| fourth heart sound | The sound produced in late diastole in association with ventricular filling due to atrial systole and related to reduced ventricular compliance. It is a low frequency oscillation that may be normal at older ages owing to a physiologic decline in ventricular compliance but is nearly always abnormal at younger ages if it is of high intensity or palpable. It is common in ventricular hypertrophy, particularly with hypertension, and is almost invariable during acute myocardial infarction. Fourth heart sounds may arise from the right or left ventricle or both. Synonym: atrial sound. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| Framingham Heart study | <epidemiology> Ongoing epidemiologic study of a cohort of over 5,000 of the population of Framingham, MA conducted since 1949 under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health and Boston University. (05 Mar 2000) |
| law of the heart | The energy liberated by the heart when it contracts is a function of the length of its muscle fibres at the end of diastole. Synonym: Starling's law. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left heart | The left atrium and left ventricle. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left heart bypass | Any procedure that shunts blood returning from the pulmonary circulation to the systemic circulation without passing through the left heart. This is utilised during some cardiac surgery and experimentally during severe left heart failure or cardiogenic shock. (05 Mar 2000) |
| left-sided heart failure | Inability of the left heart to maintain its circulatory load with corresponding rise in pressure in the pulmonary circulation usually with pulmonary congestion and ultimately pulmonary oedema. (05 Mar 2000) |
| frosted heart | Hyaloserositis involving the pericardium. Synonym: icing heart. (05 Mar 2000) |
| lion-heart | A very brave person. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| longitudinal sulcus of heart | See: anterior interventricular groove, posterior interventricular groove. (05 Mar 2000) |