Heart Murmur Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Not normal. Deviating from the usual structure, position, condition, or behavior. In referring to a growth, abnormal may mean that it is cancerous or premalignant (likely to become cancer).

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated.
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Anemia: The condition of having less than the normal number of red blood cells or less than the normal quantity of hemoglobin in the blood. The oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood is, therefore, decreased.
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Aneurysm: A localized widening (dilatation) of an artery, vein, or the heart. At the area of an aneurysm, there is typically a bulge and the wall is weakened and may rupture. The word "aneurysm" comes from the Greek "aneurysma" meaning "a widening."
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Aorta: The largest artery in the body, the aorta arises from the left ventricle of the heart, goes up (ascends) a little ways, bends over (arches), then goes down (descends) through the chest and through the abdomen to where ends by dividing into two arteries called the common iliac arteries that go to the legs.
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Aortic: Pertaining to the aorta, the largest artery in the body.
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Aortic aneurysm: An outpouching (a local widening) of the largest artery in the body, the aorta, involving that vessel in its course above the diaphragm (thoracic aortic aneurysm) or, more commonly, below the diaphragm (abdominal aortic aneurysm). The diagnosis of an aortic aneurysm can be straight forward or difficult. Around 1900 the eminent physician William Osler said: "There is no disease more conducive to clinical humility than aneurysm of the aorta." At the area of the aneurysm, there is typically a bulge and the wall is weakened and may rupture. Because of the volume of blood flowing under relatively high pressure through the aorta, a ruptured aneurysm of the aorta is a catastrophe.
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Aortic valve: One of the four valves in the heart, this valve is situated at exit of the left ventricle of the heart where the aorta (the largest of all arteries) begins.
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Artery: A vessel that carries blood high in oxygen content away from the heart to the farthest reaches of the body. Since blood in arteries is usually full of oxygen, the hemoglobin in the red blood cells is oxygenated. The resultant form of hemoglobin (oxyhemoglobin) is what makes arterial blood look bright red.
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Atherosclerotic: Pertaining to atherosclerosis, the process of progressive thickening and hardening of the walls of arteries from fat deposits on their inner lining. Atherosclerotic heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US.

Atria: The plural of atrium. The atria are the two smaller chambers of the heart. Each atrium consists of an open space with recessed walls.
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Atrial: Pertaining to the atria, the upper chambers of the heart, as in atrial fibrillation and atrial septal defect.

Atrial septum: The wall between the two upper chambers (the right and left atrium) of the heart.

Atrium: One of the two smaller chambers of the heart. Each atrium consists of an open space with recessed walls. The plural of atrium is atria.
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Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria. For example, a bacterial lung infection.

Bicuspid: Having two flaps or cusps. The heart valve that is called the bicuspid valve is located between the left atrium and left ventricle. Although the aortic valve in the heart normally is tricuspid (with three cusps), it may sometimes be bicuspid.

Birth defect: Any defect present in a baby at birth, irrespective of whether the defect is caused by a genetic factor or by prenatal events that are not genetic.
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Blood pressure: The blood pressure is the pressure of the blood within the arteries. It is produced primarily by the contraction of the heart muscle. It's measurement is recorded by two numbers. The first (systolic pressure) is measured after the heart contracts and is highest. The second (diastolic pressure) is measured before the heart contracts and lowest. A blood pressure cuff is used to measure the pressure. Elevation of blood pressure is called "hypertension".

Breathing: The process of respiration, during which air is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth or nose due to muscle contraction, and then exhaled due to muscle relaxation.

Calcification: The process of building bone by suffusing tissues with calcium salts. Also called ossification.

Carbon dioxide: A gas which is the byproduct of cellular metabolism and which collects in the tissues, is cleared from the tissues by the blood within the veins, is carried by the hemoglobin in the red blood cells, and removed from the body via the lungs in the exhaled air. Abbreviated CO2.

Cardiac: Having to do with the heart.

Cartilage: Firm, rubbery tissue that cushions bones at joints. A more flexible kind of cartilage connects muscles with bones and makes up other parts of the body, such as the larynx and the outside parts of the ears.

