| AHF | acute heart failure; American Health Foundation; American Hepatic Foundation; American Hospital Form... |
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| AHR | antihyaluronidase reaction; Association for Health Records; atrial heart rate |
| ALLHAT | Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial |
| AVHD | acquired valvular heart disease |
| AVHS | acquired valvular heart syndrome |
| second heart sound | The second sound heard on auscultation of the heart; signifies the beginning of diastole and is due to closure of the semilunar valves. Synonym: second sound. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| holiday heart syndrome | <syndrome> Arrhythmias of the heart, sometimes apparent after a vacation or weekend away from work, following excessive alcohol consumption; usually transient. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Holmes heart | A variant of double inlet left ventricle where the ventricular-arterial connection is concordant and the right ventricle is rudimentary. Horizontal heart, description of the heart's electrical position; recognised in the electrocardiogram when the QRS in lead aVL resembles that in V6 and QRS in aVF resembles that in V1; also, loosely, when the electrical axis lies between -30 |
| pulmonary heart | The right atrium and ventricle, receiving the venous blood and propelling it to the lungs. See: cor pulmonale. (05 Mar 2000) |
| pulmonary surface of heart | The lateral surface of the heart, directed toward the lungs; on the left it is principally the left ventricular wall; on the right it is the right atrial wall and the upper part of the right ventricular wall. Synonym: facies pulmonalis cordis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| semihorizontal heart | Loosely refers to the heart's electrical axis when this is directed at approximately 0 |
| semivertical heart | Loosely descriptive of the heart's electrical axis when this is directed at approximately +60 |
| shaggy heart | <radiology> Basilar interstitial lung disease, characteristic of: asbestosis (12 Dec 1998) |
| hyperkinetic heart syndrome | <syndrome> Loosely, a syndrome in which the heart appears to be "overworking", i.e., beating excessively fast and/or causing subjective awareness of continual cardiac activity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| hyperthyroid heart | Response of the heart to hyperthyroidism, essentially the result of sympathetic stimulation producing rapid heart rates and ultimately cardiac failure and atrial fibrillation if untreated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| skeleton of heart | A complex framework of dense collagen forming four fibrous rings (annuli fibrosi), which surround the ostia of the valves, a right and left fibrous trigone, formed by connecting the rings, and the membranous portions of the interatrial and interventricular septa; it is found in association with the base of the ventricles, i.e., at the level of the coronary sulcus; its functions include: 1) contributing reinforcement of the valvular ostia while providing attachment for the leaflets and cusps of the valves; 2) providing origin and insertion for the myocardium; and 3) serving as a sort of electrical "insulator," separating the electrically conducted impulses of the atria and ventricles and providing passage for the common atrioventricular bundle of conductive tissue through the right fibrous trigone and membranous interventricular septum. Synonym: cardiac fibrous skeleton, cardiac skeleton, skeleton of heart. (05 Mar 2000) |
| hypoplastic heart | A small heart, as seen in Addison's disease. (05 Mar 2000) |
| hypoplastic left heart syndrome | <syndrome> Underdevelopment of the left side of the heart characterised by: aortic valve atresia, hypoplastic ascending aorta, hypoplastic/atretic mitral valve, endocardial fibroelastosis most common cause of congestive heart failure in neonate, 25% of cardiac deaths in 1st week of life, prognosis: 100% fatal by 6 weeks haemodynamics: pulmonary venous return is diverted from LA to RA through atrial septal defect, RV supplies pulmonary artery, ductus arteriosus, descending aorta (antegrade flow), aortic arch, ascending aorta, coronary circulation (retrograde flow), leads to RV work overload and congestive heart failure Treatment: Norwood procedure (palliative), transplant (12 Dec 1998) |
| soldier's heart | An obsolete term for neurocirculatory asthenia. (05 Mar 2000) |
| splitting of heart sounds | The production of major components of the first and second heart sounds (rarely the third and fourth) due to contribution by the left-sided and right-sided valves; thus, the first heart sound would have a mitral and a tricuspid component and the second heart sound has an aortic and pulmonic component. The latter are best appreciated during respiration, with inspiration delaying the pulmonic component and producing an earlier aortic component. (05 Mar 2000) |