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Myocardium: Heart muscle
Myoglobin: A pigmented material contained in muscle cells, which serves as oxygen reservoir of the muscular fiber.

Increased level of Myoglobin in blood may indicate damage to the Myocardium (heart muscle), as encountered in a heart attack and thus be helpful in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction.

However, it must be stated that increased Myoglobin level in blood is an unspecific finding and can occur in various conditions, other than Myocardial Infarction, because any muscular damage can increase its blood level.
Natural cardiac pacemaker: See entry: Sinus
Normal sinus rhythm (NSR): Heart rate originating from the Sinus (natural pacemaker) activity, i.e. resulting from an electrical stimulus generated in the Sinus and propagated normally by the electrical conduction system of the heart.

Sinus rhythm is defined as normal if the rate is between 60 and 100 per minute.

This rhythm can be above or below the limits of range in certain physiological situations, for instance during exercise or during sleep, respectively, but also as a reaction to pathological situation.
Nuclear cardiology: Research and diagnosis of cardiac diseases by means of intravenous injection of radioactive substances enabling cardiac imaging by a computer-controlled gamma camera.

In cardiology, this method serves for Thalium scanning and provides information about Coronary arteries and for MUGA scanning, by which cardiac function can be determined.
Obesity: Overweight due to fat accumulation in the body.

The principal indicator of obesity is the body mass index (BMI).

BMI is calculated by dividing the body weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters (BMI = kg/m^2).

The accepted definitions of fat level according to BMI are:

BMI less than 18.5 - underweight

BMI between 18.5 - 24.9 - normal weight

BMI between 25.0 - 29.9 - mild overweight

BMI between 30.0 - 39.9 - substantial overweight

BMI more than 40.0 - severe/morbid obesity

An additional index evaluating the obesity status is the waist to hip ratio (WHR).

Many recent medical studies confirmed the association between obesity and the development of Hypertension, Diabetes, cardiac diseases and certain kinds of cancer.
Open Heart Surgery: A surgical intervention requiring temporary interruption of the heart action and connecting the patient to a heart-lung machine.
Operation for the correction /replacement of a valve: Several surgical options for the correction of damaged cardiac valves exist. Valvular replacement will be usually performed if the functional impairment of the Aortic or Mitral valve is severe.

There are two kinds of valvular prostheses:

1.Mechanical valves - made of materials such as plastic, carbon or metal. They are durable and resistant for extensive periods. Because blood tends to stick to these materials and create blood clots around them, people who underwent implantation of such valves must take anticoagulants for lifetime.

2.Biological valves - made of animal or human tissues. They are less resistant than mechanical valves, but do not require use of anticoagulants.

Usually, they must be replaced approximately every 10 years.
Orthopnea: Shortness of breath that worsens in supine position and improves in sitting position. This is a typical symptom in congestive heart failure. People suffering from this symptom sleep on a large number of pillows for raising the upper part of the body or sleep in sitting position.
Orthostatic hypotension: Blood pressure drop that occurs during a sudden change of position from supine to sitting or upright.

This is more frequent in patients treated with antihypertensive drugs.

Symptoms such as sudden weakness, dizziness, sensation of fainting and real syncope may occur.
Palpitations: Awareness of heart beats.

This can be an unpleasant and an anxiety arising sensation.

The awareness of heart beats can be a normal phenomenon, for example in states of excitation, fear or exertion, in which the heart rate is accelerated.

Sometimes, the awareness of heart beat can be an evidence of a rhythm disorder, such as irregular, rapid or very slow heart beat.
Pericarditis: Inflammation of the Pericardium, the membrane enveloping the heart.

The inflammatory process can be a reaction to an infectious agent, such as virus, to toxic substances, or without the presence of an external infectious factor, a condition resulting from exaggerated activity of the immune system (auto-immune reaction).

Sometimes, Pericarditis can develop in early or late stages of recovery from Myocardial Infarction. It can be an acute or a chronic process.

Symptoms may include breathing difficulties, rhythm disturbances and fever.

Sometimes, as a result of the inflammatory process, fluid can accumulate between the Pericardium layers. This is called Pericardial Effusion. In some cases, chronic thickening of the firm, fibrous layer, can result. This can be an impediment for the relaxation of the heart and its filling with blood.

The treatment is according to the causative factor.
Pericardium: A memranaceous cover enveloping the heart. It consists of two parts: the outer, fibrous and more rigid envelope firmly connected to the large vessels coming out from the heart and the serous inner envelope.