Chest: The area of the body located between the neck and the abdomen. The chest contains the lungs, the heart and part of the aorta. The walls of the chest are supported by the dorsal vertebrae, the ribs, and the sternum.
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Chest pain: There are many causes of chest pain. One is angina which results from inadequate oxygen supply to the heart muscle. Angina can be caused by coronary artery disease or spasm of the coronary arteries. Chest pain can also be due to a heart attack (coronary occlusion) and other important diseases such as, for example, dissection of the aorta and a pulmonary embolism. Do not try to ignore chest pain and "work (or play) though it." Chest pain is a warning to seek medical attention.

Cholesterol: The most common type of steroid in the body, cholesterol has gotten something of a bad name. However, cholesterol is a critically important molecule.
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Circulation: The movement of fluid in a regular or circuitous course. Although the noun "circulation" does not necessarily refer to the circulation of the blood, for all practical purposes today it does. Heart failure is an example of a problem with the circulation.

Complication: In medicine, an additional problem that arises following a procedure, treatment or illness and is secondary to it. A complication complicates the situation.

Congenital: Present at birth. A condition that is congenital is one that is present at birth. There are numerous uses of "congenital" in medicine. There are, for example, congenital abnormalities. (For more examples, see below.)
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Congenital heart disease: A malformation of the heart or the large blood vessels near the heart. The term "congenital" speaks only to time, not to causation; it means "born with" or "present at birth."
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Connective tissue: A material made up of fibers forming a framework and support structure for body tissues and organs. Connective tissue surrounds many organs. Cartilage and bone are specialized forms of connective tissue. All connective tissue is derived from mesoderm, the middle germ cell layer in the embryo.

Cyanotic: Showing cyanosis (bluish discoloration of the skin and mucous membranes due to not enough oxygen in the blood). See: Cyanosis.

Diabetes: Refers to diabetes mellitus or, less often, to diabetes insipidus. Diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus share the name "diabetes" because they are both conditions characterized by excessive urination (polyuria).
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Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies. 3 The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV.
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Diastole: The time period when the heart is in a state of relaxation and dilatation (expansion).
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Ductus: A duct or walled passageway suitable for the conveyance of air or, more often in the body, liquids.
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Ductus arteriosus: A key arterial shunt (ductus) in fetal life. Before birth, blood pumped from the heart through the pulmonary artery toward the lungs is shunted into the aorta. This arterial shunt is a short vessel called the ductus arteriosus. When the shunt is open, it is said to be patent.
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Edema: The swelling of soft tissues as a result of excess water accumulation.
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Electrocardiogram: A recording of the electrical activity of the heart. An electrocardiogram is a simple, non-invasive procedure. Electrodes are placed on the skin of the chest and connected in a specific order to a machine that, when turned on, measures electrical activity all overaround the heart. Output is usually in the form of a long scroll of paper displaying a printed graph of activity. Newer models output the data directly to a computer and screen, although a print-out may still be made.
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Familial: A condition that is tends to occur more often in family members than expected by chance alone. A familial disease may be genetic (such as cystic fibrosis) or environmental (such as tuberculosis).

Fever: Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.).
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Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic information.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. It is positioned in the chest behind the sternum (breastbone; in front of the trachea, esophagus, and aorta; and above the diaphragm muscle that separates the chest and abdominal cavities. The normal heart is about the size of a closed fist, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. It is cone-shaped, with the point of the cone pointing down to the left. Two-thirds of the heart lies in the left side of the chest with the balance in the right chest.
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Heart attack: The death of heart muscle due to the loss of blood supply. The loss of blood supply is usually caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery, one of the arteries that supplies blood to the heart muscle. Death of the heart muscle, in turn, causes chest pain and electrical instability of the heart muscle tissue.
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Heart disease: Any disorder that affects the heart. Sometimes the term "heart disease" is used narrowly and incorrectly as a synonym for coronary artery disease. Heart disease is synonymous with cardiac disease but not with cardiovascular disease which is any disease of the heart or blood vessels. Among the many types of heart disease, see, for example: Angina; Arrhythmia; Congenital heart disease; Coronary artery disease (CAD); Dilated cardiomyopathy; Heart attack (myocardial infarction); Heart failure; Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy; Mitral regurgitation; Mitral valve prolapse; and Pulmonary stenosis.

