Medications

Cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic: See: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A genetic disorder of the heart characterized by increased thickness (hypertrophy) of the wall of the left ven...

Cardiomyopathy, doxorubicin - Medical

Cardiomyopathy, doxorubicin: See: Doxorubicin cardiomyopathy.Last Editorial Review: 9/6/2003 Doxorubicin cardiomyopathy: Heart disease due to the drug doxorubicin (brand name:Adriamycin), a potent broad-spectrum antitumor agent effective in treatin...

Cardiomyopathy, dilated - Medical

Cardiomyopathy, dilated: See: Dilated cardiomyopathy.Last Editorial Review: 9/6/2003Dilated cardiomyopathy: A disorder in which the chambers of the heart are dilated (enlarged) because the heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump effectively. There a...

Cardiomyopathy - Medical

Cardiomyopathy: Disease of the heart muscle (the myocardium). From the Greek roots: "cardio-", heart + "mys", muscle + "pathos", disease = disease (of the) heart muscle. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM Myocardium: The heart muscle. Last...

Cardiomegaly - Medical

Cardiomegaly: Enlargement of the heart. Cardiomegaly is a descriptive term that is used to refer to the physical finding of an enlarged heart and is not a disease itself. Cardiomegaly can be caused by a number of different conditions including diseas...

Cardiology - Medical

Cardiology: The study and treatment of heart disorders.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Cardiologist - Medical

Cardiologist: A doctor who specializes in treating heart disorders.Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

Cardio-cutaneous syndrome - Medical

Cardio-cutaneous syndrome: See: LEOPARD syndrome. Last Editorial Review: 4/3/2004 LEOPARD syndrome: A genetic syndrome transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner that is named for its characteristic features: L -- lentigines (dark f...

Cardiac-limb syndrome - Medical

Cardiac-limb syndrome: See: Holt-Oram syndrome. Last Editorial Review: 1/26/2004...

Cardiac ventricle - Medical

Cardiac ventricle: One of the two lower chambers of the heart. The right ventricle is the chamber that receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the lungs via the pulmonary artery while the left ventricle is the chamber that receiv...

Cardiac transplant - Medical

Cardiac transplant: See: Heart transplant. Last Editorial Review: 4/11/2004 Heart transplant: A surgical procedure in which a diseased heart is replaced with a healthy heart from a deceased person. The world's first heart transplant was d...

Cardiac tamponade - Medical

Cardiac tamponade: A life-threatening situation in which there is such a large amount of blood or other fluid inside the pericardial sac around the heart that it interferes with the performance of the heart. If cardiac tamponade is left untreat...

Cardiac stress testing, exercise - Medical

Cardiac stress testing, exercise: The exercise cardiac stress testing (ECST) is the most widely used cardiac (heart) screening test. The patient exercises on a treadmill according to a standardized protocol, with progressive increases in the speed ...

Cardiac septum - Medical

Cardiac septum: The septum of the heart is the dividing wall between the right and left sides of the heart. That portion of the septum that separates the two upper chambers (the right and left atria) of the heart is termed the atrial (or interat...

Cardiac rehabilitation - Medical

Cardiac rehabilitation: A program for people with heart disease designed to reduce future heart risks. Cardiac rehabilitation usually consists of nutritional counseling; management of lipid levels, hypertension, weight, and diabetes; smoking ces...

Cardiac output - Medical

Cardiac output: The amount of blood that is pumped by the heart per unit time, measured in liters per minute (l/min). The amount of blood that is put out by the left ventricle of the heart in one contraction is called the stroke volume. The stro...

Cardiac myxoma - Medical

Cardiac myxoma: A benign tumor of the heart and the most common type of heart tumor in adults. Cardiac myxomas can appear in an isolated case or in families, sometimes as part of an hereditary syndrome called the Carney complex. Some families have th...

Cardiac myocyte - Medical

Cardiac myocyte: A heart muscle cell. Sometimes called a myocyte when it is understood that it is in the heart. See also: Myocyte.Last Editorial Review: 6/7/2003 Myocyte: A muscle cell. From myo-, muscle + -cyte, cell = muscle cell. "Remaining yo...

Cardiac muscle - Medical

Cardiac muscle: A type of muscle with unique features only found in the heart. The cardiac muscle is the muscle of the heart and medically is called the myocardium ("myo-" being the prefix renoting muscle). Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:2...

Cardiac insufficiency - Medical

Cardiac insufficiency: See: Heart failure.Last Editorial Review: 4/4/2004 Heart failure: Inability of the heart to keep up with the demands on it and, specifically, failure of the heart to pump blood with normal efficiency. When this occurs,...

Cardiac index - Medical

Cardiac index: A cardiodynamic measure based on the cardiac output, which is the amount of blood the left ventricle ejects into the systemic circulation in one minute, measured in liters per minute (l/min). Cardiac output can be indexed to a patient'...

Cardiac defibrillator, implantable - Medical

Cardiac defibrillator, implantable: A device put within the body that is designed to recognize certain types of abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and correct them. Defibrillators continuously monitor the heart rhythm in order to detect overly ra...

Cardiac conduction system - Medical

Cardiac conduction system: The electrical conduction system that controls the heart rate. This system generates electrical impulses and conducts them throughout the muscle of the heart, stimulating the heart to contract and pump blood. Among the m...

Cardiac aneurysm - Medical

Cardiac aneurysm: An outpouching of an abnormally thin portion of the heart wall. Cardiac aneurysms tend to involve the left ventricle because the blood there is under greatest pressure. Last Editorial Review: 3/26/1998 2:30:00 PM...

Cardiac - Medical

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart. Last Editorial Review: 4/27/2011 5:27:15 PM...

CARDIA Study - Medical

CARDIA Study: Coronary Artery Risk Development In Young Adults (CARDIA). A study designed to increase understanding of contributors to changes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors during the critical years of transition from adolescence...

Carcinoma, pancreatic - Medical

Carcinoma, pancreatic: See: Pancreatic cancer.Last Editorial Review: 10/10/2004 Pancreatic cancer: Malignancy of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a "silent" disease because early pancreatic cancer usually does not caus...

Carcinoma, Merkel cell - Medical

Carcinoma, Merkel cell: An infrequent but highly malignant type of skin cancer. Characteristically starts in a sun-exposed area (of the head, neck, arms or legs) in whites 60-80 years of age as a firm, painless, shiny lump that can be red, pink, or b...

Carcinoma, islet cell - Medical

Carcinoma, islet cell: See: Islet cell cancer.Last Editorial Review: 8/3/2004 Islet cell cancer: A rare but highly treatable type of pancreatic cancer that begins in the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin and other hormones. Islet cell cance...

Carcinoma, hepatocellular - Medical

Carcinoma, hepatocellular: A tumor in which the cancer starts during adulthood in cells in the liver. Also called adult primary liver cancer. Primary liver cancer is different from cancer that has metastasized (spread) from another place in the ...