Pulmonary Hypertension Glossary of Terms

Angiogram: An x-ray of blood vessels which can be seen because the patient receives an injection of dye to outline the vessels on the x-ray.

Apnea: An apnea is a period of time during which breathing stops or is markedly reduced. There are two types of apneas, the more common obstructive sleep apnea and the less common central sleep apnea.
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Arm: 1. In popular usage, the appendage that extends from the shoulder to the hand. However, the medical definition refers to the upper extremity extending from the shoulder only to the elbow, excluding the forearm, which extends from the elbow to the wrist. The arm contains one bone: the humerus. 2. In a randomized clinical trial, any of the treatment groups. Most randomized trials have two "arms," but some have three "arms," or even more.

Biochemical: Relating to biochemistry, the application of the tools and concepts of chemistry to living systems.
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Blood: The familiar red fluid in the body that contains white and red blood cells, platelets, proteins, and other elements. The blood is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Blood functions in two directions: arterial and venous. Arterial blood is the means by which oxygen and nutrients are transported to tissues while venous blood is the means by which carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products are transported to the lungs and kidneys, respectively, for removal from the body.

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.

Calcium: A mineral found mainly in the hard part of bones, where it is stored. Calcium is added to bones by cells called osteoblasts and is removed from bones by cells called osteoclasts. Calcium is essential for healthy bones. It is also important for muscle contraction, heart action, nervous system maintenance, and normal blood clotting. Food sources of calcium include dairy foods, some leafy green vegetables such as broccoli and collards, canned salmon, clams, oysters, calcium-fortified foods, and tofu. According to the National Academy of Sciences, adequate intake of calcium is 1,200 milligrams a day (four glasses of milk) for men and women 51 and older, 1,000 milligrams a day for adults 19 through 50, and 1,300 milligrams a day for children 9 through 18. The upper limit for calcium intake is 2.5 grams daily.

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 X-ray: Commonly used to detect abnormalities in the lungs, but can also detect abnormalities in the heart, aorta, and the bones of the thoracic area. Metallic objects, such as jewelry are removed from the chest and neck areas for a chest x-ray to avoid interference with x-ray penetration and improve accuracy of the interpretation.

Chronic: This important term in medicine comes from the Greek chronos, time and means lasting a long time.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : COPD. Any disorder that persistently obstructs bronchial airflow. COPD mainly involves two related diseases -- chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both cause chronic obstruction of air flowing through the airways and in and out of the lungs. The obstruction is generally permanent and progresses (becomes worse) over time.
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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.

Condition: The term "condition" has a number of biomedical meanings including the following:

1. An unhealthy state, such as in "this is a progressive condition."
2. A state of fitness, such as "getting into condition."
3. Something that is essential to the occurrence of something else; essentially a "precondition."
4. As a verb: to cause a change in something so that a response that was previously associated with a certain stimulus becomes associated with another stimulus; to condition a person, as in behavioral conditioning.

COPD: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease . Any disorder that persistently obstructs bronchial airflow. COPD mainly involves two related diseases -- chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both cause chronic obstruction of air flowing through the airways and in and out of the lungs. The obstruction is generally permanent and progresses (becomes worse) over time.
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Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. Cures are easy to claim and, all too often, difficult to confirm.
2. A time without recurrence of a disease so that the risk of recurrence is small, as in the 5-year cure rate for malignant melanoma .
3. Particularly in the past, a course of treatment. For example, take a cure at a spa.
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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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Dilate: To stretch or enlarge. It comes from the Latin verb "dilatare" meaning "to enlarge or expand."

Disease: Illness or sickness often characterized by typical patient problems (symptoms) and physical findings (signs). Disruption sequence: The events that occur when a fetus that is developing normally is subjected to a destructive agent such as the rubella (German measles) virus.

