A group of medicines that inhibit the harmful effects of the hormone aldosterone, such as salt retention, potassium and magnesium loss and also damage to the heart in hypertension and heart failure.
Eplerenone is a new, selective aldosterone blocker.
Recurring pain or discomfort in the chest that happens when some part of the heart does not receive enough blood.
A group of medicines used to lower blood pressure and to treat heart failure. They improve heart muscle function, dilate arteries and lower blood pressure.
Captopril, enalapril, lisinopril, perindopril and ramipril are some common examples of ACE inhibitors.
A neurohormone that plays a key role in blood pressure regulation. A high level of angiotensin II is responsible for narrowing blood vessels, raising blood pressure and increasing risk of atherosclerosis.
A group of medicines that have properties similar to ACE inhibitors. Candesartan, irbesartan, telmisartan and valsartan are some examples of ARBs.
Abnormal heart rhythms. They can cause the heart to pump less effectively.
A group of medicines used to decrease blood pressure and to treat heart failure. They slow down the heart rate, improve heart muscle function and make the heart work more efficiently. Examples of beta blockers used in the treatment of heart failure are carvedilol, bisoprolol and metoprolol.
Also referred to as biventricular cardiac pacing, which aims to resynchronise the left and right ventricular contraction, resulting in an improved cardiac output.
Where the heart muscle becomes inflamed or otherwise abnormal often without apparent cause. Cardiomyopathy can occur in people at a young age.
The bodily system consisting of the heart, blood vessels, and blood that circulates through the body, transporting nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and removing waste products.
when heart or blood vessels near the heart do not develop normally before birth.
Another term for heart failure.
Something that is of, or relates to the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart.
A surgical procedure that involves the replacement of a narrowed coronary artery with another vessel from the lower extremities (graft).
Also known as coronary artery disease. This is the most common form of heart disease caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries that feed the heart. Like any muscle the heart needs a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients that are carried by the blood in the coronary arteries. When the coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged and cannot supply enough blood to the heart, the result is CHD.
A group of medicines used in the treatment of heart failure symptoms. They help prevent fluid build up and decrease the amount of fluid in the lungs, which aids breathing, but do not improve heart muscle function or survival.
A diagnostic test that physicians may use to assist in the diagnosis of heart failure. Sound waves are bounced off the heart and recorded and translated into images. The pictures can reveal abnormal heart size, shape and movement. It can also be used to calculate a patient’s ejection fraction.
A measure of the amount of blood pumped out when the heart contracts.
The term used to describe the condition in which the heart becomes less efficient at pumping blood around the body and which then leads to specific symptoms, either while you are resting or exercising. It occurs because the heart muscle is damaged one way or the other by factors like myocardial infarction or hypertension.
Raised level of lipids (fats) in the bloodstream.
The medical term for high blood pressure.
A device which is implanted like a pacemaker under the skin in the shoulder area. Through transvenous leads, it monitors the heart rhythm, senses if there is a severe disturbance (ventricular fibrillation) in heart rhythm and if necessary delivers an electrical shock to stop the abnormal rhythm and allow the normal rhythm to resume.
The number of new episodes of an illness arising in the population over a given period of time.
The loss of an adequate supply of oxygen-enriched blood, usually due to the obstruction of the arterial blood supply or inadequate blood flow. Myocardial ischaemia is when the heart muscle is damaged due to a lack of oxygen.
A decreased ability of the heart to contract and the ventricle loses the ability to eject blood into a high pressure aorta. Left ventricular systolic dysfunction is generally defined as an ejection fraction equal to or less than 0.40.
The medical term for a heart attack. It occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself, the myocardium, is severely reduced or stopped.
Is the inability to breath normally when you are lying down at night.
The inability to breath normally when you are lying down.
A device used to restore the patient’s normal heartbeat. Specific pacemakers also restore the (normal) contraction pattern of the heart (Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy – CRT)
Fluid (swelling) in the ankles or legs. This is a characteristic sign of heart failure.
The number of people with a condition in the population at a given point in time.
Fluid in the lungs.
See coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).
A group of medicines used to lower cholesterol and may also be of benefit in preventing heart failure. Statins combat high cholesterol by reducing its production in the liver.