Supraventricular Tachycardia (SVT, PSVT) Glossary of Terms

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Abdominal: Relating to the abdomen, the belly, that part of the body that contains all of ...

Abdominal muscles: A large group of muscles in the front of the abdomen that assists in th...

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acute: Of abrupt onset, in reference to a disease. Acute often also connotes an illness th...

Adenosine: A nucleoside containing adenine as its base. Adenosine acts to dilate the coron...

Alcohol abuse: Use of alcoholic beverages to excess, either on individual occasions (binge...

Ambulatory: Able to walk about, not bedridden or immobile.

Anesthesia: Loss of feeling or awareness, as when an anesthetic is administered before sur...

Angiography: A procedure performed to view blood vessels after injecting them with a radio...

Anxiety: A feeling of apprehension and fear, characterized by physical symptoms such as pa...

Arms: An appendage in anatomy and in clinical trials. See: Arm.

Arrhythmia: An abnormal heart rhythm.

Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the far...

Asthma: A common lung disorder in which inflammation causes the bronchi to swell and narro...

Atherosclerosis: A process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of medium-...

Atria: The plural of atrium.

Atrial: Pertaining to the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, as in atrial fibrillatio...

Atrial fibrillation: An abnormal and irregular heart rhythm in which electrical signals ar...

Atrial flutter: Well-organized but overly rapid contractions of the atrium of the heart (u...

Atrioventricular node: The electrical relay station between the upper and lower chambers o...

Atrium: An entry chamber. On both sides of the heart, the atrium is the chamber that leads...

AV node: Atrioventricular node.

Biofeedback: A method of treatment that uses a monitor to measure patients' physiologic in...

Blood clots: Blood that has been converted from a liquid to a solid state. Also called a t...

Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is...

Bowel: The small and large intestine.

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through ...

Caffeine: A stimulant compound found naturally in coffee, tea, cocoa (chocolate), and kola...

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is ...

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cardiologist: A physician who specializes in treating heart disorders.

Cardioversion: The conversion of a cardiac rhythm or electrical pattern to another, genera...

Carotid: Pertaining to the carotid artery and the area near that key artery, which is loca...

Carotid artery: Either of the two key arteries located in the front of the neck, through w...

Catheter: A thin, flexible tube.

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains t...

Chest pain: Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart...

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body. Cholesterol has a reputation for...

Chronic: In medicine, lasting a long time. A chronic condition is one that lasts 3 months ...

Cocaine: A substance derived from the leaves of the coca plant that is a bitter, addictive...

Contraction: The tightening and shortening of a muscle.

Coronary angiography: The most accurate method (the "gold standard") for evaluating and de...

Coronary arteries: The vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood rich in oxygen. The...

Coronary artery disease: Impedance or blockage of one or more arteries that supply blood t...

Cough: A rapid expulsion of air from the lungs, typically in order to clear the lung airwa...

Defibrillator: A device that corrects an abnormal heart rhythm by delivering electrical sh...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dizziness: Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of ...

ECG: Electrocardiogram.

Ectopic: In the wrong place, out of place. For example, an ectopic kidney is a kidney that...

Electrocardiogram: A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. Abbreviated ECG an...

Electrophysiologic: Pertaining to electrophysiology.

Emboli: Something that travels through the bloodstream, lodges in a blood vessel and block...

Emergency department: The department of a hospital responsible for the provision of medica...

Fibrillation: In cardiology, an abnormal and erratic twitching of the heart muscle.

Flutter: Flutter is a rapid vibration or pulsation. The difference between flutter and fib...

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of bloo...

Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is ...

Heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically...

Heart muscle: A type of muscle with unique features only found in the heart. The heart mus...

Heart rate: The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute. The heart rate ...

Heart valves: There are four heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the ...

Holter monitor: A type of portable heart monitor that is a small electrocardiogram (EKG) d...

Hypertension: High blood pressure, defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceedi...

Ischemia: Inadequate blood supply to a local area due to blockage of blood vessels leading...

Jaw: The movable junction of the bones below the mouth (the mandible) and the bone just ab...

Left ventricle: The left lower chamber of the heart that receives blood from the left atri...

Low blood pressure: Any blood pressure that is below the normal expected for an individua...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Meditation: A typically self-directed practice for relaxing the body and calming the mind....

Multifocal: Having to do with two or more foci or arising from two or more places. For exa...

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Natural pacemaker: The natural pacemaker of the heart is the sinus node, one of the major ...

Nausea: Stomach queasiness, the urge to vomit. Nausea can be brought on by many causes, in...

Neck: The part of the body joining the head to the shoulders. Also, any narrow or constric...

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Node: Literally a knot, a node is a collection of tissue. For example a lymph node, is a ...

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the ...

Obesity: The state of being well above one's normal weight.

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

Pacemaker: A system that sends electrical impulses to the heart in order to set the hear...

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pa...

Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In ...

Pericarditis: Inflammation of the lining around the heart (the pericardium) that causes ch...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. Thi...

Pregnant: The state of carrying a developing fetus within the body.

Prognosis: The forecast of the probable outcome or course of a disease; the patient's chan...

Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs.

Pulse: The rhythmic dilation of an artery that results from beating of the heart. Pulse is...

Recurrence: The return of a sign, symptom, or disease after a remission. The reappearance ...

Recurrent: Appearing or occurring again. For example, a recurrent fever is a fever that ha...

Resuscitation: The procedure of restoring to life, as in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CP...

Right atrium: The right upper chamber of the heart. The right atrium receives deoxygenated...

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

SA node: The SA node (SA stands for sinoatrial) is one of the major elements in the cardi...

Second-hand smoke: Environmental tobacco smoke that is inhaled involuntarily or passively ...

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming...

Shock: In medicine, a critical condition that is brought on by a sudden drop in blood flow...

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness ...

Sinus: 1. An air-filled cavity in a dense portion of a skull bone. The sinuses decr...

Sinus node: The sinus node is one of the major elements in the cardiac conduction system, ...

Sinus tachycardia: Fast heartbeat (tachycardia) that occurs because of overly rapid firing...

Sporadic: Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated, or seemingly random way.

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Supraventricular tachycardia: Abbreviated SVT. A regular, abnormally fast heart beat (tac...

Surgeon: A physician who treats disease, injury, or deformity via operative or manual meth...

Sweating: The act of secreting fluid from the skin by the sweat (sudoriferous) glands. The...

Syncope: Partial or complete loss of consciousness with interruption of awareness of one...

Syndrome: A combination of symptoms and signs that together represent a disease process.

Tachycardia: A rapid heart rate, usually defined as greater than 100 beats per minute.

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Treadmill: A machine with a moving strip on which one walks without moving forward. A trea...

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by us...

Urine: Liquid waste produced by the kidneys. Urine is a clear, transparent fluid that norm...

Vagus nerve: A nerve that supplies nerve fibers to the pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box...

Ventricle: A chamber of an organ. For example, the four connected cavities in the central ...

Ventricles: 1, The right ventricle and the left ventricle, the lower two chambers o...

Ventricular: Pertaining to the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, as in ventricu...

Ventricular fibrillation: An abnormal and irregular heart rhythm in which there are rapid ...

Ventricular tachycardia: An abnormal heart rhythm that is rapid and regular and that origi...

Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome: A condition that is caused by an abnormality in the electr...

WPW syndrome: Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.