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, the heart is unable to provide adequate blood flow to other organs such as the brain, liver and kidneys. Heart failure may be due to failure of the right or left or both ventricles. The signs and symptoms depend upon which side of the heart is failing. They can include shortness of breath (dyspnea), asthma due to the heart (cardiac asthma), pooling of blood (stasis) in the general body (systemic) circulation or in the liver's (portal) circulation, swelling (edema), blueness or duskiness (cyanosis), and enlargement (hypertrophy) of the heart.
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Heart murmur: An extra abnormal heart sound usually detected while listening to the heartbeat with a stethoscope. Heart murmurs may be harmless or may signal a problem, such as an abnormality of the heart valves or a congenital (present at birth) heart disease.

Heart muscle: A type of muscle with unique features only found in the heart. The heart muscle, or cardiac muscle, is medically called the myocardium ("myo-" being the prefix denoting muscle).

Heart rate: The number of heart beats per unit time, usually per minute. The heart rate is based on the number of contractions of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart). The heart rate may be too fast (tachycardia) or too slow (bradycardia). The pulse is bulge of an artery from the wave of blood coursing through the blood vessel as a result of the heart beat. The pulse is often taken at the wrist to estimate the heart rate.

Heart valves: There are four heart valves. All are one-way valves. Blood entering the heart first passes through the tricuspid valve and then the pulmonary valve. After returning from the lungs, the blood passes through the mitral (bicuspid) valve and exits via the aortic valve.

Hypertrophy: Enlargement or overgrowth of an organ or part of the body due to the increased size of the constituent cells. Hypertrophy occurs in the biceps and heart because of increased work. Cardiac hypertrophy is recognizable microscopically by the increased size of the cells. The term hypertrophy is applied to the enlargement of the uterus during pregnancy. The term benign prostatic hypertrophy is a misnomer because the increased size of the prostate is due to hyperplasia, an increase in the number of cells.

Infant: A child up to 2 years (24 months) of age.
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Infection: The growth of a parasitic organism within the body. (A parasitic organism is one that lives on or in another organism and draws its nourishment therefrom.) A person with an infection has another organism (a "germ") growing within him, drawing its nourishment from the person.
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Inflammation: A basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation or other injury, the key feature being redness, warmth, swelling and pain. Inflammation is now recognized as a type of nonspecific immune response.
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Injury: Harm or hurt. The term "injury" may be applied in medicine to damage inflicted upon oneself as in a hamstring injury or by an external agent on as in a cold injury. The injury may be accidental or deliberate, as with a needlestick injury. The term "injury" may be synonymous (depending on the context) with a wound or with trauma.

Intervention: The act of intervening, interfering or interceding with the intent of modifying the outcome. In medicine, an intervention is usually undertaken to help treat or cure a condition. For example, early intervention may help children with autism to speak. "Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States," according to the National Institutes of Health. From the Latin intervenire, to come between.

Left ventricle: The left lower chamber of the heart that receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it out under high pressure through the aorta to the body.

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon dioxide from and bring oxygen to the blood. There is a right and left lung.

Lupus: A chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that are targeted against their own body tissues.
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Marfan syndrome: An inherited disorder of connective tissue characterized by abnormalities of the eyes, skeleton, and cardiovascular system.
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Metabolism: The whole range of biochemical processes that occur within an organism. Metabolism consists both of anabolism and catabolism (the buildup and breakdown of substances, respectively). The biochemical reactions are known as metabolic pathways and involve enzymes that transform one substance into another substance, either breaking down a substance or building a new chemical substance. The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the breakdown of food and its transformation into energy.

Mitral valve: A valve in the heart situated between the left atrium and the left ventricle that permits blood to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle but not in the reverse direction.
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Murmur: A sound due to vibrations from the flow of blood through the heart or great vessels. A murmur may be innocent and be of no significance. Or it may be pathologic and reflect disease. A murmur is usually heard with a stethoscope.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. There are three types of muscle in the body. Muscle which is responsible for moving extremities and external areas of the body is called "skeletal muscle." Heart muscle is called "cardiac muscle." Muscle that is in the walls of arteries and bowel is called "smooth muscle."

