Understanding medical terms related to heart health is essential for making informed decisions about your care and overall well-being. Conditions like hypertension, arrhythmia, or atherosclerosis can sound intimidating, but knowing what they mean—and how they impact your heart—can help you take proactive steps to prevent or manage them.
Clear communication with your healthcare provider becomes easier when you understand basic terminology, allowing you to ask better questions and comprehend treatment options. This knowledge empowers you to recognize symptoms, prioritize screenings, and adopt healthier habits to protect your heart for the long term, putting you in control of your heart health journey.
At CardioVascular Health Clinic, our national-caliber team of multidisciplinary physicians combines decades of experience in innovative heart and vascular health with a comprehensive, whole-person approach to care that puts the patient first. Although we lead the country in ground-breaking procedures and pinpoint diagnoses for rare conditions, we also strive to deliver the trusted and personalized one-on-one bedside care you deserve so you can take charge of your health with confidence.
Cardiovascular terminology can be complicated because it often stems from Latin and Greek roots, making the words sound unfamiliar and technical to the average person. Terms like "myocardial infarction" (heart attack) or "arteriosclerosis" (hardening of the arteries) may seem complex, even though they describe common conditions. This medical jargon is designed to be precise for healthcare professionals to ensure accurate diagnoses and treatments, but for patients, it can feel confusing, intimidating, or even overwhelming—especially when faced with a diagnosis or treatment plan. The complexity can create a communication barrier, leaving patients unsure about their condition, its severity, or their options. Simplifying these terms and explaining them in everyday language can help people feel more confident and engaged in their cardiovascular care.
Heart disease is a broad term used to describe a range of conditions affecting the heart. It is more or less a “catch all” for describing health conditions that affect the function and structure of the heart muscle, and can include diseased vessels, structural problems, and blood clots. Heart disease is often used interchangeably with “cardiovascular disease”; however, while all heart diseases are also cardiovascular diseases, not all cardiovascular diseases are heart diseases. Coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease in the U.S., but heart disease can also include arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), congenital heart problems; and disease of the heart muscle or heart valves.
Cardiovascular diseases affect the heart and blood vessels, and can affect one or many parts. Cardiovascular diseases can develop for a number of reasons, from genetic problems and medications to lifestyle, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Most cardiovascular diseases are characterized by a narrowing of the blood vessels in the heart, other organs, or throughout the body; irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia); heart valves that do not work properly; and congenital heart and blood vessel problems.
Vascular diseases occur when blood vessels become blocked, weakened, or damaged. The resulting reduced or blocked blood flow can then harm organs and other body parts or contribute to more serious health conditions including peripheral arterial disease (PAD), peripheral venous disease (PVD), chronic venous insufficiency, varicose veins, atherosclerosis, chronic limb threatening ischemia, and more.
Angina is transient chest pain that occurs when the heart muscle isn’t receiving enough oxygenated blood, most often during exertion, because the heart is functioning reasonably well at rest but is struggling to get enough oxygen when stressed. Angina can feel like squeezing, tightness, pressure, or burning in the chest, but it can also feel like an upset stomach, with pain or discomfort spreading from the chest to the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. While angina itself is typically not life-threatening, it is often a symptom of an underlying heart condition such as coronary heart disease and can be a warning sign that you are at risk of heart attack or stroke. Depending on the cause, angina can be managed and controlled with treatment and healthy lifestyle changes.
Claudication—sometimes called intermittent claudication--is pain in the legs and/or hips that occurs when walking or exercising but goes away when you rest. It is caused by reduced blood flow to the legs as the result of narrowed or blocked arteries and can increase your risk for heart attack or stroke. It may be accompanied by other symptoms such as an aching or burning feeling, cold feet, or blotchy or shiny skin on the leg or foot. Treatment for claudication typically focuses on improving and increasing mobility, lowering the risk of vascular disease, and preventing tissue damage.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping normally and you stop breathing. It is often confused with a heart attack, but they are not the same. Depending on the severity, your heart can continue beating if you are having a heart attack; cardiac arrest is the complete stoppage of heart function. Cardiac arrest is most commonly caused by a heart attack, but it can also be caused by other conditions. Cardiac arrest requires immediate treatment, including CPR and defibrillation.
