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Information about Cardiology

Cardiology is the branch of medicine pertaining to the heart.

Cardiac pacemaker (Electrical system of the heart)

Basic cardiac physiology

Disorders of the coronary circulation

Sudden cardiac death (The abrupt cessation of blood flow, leading to death)

Treatment of sudden cardiac death

Disorders of the myocardium (muscle of the heart)

Disorders of the pericardium (outer lining of the heart)

Disorders of the heart valves

Disorders of the electrical system of the heart (Cardiac electrophysiology)

Inflammation and infection of the heart

Congenital heart disease

Diseases of blood vessels (Vascular diseases)

Procedures done for coronary artery disease

Devices used in cardiology

Diagnostic tests and procedures

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

Cardiac pharmaceutical agents

The followings are medications commonly prescribed in cardiology:

See also

External links

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Health science > medicine
General
Physician specialties
Medical specialties
Surgical specialties
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Cardiovascular system
Blood  |  Heart → Aorta → Arteries → Arterioles → Capillaries → Venules → Veins → Vena cava → Heart → Pulmonary arteries → Lungs → Pulmonary vein
Medicine is the science and "" of maintaining and/or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. The term is derived from the Latin ars medicina meaning the art of healing.
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heart is a muscular organ responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions, or a similar structure in the annelids, mollusks, and arthropods.
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pacemaker cells, and they directly control the heart rate. Artificial devices also called pacemakers can be used after damage to the body's intrinsic conduction system to produce these impulses synthetically.
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    inactivation of certain ion channels.

Electrochemical Mechanism

See main article: Cardiac action potential
Cardiac muscle has some similarities to neurons and skeletal muscle, as well as important unique properties.
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An action potential is a "spike" of electrical discharge that travels along the membrane of a cell. Action potentials are an essential feature of animal life, rapidly carrying information within and between tissues. They also occur in some plants.
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At rest, the ventricular myocyte membrane potential is about -90 mV, which is close to the potassium reversal potential. When an action potential is generated, the membrane potential rises above this level in four distinct phases.
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The sinoatrial node (abbreviated SA node or SAN, also called the sinus node) is the impulse generating (pacemaker) tissue located in the right atrium of the heart, and thus the generator of sinus rhythm.
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The atrioventricular node (abbreviated AV node) is an area of specialized tissue between the atria and the ventricles of the heart, which conducts the normal electrical impulse from the atria to the ventricles.
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The bundle of His is a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction that transmits the electrical impulses from the AV node (located between the atria and the ventricles) to the point of the apex of the fascicular branches.
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Purkinje fibers (or Purkyne tissue) are located in the inner ventricular walls of the heart, just beneath the endocardium. These fibers are specialized myocardial fibers that conduct an electrical stimulus or impulse that enables the heart to contract in a coordinated fashion.
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Systole can mean the following:
  • Systole (medicine) is a term describing the contraction of the heart.
  • Systole (mathematics) is a term used in mathematics.
  • Systole (literature) is a term used to describe entry into the imagination/surreal in a text.

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Diastole is the period of time when the heart relaxes after contraction. Ventricular diastole is the period during which the ventricles are relaxing, while atrial diastole is the period during which the atria are relaxing.
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heart sounds are the noises (sound) generated by the beating heart and the resultant flow of blood through it. This is also called a heartbeat. In cardiac auscultation, an examiner uses a stethoscope to listen for these sounds, which provide important information about the
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preload is the pressure stretching the ventricle of the heart, after passive filling and atrial contraction. If the chamber is not mentioned, it is usually assumed to be the left ventricle.
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afterload is used to mean the tension produced by a chamber of the heart in order to contract. If the chamber is not mentioned, it is usually assumed to be the left ventricle. However, the strict definition of the term relates to the properties of a single cardiac myocyte.
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Kussmaul's sign is the observation of a jugular venous pressure (JVP, the filling of the jugular vein) that rises with inspiration. It can be seen in some forms of heart disease.
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Atherosclerosis
Classification & external resources

Changes in endothelial dysfunction in atherosclerosis (note text comments about geometry error)
ICD-10 I 70.
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Restenosis literally means the reoccurrence of stenosis. This is usually restenosis of an artery, or other blood vessel, but possibly any hollow organ that has been "unblocked".
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Coronary heart disease
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 I20-I25
ICD-9 410 - 414 , 429.2

Coronary heart disease (CHD), also called coronary artery disease (CAD), ischaemic heart disease, atherosclerotic heart disease, is the end result
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MeSH D017202 Ischaemic (or ischemic) heart disease, or myocardial ischemia, is a disease characterized by reduced blood supply to the heart. It is the most common cause of death in most western countries.

Ischaemia means a "reduced blood supply".
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An acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a set of signs and symptoms, usually a combination of chest pain and other features, interpreted as being the result of abruptly decreased blood flow to the heart (cardiac ischemia); the most common cause for this is the disruption of
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MeSH D000787
This article is about chest pain due to oxygen shortage in the heart. For angina tonsillaris see tonsillitis. For the infection of the soft tissues in the floor of the mouth, see Ludwig's angina.

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Myocardial infarction
Classification & external resources

Diagram of a myocardial infarction (2) of the tip of the anterior wall of the heart (an apical infarct
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The term sudden cardiac death refers to natural death from cardiac causes, heralded by abrupt loss of consciousness within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms.[1] Other forms of sudden death may be noncardiac in origin.
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Cardiac arrest
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 I 46.
ICD-9 427.5

A cardiac arrest, also known as cardiorespiratory arrest, cardiopulmonary arrest or circulatory arrest
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Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency medical procedure for a victim of cardiac arrest or, in some circumstances, respiratory arrest.[1] CPR is performed in hospitals, or in the community by laypersons or by emergency response professionals.
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MeSH D009202 Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease", is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle) for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both.
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MeSH D009202 Cardiomyopathy, which literally means "heart muscle disease", is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle) for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both.
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MeSH D002312

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a disease of the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) in which a portion of the myocardium is hypertrophied (thickened) without any obvious cause.
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MeSH D002312

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a disease of the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) in which a portion of the myocardium is hypertrophied (thickened) without any obvious cause.
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