CS Therapeutic Procedures

Question 1

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Answer 1

Procedure to restore cardiac output and oxygenated air to the lungs for a person in cardiac arrest. A combination of chest compressions (to push blood out of the heart) and artificial respiration (to blow air into the lungs) performed by one or two CPR-trained rescuers

Question 2

Defibrillation

Answer 2

Procedure that converts serious irregular heartbeats, such as fibrillation, by giving electric shocks to the heart using an instrument called a defibrillator. Also called ‘cardioversion’. Automated external defibrillators (AED) are portable devices that automatically detect life-threatening arrhythmias and deliver the appropriate electrical shock. They are designed to be used by nonmedical personnel and are found in public places such as shopping malls and schools

Question 3

Extracorporeal Circulation (ECC)

Answer 3

During open-heart surgery, the routing of blood to a heart-lung machine so it can be oxygenated and pumped to the rest of the body

Question 4

Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD)

Answer 4

Device implanted in the heart that delivers an electrical shock to restore a normal heart rhythm. Particularly useful for persons who experience ventricular fibrillation

Question 5

Pacemaker Implantation

Answer 5

Electrical device that substitutes for the natural pacemaker of the heart. It controls the beating of the heart by a series of rhythmic electrical impulses. An external pacemaker has the electrodes on the outside of the body. An internal pacemaker has the electrodes surgically implanted within the chest wall

Question 6

Thrombolytic Therapy

Answer 6

Process in which drugs, such as streptokinase (SK) or tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), are injected into a blood vessel to dissolve clots and restore blood flow

Question 7

Aneurysmectomy

Answer 7

Surgical removal of the sac of an aneurysm

Question 8

Arterial Anastomosis

Answer 8

Surgical joining together of two arteries. Performed if an artery is severed or if a damaged section of an artery is removed

Question 9

Atherectomy

Answer 9

Surgical procedure to remove a deposit of fatty substance, an atheroma, from an artery

Question 10

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Answer 10

Open-heart surgery in which a blood vessel from another location in the body (often a leg vein) is grafted to route blood around a blocked coronary artery

Question 11

Embolectomy

Answer 11

Removal of an embolus or clot from a blood vessel

Question 12

Endarterectomy

Answer 12

Removal of the diseased or damaged inner lining of an artery. Usually performed to remove atherosclerotic plaques

Question 13

Heart Transplantation

Answer 13

Replacement of diseased or malfunctioning heart with a donor’s heart

Question 14

Intracoronary Artery Stent

Answer 14

Placement of a stent within a coronary artery to treat coronary ischemia due to atherosclerosis

Question 15

Ligation and Stripping

Answer 15

Surgical treatment for varicose veins. The damaged vein is tied off (ligation) and removed (stripping)

Question 16

Percutaneous Trasluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)

Answer 16

Method for treating localized coronary artery narrowing. A balloon catheter is inserted through the skin into the coronary artery and inflated to dilate the narrow blood vessel

Question 17

Stent

Answer 17

Stainless steel tube placed within a blood vessel or a duct to widen the lumen

Question 18

Valve Replacement

Answer 18

Removal of a diseased heart valve and replacement with an artificial valve

Question 19

Valvoplasty

Answer 19

Surgical procedure to repair a heart valve