The latter has two layers: the inner one, Epicardium (outer heart layer) is adjacent to the heart muscle and the outer one covers the fibrous part from inside.

A small amount of fluid is contained between these two layers, intended to prevent friction between the two surfaces during the excursions of the heart.
Physical Exercise, Exercising, Workout: Lack of permanent physical activity is now recognized as a risk factor for the development of Ischemic heart disease.

Aerobic exercise improves heart resilience (educating it to reach higher levels of effort with less pulse rate and work load), helps in weight reduction, more efficient lipid metabolism and can facilitate the creation of natural blood vessels bypassing stenoses (collateral arteries).

The recommended aerobic heart-protecting physical activity is walking, jogging, bicycle riding and more. In fact, during such activities, large muscle groups are continuously activated without interruptions. In order for aerobic physical activity to achieve its heart-protective goals, it is recommended to engage in such activities 3 to 5 times weekly for 30 to 50 minutes each time.
Post-myocardial infarction syndrome: An inflammatory syndrome, which can appear during the recovery phase after a myocardial infarction or following cardiac surgery.

It is characterized by an inflammatory process of the pericardium, which can be manifested by fever, chest pain, shortness of breath and more.
Pounding of the heart: See entry: Palpitations.
Pulmonary artery: Originates from the right ventricle of the heart and carries oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs.

This is indeed the only artery of the body carrying oxygen-depleted blood.
Pulmonary congestion: Congestion of the pulmonary vasculature due to pathologic accumulation of blood.

This condition can deteriorate to a dangerous clinical picture of Pulmonary edema.

The condition is usually caused by heart failure (cardiac insufficiency), although other causes, cardiac and non cardiac, also exist.
Pulmonary edema: Accumulation of fluid in the air spaces of the lungs, causing a sensation of breathing difficulty. If not treated, this can be an emergency situation with immediate life threat. The most common cause is cardiac insufficiency (congestive heart failure), but other causes, cardiac and extra-cardiac, may be also responsible.
Pulmonary embolism (PE): Pulmonary embolism is a condition, in which a thrombus, air bubble, fat from a fractured bone or particles of other materials (such as lipid substances from an atherosclerotic plaque) reach by the way of blood circulation any pulmonary blood vessel and occlude it.

As a result, respiration turns less efficient. Air can enter the lungs freely, but oxygenation (enrichment of blood with oxygen) is impaired because of compromised blood flow.
This is an emergency situation requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment.

Symptoms may include: sudden shortness of breath, chest pain, rapid pulse rate, low blood pressure, cough (sometimes bloody cough) and more.

In some instances, pulmonary embolism can have no symptoms or only unspecific manifestations, which makes the proper diagnosis difficult.
The majority of pulmonary emboli stem from deep veins of the lower extremities.

Factors increasing the risk of deep vein thrombosis are: prolonged immobility (as, for example, during long distance flights), recent surgical procedures, malignant diseases, trauma of lower extremities, previous history of thrombosis in the lower extremities and congenital or acquired hypercoagulability states.
Pulmonary hypertension (PHT): Normally, the pressure in the pulmonary vascular system is much lower than in the systemic circulation (the Aorta and all its branches).

Increased pulmonary pressure can result from various pulmonary diseases, acute or chronic, and can be a complication secondary to various valvular problems or other anatomical alterations of the heart.

Sometimes, pulmonary hypertension develops without any evident cause.

Usually, chronic pulmonary hypertension effects the right compartments of the heart and the end result is right heart failure.
Pulmonary stenosis: Narrowing of the Pulmonary valve. This may be often associated with other heart defects. The ensuing impairment is in blood flow from the right atrium into the Pulmonary artery during systole. A systolic murmur ensues.

Because there is impaired blood flow into the lungs, symptoms will usually be such of insufficient oxygenation of tissues, resulting in cyanosis, weakness, fainting etc. The solution of the problem is surgical correction.
Pulmonary valve: This valve is located between the right ventricle and the outlet of the Pulmonary artery.

It should stay widely open during the ventricular systole to enable voiding of the right ventricle into the Pulmonary artery.

During diastole, when pressure in the ventricle decreases, this valve must be closed to prevent back flow (regurgitation) of blood from the pulmonary artery in the direction of the ventricle.
Pulmonary vein: This vessel carries oxygenated (oxygen-rich) blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.

This is the only and unique instance where oxygen-rich blood is carried by a vein (normally such blood in transported by arteries).
Pulmonic regurgitation: Abnormal blood flow through the Pulmonic valve during the diastole. The direction of leak is from the Pulmonary artery back to the right atrium during the diastole.

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