Cardiovascular Diagnostic procedures

Question 1

Insertion of a small tube (catheter) through a vein or artery, usually of an arm (brachial approach) or leg (femoral approach); the tube is threaded through a blood vessel until it reaches the heart; used to inject a contrast medium for imaging, diagnosing abnormalities, obtaining blood samples, or measuring pressure within the heart, and often includes interventional procedures, such as angioplasty and atherectomy

Answer 1

cardiac catherization

Question 2

Battery of blood tests performed to determine the presence of cardiac damage

Answer 2

cardiac enzyme studies

Question 3

Ultrasound technique that records blood flow velocity (speed) to image major blood vessels (arteries or veins in arms, neck, legs, abdomen) to detect obstructions caused by atherosclerotic plaques in patients at risk for a stroke; also called ultrasonography using sound pitch

Answer 3

Doppler Ultrasonography

Question 4

Ultrasound technique used to image the heart and evaluate how the heart’s chambers and valves are working and to diagnose and detect pathological conditions

Answer 4

echocardiography
(echo)

Question 5

Creation and study of graphic recordings (electrocardiograms) produced by electrical activity generated by the heart muscle; also called cardiography

Answer 5

electrocardiography (ECG, EKG)

Question 6

Monitoring device worn by a patient that records electrocardiograph readings (usually 24 hours) on a portable recorder while the patient conducts normal daily activities smaller, portable recording devices are now being used and are taped to the chest or worn on the wrist.)

Answer 6

holter monitor

Question 7

Electrocardiography (ECG) taken under controlled exercise stress conditions (typically using a treadmill) while measuring oxygen consumption
ECG that uses a radioisotope to evaluate coronary blood flow

Answer 7

stress test (nuclear)

Question 8

Blood test that measures protein released into blood by damaged heart muscle (not skeletal muscle) and is a highly sensitive, specific indicator of recent myocardial infarction (MI)

Answer 8

troponin I

Question 9

Surgery that opens a blocked artery by inflating a small balloon within a catheter to widen and restore blood flow in the artery

Answer 9

Angioplasty

Question 10

Restoration of normal heart rhythm by applying an electrical countershock to the chest by using a device (defibrillator); also called defibrillation

Answer 10

cardioversion
defibrillation

Question 11

Bypass surgery in which peripheral veins are removed, and each end of the vein is sutured onto the coronary artery to create new routes around narrowed and blocked arteries, allowing sufficient blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle

Answer 11

coronary artery bypass graft
CABG

Question 12

Device used to administer a defibrillating electrical shock to restore normal heart rhythm

Answer 12

defibrillator

Question 13

Surgically implanted electrical device that continuously monitors and corrects potentially fatal arrhythmias by delivering low-energy shocks to the heart; also called implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)

Answer 13

automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator

Question 14

Portable computerized device that analyzes the patient’s heart rhythm and delivers an electrical shock to stimulate a heart in cardiac arrest

Answer 14

automatic external defibrillator (AED)

Question 15

Surgical removal of the lining of an artery

Answer 15

endarterectomy
end-: in, within
arter: artery
-ectomy: excision, removal

Endarterectomy is a procedure to remove plaque from narrowed arteries an

Question 16

Removal of plaque (atherosclerosis) and thromboses from an occluded** carotid artery **to reduce the risk of stroke

Answer 16

carotid endarterectomy

Question 17

Treatment of large varicose veins in the legs, in which a laser fiber is inserted directly into the affected vein to heat the lining within the vein, causing it to collapse, shrink, and eventually disappear; also called endovenous laser ablation (EVLA)

Answer 17

endovenous laser therapy (EVLT)

Question 18

Chemical injection into a varicose vein that causes inflammation and formation of fibrous tissue, which closes the vein

Answer 18

sclerotherapy

Question 19

Insertion of a balloon catheter in a blood vessel in the groin through the aorta and into the heart to widen a stenotic (stiffened) heart valve and increase blood flow

Answer 19

valvuloplasty

A valvuloplasty is a treatment to repair a heart valve that has a narrowed opening.