rapid heart rhythm originating above the ventricles, in practice usually meaning a sudden-onset, regular, narrow-complex reentrant tachycardia such as AVNRT or AVRT. |
| TAA | Thoracic aortic aneurysm | Dilation of the aorta within the chest, involving the aortic root, ascending aorta, arch or descending aorta. |
| TAPSE | Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion | Echocardiographic measure of right ventricular function: how far the tricuspid valve ring moves toward the apex during systole, recorded with M-mode. |
| TAVI | Transcatheter aortic valve implantation | European and international name for the catheter-based aortic valve procedure known in the US as TAVR. |
| TAVR | Transcatheter aortic valve replacement | Minimally invasive replacement of a narrowed aortic valve, in which a collapsible tissue valve is delivered by catheter, usually through the femoral artery, and… |
| TCP | Transcutaneous pacing | Temporary emergency pacing through large adhesive pads on the chest and back, used for symptomatic bradycardia or heart block until a transvenous or permanent pacemaker… |
| TdP | Torsades de pointes (twisting of the points) | Polymorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with a prolonged QT interval, in which the QRS complexes appear to twist around the baseline. |
| TEE | Transesophageal echocardiogram | Echocardiogram performed with a probe passed through the mouth into the esophagus, directly behind the heart, giving much clearer images of the valves, left atrium and… |
| TEER | Transcatheter edge-to-edge repair | Catheter-based procedure that clips together the mitral or tricuspid valve leaflets to reduce regurgitation, delivered through a vein in the groin and across the atrial… |
| TEVAR | Thoracic endovascular aortic repair | Placement of a stent graft in the thoracic aorta through the femoral artery to treat descending thoracic aneurysms, type B aortic dissections, traumatic aortic injury… |
| TGA | Transposition of the great arteries | Congenital defect in which the aorta arises from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery from the left, creating two parallel circulations. |
| TIMI | Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction | Research group whose name labels two cardiology standards: the TIMI risk score for unstable angina and NSTEMI, which assigns up to 7 points, and the TIMI flow grade… |
| TnI | Troponin I | Cardiac-specific protein released into the blood when heart muscle cells are damaged, the most widely used test for diagnosing myocardial infarction. |
| TnT | Troponin T | Cardiac troponin subunit measured as a blood marker of heart muscle injury, mainly with high-sensitivity assays from a single manufacturer. |
| TOF | Tetralogy of Fallot | Most common cyanotic congenital heart defect, combining four features: ventricular septal defect, pulmonary stenosis, an overriding aorta and right ventricular… |
| TR | Tricuspid regurgitation | Backflow of blood through the tricuspid valve into the right atrium during systole. |
| TTE | Transthoracic echocardiogram | Standard echocardiogram performed by placing an ultrasound probe on the chest wall, typically taking 30 to 60 minutes. |
| TTS | Takotsubo syndrome | Sudden, usually temporary weakening of the left ventricle, often triggered by intense emotional or physical stress, that mimics a heart attack with chest pain, ECG… |
| UA | Unstable angina | Chest pain from coronary ischemia that is new, occurs at rest or is worsening in frequency or severity, without troponin evidence of heart muscle death. |
| VF | Ventricular fibrillation | Chaotic, disorganized ventricular electrical activity that produces no effective heartbeat or pulse, causing cardiac arrest within seconds. |
| VSD | Ventricular septal defect | Opening in the wall between the two ventricles, the most common congenital heart defect found in infancy apart from bicuspid aortic valve. |
| VT | Ventricular tachycardia | Fast rhythm originating in the ventricles, defined as three or more consecutive ventricular beats at over 100 beats per minute, with wide QRS complexes on the ECG. |
| VVS | Vasovagal syncope | The most common type of fainting, caused by a reflex that slows the heart and dilates blood vessels, often triggered by pain, fear, the sight of blood, prolonged… |
| WCD | Wearable cardioverter-defibrillator | Vest worn under clothing that monitors heart rhythm and automatically delivers a shock for ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia. |
| WPW | Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome | Congenital condition in which an extra electrical pathway bypasses the AV node, producing pre-excitation on the ECG: a short PR interval, a slurred QRS upstroke called… |
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