Oxygen: A colorless, odorless and tasteless gas that makes up about 20% of the air we breathe (and at least half the weight of the entire solid crust of the earth) and which combines with most of the other elements to form oxides. Oxygen is essential to human, animal and plant life.
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Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.
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Palpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In some patients with palpitations, no heart disease or abnormal heart rhythms can be found. In others, palpitations result from abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias refer to heartbeats that are too slow, too rapid, irregular, or too early.

Patent ductus: Failure of the ductus arteriosus, which functions in fetal life as an arterial shunt, to close on schedule at or shortly after birth. When the shunt remains open, it is said to be patent. See: Patent ductus arteriosus.

Patent ductus arteriosus: Failure for the ductus arteriosus, an arterial shunt in fetal life, to close on schedule.
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PDA: Patent ductus arteriosus.

Pharyngitis: Inflammation of the pharynx (the hollow tube in the back of the throat about 5 inches long that starts behind the nose and ends at the top of the trachea). Pharyngitis is popularly known as a sore throat.
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Physiologic: Something that is normal, neither due to anything pathologic nor significant in terms of causing illness.

Physiology: The study of how living organisms function including such processes as nutrition, movement, and reproduction.
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Pregnancy: The state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body. This condition can be indicated by positive results on an over-the-counter urine test, and confirmed through a blood test, ultrasound, detection of fetal heartbeat, or an X-ray. Pregnancy lasts for about nine months, measured from the date of the woman's last menstrual period (LMP). It is conventionally divided into three trimesters, each roughly three months long.
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Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease.
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient. His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.
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Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs. (The word comes from the Latin pulmo for lung).

Pulmonary artery: One of the two vessels which are formed as terminal branches of the pulmonary trunk and convey unaerated blood to the lungs. The two pulmonary arteries differ in length and anatomy.
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Pulmonary valve: One of the four valves in the heart, the pulmonary valve stands at the opening from the right ventricle in the pulmonary artery trunk. It lets blood head in the right direction (toward the lungs) and keeps it from sloshing back from the pulmonary artery into the heart.

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is the hemoglobin which permits them to transport oxygen (and carbon dioxide). Hemoglobin, aside from being a transport molecule, is a pigment. It gives the cells their red color (and their name).
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Regurgitation: A backward flowing. For example, of food. Or the sloshing of blood back into the heart (or between chambers of the heart) when a heart valve is incompetent and does not close effectively.

Rheumatic fever: An illness that occurs following a streptococcus infection (such as a "strep throat") or scarlet fever and predominantly affects children. Symptoms include fever, pain in the joints, nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting. Rheumatic fever can cause long-lasting effects in the skin, joints, heart, and brain.
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Right atrium: The right upper chamber of the heart. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the body through the vena cava and pumps it into the right ventricle which then sends it to the lungs to be oxygenated.

Right ventricle: The lower right chamber of the heart that receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium and pumps it under low pressure into the lungs via the pulmonary artery.
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Risk factor: Something that increases a person's chances of developing a disease.

Sclerosis: Localized hardening of skin.

Sensation: In medicine and physiology, sensation refers to the registration of an incoming (afferent) nerve impulse in that part of the brain called the sensorium, which is capable of such perception. Therefore, the awareness of a stimulus as a result of its perception by sensory receptors. (Sensory is here synonymous with sensation.)
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Septum: A word borrowed from the Latin "saeptum" meaning a "dividing wall or enclosure."

Shortness of breath: Difficulty in breathing. Medically referred to as dyspnea. Shortness of breath can be caused by respiratory (breathing passages and lungs) or circulatory (heart and blood vessels) conditions. See also dyspnea.

Skeleton: The skeleton is composed of bones and is the framework of the body.

Skin color: The color of skin which is complexly determined. Skin color depends on many factors including reddening caused by inflammation, the hemoglobin level in the blood, and the darkening caused by increased deposition of the pigment melanin. Melanin itself is a polymer that comes in two types -- a red-yellow form known as pheomelanin and a black-brown form known as eumelanin.
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Stenosis: A narrowing, as in:

• aortic stenosis (narrowing of the aortic valve of the heart),
• pulmonary stenosis (narrowing of the pulmonary valve of the heart),
• pyloric stenosis (narrowing of the outlet of the stomach), and
• spinal stenosis (narrowing of the vertebral canal).

