Cardiomyopathy is a disease or abnormal condition of the myocardium due to damaged valves, high blood pressure, etc. Myocardial infarction is due to some type of occlusion resulting in a reduced blood and oxygen supply to the heart muscle. Arteriosclerosis is harding of the arteries. Angiostenosis is a narrowing of the blood vessels. Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty is also called balloon catheter dilation, a surgical procedure where an insesion is made through the chest, and a balloon is inserted into a blocked artery, the balloon once in place is inflated, the desired result in undoing the blockage.
Hypertension is the medical term referring to high blood pressue.
Hypotension is low blood pressure. There are three common types of irregular heart beat. Atrial Fibrillation is when the atriums of the heart abnormally beat, Ventricular Fibrillation is when the ventricials of the heart abnormally beat, the condition will cause the heart to stop or cardiac arrest, and Asystole which is no heart beat. The following abbreviations, prefixes, suffixes, and root words are important to learn when describing the heart and the medical conditions that affect the heart.