Coronary Artery Disease Dictionary

angina: Chest pain that results from a lack of blood to the heart. Is not a heart attack.

angiogram: To view blood flow through your heart, a special dye is injected into the arteries before a chest X-ray. The dye outlines narrow spots and blockages on the X-ray images.

angioplasty: This procedure opens blocked or narrowed coronary arteries. It can improve blood flow to the heart, relieve chest pain, and possibly prevent a heart attack. Sometimes a device called a stent is placed in the artery to keep the artery propped open after the procedure.

angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors: Also known as ACE inhibitors. These drugs decrease blood pressure and may help prevent progression of coronary artery disease. If you've had a heart attack, ACE inhibitors reduce the risk of future attacks.

anticoagulants: Help to prevent clots from forming in your arteries and blocking blood flow.

aspirin: Can prevent clots from forming in the arteries and blocks blood flow. Blood contains small cells called platelets which clump together to form clots.

beta blockers: Slow the heart rate and lowers blood pressure to decrease the workload on the heart. Beta blockers are used to relieve angina and may also reduce the risk of a future heart attack.

calcium channel blockers: Relaxes blood vessels (arteries and veins) and lowers blood pressure. These medicines can reduce the heart's workload, help widen coronary arteries, and relieve and control angina.

cardiac syndrome X: A condition in which patients have the pain of angina, but they do not have CAD. So even though patients with cardiac syndrome X have symptoms of CAD, the coronary arteries are clear of blockages.

coronary angiography: Coronary angiography is an X-ray examination of the blood vessels or chambers of the heart. A very small tube (catheter) is inserted into a blood vessel in the groin or arm. The tip of the tube is positioned either in the heart or at the beginning of the arteries supplying the heart, and a special fluid (called a contrast medium or dye) is injected.

coronary artery bypass surgery: In this procedure arteries or veins from other areas in your body are used to bypass your narrowed coronary arteries. Bypass surgery can improve blood flow to the heart, relieve chest pain, and possibly prevent a heart attack.

coronary artery spasm: Sometimes a coronary artery (one of the vessels supplying blood to the heart muscle) goes into spasm. This is also called vasospasm, and doctors are unsure of its cause. The spasm briefly narrows the coronary artery, so your heart does not get enough blood. Coronary artery spasm usually occur in a coronary artery that has been blocked or has fatty buildup (atherosclerosis), but it may happen in a normal coronary artery as well.

coronary brachytherapy: If the coronary arteries narrow after stent placement, radiation may be used to help open the artery again.

echocardiography: Echocardiography is a painless test that uses sound waves to create images of the heart.

electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG): A simple test that detects and records the electrical activity of the heart.

electron beam computerized tomography (EBCT): This test, also called an ultra-fast CT scan, can detect calcium within fatty deposits that narrow coronary arteries.