Stethoscope: An instrument used to transmit low-volume sounds such as the heartbeat (or intestinal, venous, or fetal sounds) to the ear of the listener. A stethoscope may consist of two earpieces connected by means of flexible tubing to a diaphragm placed against the skin of the patient.
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Strep: Very commonly used shortened form of Streptococcus, a very common and important group of bacteria. See Streptococcus

Strep throat: Strep throat is an infection caused by a type of bacteria called streptococcus, which can lead to serious complications if not adequately treated.

Streptococcus: A group of bacteria, familiarly known as strep, that cause a multitude of diseases. The name comes from the Greek strepto- meaning twisted + kokkos meaning berry, and that is exactly what strep look like under the microscope, like a twisted bunch of little round berries. Illness caused by strep includes strep throat, strep pneumonia, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever (and rheumatic heart valve damage), glomerulonephritis, the skin disorder erysipelas, and PANDAS.

Surgery: The word "surgery" has multiple meanings. It is the branch of medicine concerned with diseases and conditions which require or are amenable to operative procedures. Surgery is the work done by a surgeon. By analogy, the work of an editor wielding his pen as a scalpel is s form of surgery. A surgery in England (and some other countries) is a physician's or dentist's office.
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Syndrome: A set of signs and symptoms that tend to occur together and which reflect the presence of a particular disease or an increased chance of developing a particular disease.
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Systemic: Affecting the entire body. A systemic disease such as diabetes can affect the whole body. Systemic chemotherapy employs drugs that travel through the bloodstream and reach and affect cells all over the body.

Systemic lupus erythematosus: A chronic inflammatory condition caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease occurs when the body's tissues are attacked by its own immune system. Patients with lupus have unusual antibodies in their blood that are targeted against their own body tissues.
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Systole: The time period when the heart is contracting. The period specifically during which the left ventricle of the heart contracts.
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Systolic: The blood pressure when the heart is contracting. It is specifically the maximum arterial pressure during contraction of the left ventricle of the heart. The time at which ventricular contraction occurs is called systole.
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Throat: The throat is the anterior (front) portion of the neck beginning at the back of the mouth, consisting anatomically of the pharynx and larynx. The throat contains the trachea and a portion of the esophagus.

Tricuspid: Having three flaps or cusps. The valve that is called the tricuspid valve is situated between the right atrium and right ventricle and permits blood to flow only from the atrium into the ventricle. The aortic valve in the heart also has three cusps.

Tricuspid valve:One of the four heart valves, the tricuspid valve is the first one that blood encounters as it enters the heart. The tricuspid valve stands between the right atrium and right ventricle and allows blood to flow only from the atrium into the ventricle.

Ultrasound: High-frequency sound waves. Ultrasound waves can be bounced off of tissues using special devices. The echoes are then converted into a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging, referred to as ultrasonography, allows physicians and patients to get an inside view of soft tissues and body cavities, without using invasive techniques. Ultrasound is often used to examine a fetus during pregnancy. There is no convincing evidence for any danger from ultrasound during pregnancy.

Vena cava: The superior vena cava is the large vein which returns blood to the heart from the head, neck and both upper limbs. The inferior vena cava returns blood to the heart from the lower part of the body.
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Ventricle: A chamber of an organ. For example, the four connected cavities (hollow spaces) in the central portion of the brain and the lower two chambers of the heart are called ventricles.

Ventricles: 1, The right ventricle and the left ventricle, the lower two chambers of the heart. 2. Two or more of the four connected spaces within the central portion of the brain.

Ventricular: Pertaining to the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, as in ventricular fibrillation and ventricular septal defect.

Ventricular septum: The wall between the two lower chambers (the right and left ventricles) of the heart.

VSD: A Ventricular Septal Defect, a hole in the septum (the wall) between the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles).
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X-ray: 1. High-energy radiation with waves shorter than those of visible light. X-rays possess the properties of penetrating most substances (to varying extents), of acting on a photographic film or plate (permitting radiography), and of causing a fluorescent screen to give off light (permitting fluoroscopy). In low doses X-rays are used for making images that help to diagnose disease, and in high doses to treat cancer. Formerly called a Roentgen ray. 2. An image obtained by means of X-rays.