This glossary is a resume of 20 commons words you may encounter while studying in this field or when an emergency related to heart health occurs.
airway
noun
The passage by which air reaches a person's lungs.
Example: However, her lungs, including the alveolar, airways, interstitial tissues and pleura, will still be growing.
fr: voie aérienne
arrhythmia
noun
A condition in which the heart beats with an irregular or abnormal rhythm.
Example: This visit to the hospital triggered further investigations, which included a 24-hour ECG, and echocardiogram both of which did not show any evidence of arrhythmia.
fr: arythmie
artery
noun
Any of the muscular-walled tubes forming part of the circulation system by which blood (mainly that which has been oxygenated) is conveyed from the heart to all parts of the body.
Example: Given that the right popliteal pulse was absent and there was no radio-femoral delay, the most likely most position for the arterial obstruction is in the superior femoral artery.
fr: artère
asystole
noun
Asystole is a cardiac flatline. It's the state of total cessation of electrical activity from the heart, which means no tissue contraction from the heart muscle and therefore no blood flow to the rest of the body.
Example: Asystole is the most serious form of cardiac arrest and is usually irreversible
fr: asystolie
bag-valve mask
noun
A bag valve mask (BVM), sometimes known by the proprietary name Ambu bag or generically as a manual resuscitator or "self-inflating bag", is a hand-held device commonly used to provide positive pressure ventilation to patients who are not breathing or not breathing adequately.
Example: Using a bag-valve-mask is an efficient way of delivering oxygen to patients unable to breathe on their own.
fr: masque à valve
bradycardia
noun
Abnormally slow heart action.
Example: Reperfusion arrhythmias Studies have shown that after reperfusion of the myocardium, ventricular arrhythmias, such as idioventricular rhythm, non-sustained ventricular tachycardia and bradycardia have occurred.
fr: bradycardie
breathing
noun
The process of taking air into and expelling it from the lungs.
Example: He was unable to speak and was using accessory muscles to aid breathing.
fr: respiration
cardiac arrest
noun
A sudden, sometimes temporary, cessation of function of the heart.
Example: Commentary on issues of health care delivery, ethical issues or a disability relevant to the patient and or problem An important issue raised in this case was the issue of resuscitation in the event of a cardiac arrest.
fr: arrêt cardiaque
cardiopulmonary resuscitation
noun
A medical procedure involving repeated compression of a patient's chest, performed in an attempt to restore the blood circulation and breathing of a person who has suffered cardiac arrest.
Example: We did cardiopulmonary resuscitation on an elderly woman yesterday in the library.
fr: réanimation cardiopulmonaire
combitube
noun
The insertion of a Combitube, usually simply referred to as intubation, is the placement of a flexible plastic tube into the trachea to maintain an open airway or to serve as a conduit through which to administer certain drugs.
Example: The patient was regurgitating blood, the insertion of a combitube was done to protect the airway.
fr: combitube
defibrillation
noun
Defibrillation is a technique used in emergency medicine to terminate ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia.
Example: Defibrillation uses an electrical shock to reset the electrical state of the heart so that it may beat to a rhythm controlled by its own natural pacemaker cells.
fr: défibrillation
defibrillator
noun
An apparatus used to control heart fibrillation by application of an electric current to the chest wall or heart.
Example: Every public place such as arena, school, library and many others should have a defibrillator.
fr: défibrillateur
electrocardiogram
noun
A record or display of a person's heartbeat produced by electrocardiography.
Example: Such a diagnosis can be confirmed from electrocardiogram tracings and levels of cardiac enzymes such as troponin T.
fr: électrocardiogramme
embolism
noun
Obstruction of an artery, typically by a clot of blood or an air bubble.
Example: Acute ischemia occurs due to sudden arterial occlusion and can arise as a result of thrombosis in situ, embolism, graft occlusion or occasionally trauma.
fr: embolie
fibrillation
noun
Fibrillation is a very rapid irregular contraction of the muscle fibers of the heart resulting in a lack of synchronism between heartbeat and pulse
Example: Although it is impossible to determine the precise cause of the emboli without further investigation, there was no evidence to suggest the presence of atrial fibrillation or an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
fr: fibrillation
glascow coma scale
noun
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury. Basically, it is used to help gauge the severity of an acute brain injury.
Example: The patient was unresponsive, on the Glasgow coma scale he was scoring a 3, the minimum you can get.
fr: échelle de coma de Glasgow
heart attack
noun
A sudden and sometimes fatal occurrence of coronary thrombosis, typically resulting in the death of part of a heart muscle.
Example: Mr said his father (who died of an M.I.) saw flashing lights as he was having his heart attack, and therefore lights unduly worry him.
fr: crise cardiaque
heart rate
noun
The number of heartbeats per unit of time, usually per minute.
Example: However, general activity should be reduced during this period to reduce metabolic rate and tissue demand for oxygen, decrease heart rate and blood pressure and consequently reduce blood flow.
fr: rythme cardiaque
ischemia
noun
Ischemia is an inadequate blood supply to an organ or part of the body, especially the heart muscles.
Example: ACC AHA has set a guideline, that a maximum of total ischemia should be no longer than 120 minutes; any longer than this an increase in mortality rate is observed (Antman, Anbe, Armstrong et al 2004).
fr: ischémie
Nitrile medical glove
noun
Nitrile is the superior material for today's disposable gloves. Nitrile, also known as NBR, is a form of synthetic rubber with an unusually high resistance to oil, fuel and other chemicals.
Example: Nitrile medical glove are the most used kind of glove in the paramedic industry due to the high rate of latex allergies.