A heart attack—myocardial infarction—occurs when one of the main blood vessels supplying the heart muscle becomes obstructed and the heart can’t get enough blood supply and oxygen. During a myocardial infarction, the heart will continue to beat and provide oxygen (unless it is severely damaged), but without treatment, the heart muscle will eventually begin to die, so prompt response is critical to prevent further damage. Heart attacks are typically either STEMI—with a complete blockage of a coronary artery, usually by a blood clot—or NSTEMI, which is a significant but not complete blockage of a coronary artery with some oxygen available to the heart muscle.
It is a common misconception that heart failure is the same as cardiac arrest. While cardiac arrest is a complete cessation of heart function, where it stops completely, heart failure is a chronic condition during which your heart continues to function, just not at its best. Sometimes referred to as congestive heart failure, heart failure doesn’t imply that your heart isn’t beating, but that it isn’t beating well enough to pump blood around your body efficiently. Heart failure can develop as the result of a variety of causes, from coronary artery disease and high blood pressure to health conditions, unhealthy behaviors, and congenital problems, and while it can’t be cured, it can be controlled and managed for many years.
Edema develops when fluid builds up in the body’s tissues, producing swelling. It can occur just about anywhere in the body, but edema related to cardiovascular function in particular is usually caused by fluid leaking out of blood vessels into surrounding tissues. This fluid can build up in the legs or ankles, causing swelling, or in the lungs (pulmonary edema), making it difficult to breathe. Edema is a frequent symptom of congestive heart failure, when the heart is too weak or slow to pump blood out of the heart and fluid trying to return blood to the heart backs up in the veins.
Blood pressure is a measurement of how forcefully blood is moving through your arteries. High blood pressure (hypertension) occurs when the pressure of the blood moving through your arteries is consistently too high and the heart is having to work too hard to pump blood. High blood pressure tends to develop slowly and gradually over many years, often as the result of plaque buildup in the arteries, which narrows the arteries and makes it harder for blood to move through them, eventually damaging the arteries themselves. High blood pressure increases your risk for a number of major health issues, including cardiac arrest and stroke, but it can usually be quickly diagnosed and effectively managed with medication and diet and lifestyle changes.
Atherosclerosis, a type of arteriosclerosis, occurs when sticky, fatty plaque builds up in the artery walls, narrowing the artery and making it harder for blood to flow through it. Atherosclerosis is directly linked to high levels of blood cholesterol, a waxy, fat-like substance that is essential in certain amounts. Too much cholesterol in the blood, however, such as from high fat or highly processed diets, can cause the excess cholesterol your body doesn’t need to accumulate and form the plaque deposits that start to harden, narrow, and damage the arteries. Atherosclerosis can lead to conditions like angina, high blood pressure, and stroke.
At CardioVascular Health Clinic, we try to keep things as simple as possible for our patients. Our patient-centric approach to care and state-of-the-art facility mean that, not only will you not be bombarded with confusing medical terminology from a parade of doctors, but you won’t be shuffled around to different providers or buildings. Instead, you’ll receive a clear, accurate diagnosis; transparent, honest communication; and a well-defined plan for your treatment going forward. There’s also a good chance you’ll be able to receive all the care you need from the same team of doctors in one convenient location, so you can focus on getting better instead of trying to figure out what’s going on.
The interventional radiologists, cardiovascular specialists, and vascular surgeons at CardioVascular Health Clinic have been at the forefront of cardiac and vascular care for decades, pioneering treatments that redefine patient care. When you choose us for your care, you gain access to advanced treatments, innovative techniques, and a complete team of multiple specialists, all working toward one goal–your optimal health.
No matter what cardiovascular, vascular, or heart conditions you face, CardioVascular Health Clinic can help. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.