Cardiology Totally Explained

Everything about Cardiology totally explained

Cardiology is the branch of internal medicine dealing with disorders of the heart and blood vessels. The field is commonly divided in the branches of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called cardiologists. Cardiologists shouldn't be confused with cardiac surgeons who are surgeons who perform cardiac surgery - operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.
The term cardiology is derived from the Greek word καρδιά (transliterated as kardia and meaning heart or inner self).

The heart

Cardiac pacemaker (Electrical system of the heart)

Electrical conduction system of the heart

Basic cardiac physiology

Systole

Diastole

Heart sounds

Preload

Afterload

Kussmaul's sign

Disorders of the heart

Disorders of the coronary circulation

Atherosclerosis

Restenosis

Coronary heart disease (Ischaemic heart disease, Coronary artery disease)

Acute coronary syndrome

Angina
Myocardial infarction (Heart attack)

Sudden cardiac death (The abrupt cessation of blood flow, leading to death)

Cardiac arrest

Treatment of sudden cardiac death

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Disorders of the myocardium (muscle of the heart)

Cardiomyopathy

Ischemic cardiomyopathy
Nonischemic cardiomyopathy
- Amyloid cardiomyopathy
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
  - Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) (Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS))
  - Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
  - Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
  - Tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy
  - Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (Transient apical ballooning, stress-induced cardiomyopathy)
- Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy)
- Restrictive cardiomyopathy
Congestive heart failure
- Cor pulmonale
Ventricular hypertrophy
- Left ventricular hypertrophy
- Right ventricular hypertrophy
Primary tumors of the heart
- Myxoma
Myocardial rupture

Disorders of the pericardium (outer lining of the heart)

Pericarditis

Pericardial tamponade

Constrictive pericarditis

Disorders of the heart valves

Aortic valve disorders

Mitral valve disorders

Pulmonary valve disorders

Congenital pulmonic stenosis

Tricuspid valve disorders

Disorders of the electrical system of the heart (Cardiac electrophysiology)

Tachycardia

Cardiac arrhythmias

Supraventricular tachycardia (Fast rhythms that originate above the ventricles)
- Atrial fibrillation
- Atrial flutter
- Atrial tachycardia
- Sick sinus syndrome (Tachy-Brady syndrome)
- AV nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT)
- AV reentrant tachycardia (AVRT)
Bigeminy
Premature ventricular contraction
Ventricular tachycardia
- Torsades de pointes
Ventricular fibrillation
Sick sinus syndrome
Bundle branch block
- Left bundle branch block
- Right bundle branch block
Heart block
- First degree AV block
- Second degree AV block
- Bifascicular block
- Trifascicular block
- Third degree AV block
  - Lev's disease
- Specific diseases of the electrical system of the heart

Inflammation and infection of the heart

Endocarditis

Rheumatic heart disease

Myocarditis

Pericarditis

Congenital heart disease

Atrial septal defect

Ventricular septal defect

Patent ductus arteriosus

Bicuspid aortic valve

Tetralogy of Fallot

Transposition of the great vessels (TGV)

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome

Diseases of blood vessels (Vascular diseases)

Vasculitis

Atherosclerosis

Aneurysm

Varicose veins

Economy class syndrome

Diseases of the aorta

Diseases of the carotid arteries

Procedures done for coronary artery disease

Percutaneous coronary intervention

Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)

Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP)

Devices used in cardiology

Stethoscope

Devices used to maintain normal electrical rhythm

Diagnostic tests and procedures

Blood tests

Echocardiogram

Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance

Cardiac stress test

Auscultation (Listening with the Stethoscope) Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

Ambulatory Holter monitor

Electrophysiologic study

Programmed electrical stimulation

Sphygmomanometer (Blood pressure cuff)

Cardiac enzymes

Coronary catheterization

Myocardial Fractional Flow Reserve (FFRmyo)
IVUS (IntraVascular UltraSound)

Cardiac pharmaceutical agents

The followings are medications commonly prescribed in cardiology:

Antiarrhythmic agents

Type I (sodium channel blockers)
- Type Ia
  - Quinidine
- Type Ib
  - Lidocaine
  - Phenytoin
- Type Ic
  - Propafenone
- Type II (beta blockers)
  - Metoprolol
- Type III (potassium channel blockers)
- Type IV (slow calcium channel blockers)
  - Diltiazem
  - Verapamil
- Type V
  - Adenosine
  - Digoxin
- ACE inhibitors
- Angiotensin II receptor antagonists
- Beta blocker
- Calcium channel blocker

Further Information

Get more info on 'Cardiology'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://cardiology.totallyexplained.com">Cardiology Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.