Dizziness : Painless head discomfort with many possible causes including disturbances of vision, the brain, balance (vestibular) system of the inner ear, and gastrointestinal system. Dizziness is a medically indistinct term which laypersons use to describe a variety of conditions ranging from lightheadedness, unsteadiness to vertigo.
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Embolism: The obstruction of a blood vessel by a foreign substance or a blood clot blocking the vessel. Something travels through the bloodstream, lodges in a vessel and plugs it.
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Emphysema: 1) A lung condition featuring an abnormal accumulation of air in the lung's many tiny air sacs, a tissue called alveoli. As air continues to collect in these sacs, they become enlarged, and may break, or be damaged and form scar tissue. Emphysema is strongly associated with smoking cigarettes, a practice that causes lung irritation. It can also be associated with or worsened by repeated infection of the lungs, such as is seen in chronic bronchitis. The best response to the early warning signs of emphysema is prevention: stop smoking and get immediate treatment for incipient lung infections. Curing established emphysema is not yet possible. Because patients don't have an adequate amount of space in the lungs to breathe, they gasp for breath, and may not be able to obtain enough oxygen. Those with severe emphysema usually end up using an oxygen machine to breathe. In some cases, medication may be helpful to ease symptoms or to treat infection in already-damaged lungs.
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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 ).
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Gene: The basic biological unit of heredity . A segment of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) needed to contribute to a function.
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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 ventricle: One of the two lower chambers of the heart.
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High altitude: Altitude sickness occurs at high altitude. So what is high altitude?
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High blood pressure : Also known as hypertension, high blood pressure is, by definition, a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg -- a systolic pressure above 140 with a diastolic pressure above 90.
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Hypertension: High blood pressure , defined as a repeatedly elevated blood pressure exceeding 140 over 90 mmHg -- a systolic pressure above 140 with a diastolic pressure above 90.
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Idiopathic: Of unknown cause. Any disease that is of uncertain or unknown origin may be termed idiopathic. For example, acute idiopathic polyneuritis , diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis , idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis , idiopathic scoliosis , etc.
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Left heart: The heart is composed functionally of two hearts - the right heart and the left heart. The left heart consists of the left atrium which receives oxygenated blood from the lung and the left ventricle which pumps it out to the body under high pressure.

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.

Liver: An organ in the upper abdomen that aids in digestion and removes waste products and worn-out cells from the blood. The liver is the largest solid organ in the body. The liver weighs about three and a half pounds (1.6 kilograms). It measures about 8 inches (20 cm) horizontally (across) and 6.5 inches (17 cm) vertically (down) and is 4.5 inches (12 cm) thick.

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.

Medication: 1. A drug or medicine. 2. The administration of a drug or medicine. (Note that "medication" does not have the dangerous double meaning of "drug.")

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."

Nitric oxide: A compound that is toxic but which, paradoxically, plays a number of important roles in the body, including the following:

• It acts as a vasodilator (blood vessel relaxant).
• It therefore controls blood flow to tissues.
• It regulates the binding and release of oxygen to hemoglobin .
• It thereby controls the supply of oxygen to mitochondria (cell powerhouses that generate energy).
• It kills parasitic organisms, virus-infected cells, and tumor cells (by inactivating respiratory chain enzymes in their mitochondria).
• It stimulates the production of new mitochondria.

Nurse: 1) A person trained, licensed, or skilled in nursing. 2) To feed an infant at the breast.

Obstruction: Blockage of a passageway. See, for example: Airway obstruction; Intestinal obstruction.

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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Pelvic: Having to do with the pelvis, the lower part of the abdomen, located between the hip bones.

Primary: First or foremost in time or development. The primary teeth (the baby teeth) are those that come first. Primary may also refer to symptoms or a disease to which others are secondary.
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Pulmonary: Having to do with the lungs. (The word comes from the Latin pulmo for lung).

Pulmonary hypertension : High blood pressure in the pulmonary artery that conveys blood from the right ventricle to the lungs. The pressure in the pulmonary artery is normally low compared to that in the aorta . Pulmonary hypertension can irrevocably damage the lungs and cause failure of the right ventricle.
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Receptor: 1. In cell biology, a structure on the surface of a cell (or inside a cell) that selectively receives and binds a specific substance. There are many receptors. There is a receptor for ( insulin ; there is a receptor for low-density lipoproteins ( LDL ); etc. To take an example, the receptor for substance P, a molecule that acts as a messenger for the sensation of pain , is a unique harbor on the cell surface where substance P docks. Without this receptor, substance P cannot dock and cannot deliver its message of pain. Variant forms of nuclear hormone receptors mediate processes such as cholesterol metabolism and fatty acid production. Some hormone receptors are implicated in diseases such as diabetes and certain types of cancer. A receptor called PXR appears to jump-start the body's response to unfamiliar chemicals and may be involved in drug-drug interactions.
2. In neurology, a terminal of a sensory nerve that receives and responds to stimuli.
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Recurrent: Back again. A recurrent fever is a fever that has returned after an intermission: a recrudescent fever.

Redux: See: Dexfenfluramine.

Right heart: The heart is composed functionally of two hearts - the right heart and the left heart. The right heart consists of the right atrium which receives deoxygenated blood from the body and the right ventricle which pumps it to the lungs. The right heart is a low pressure system.

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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Scleroderma: A disease of connective tissue with the formation of scar tissue (fibrosis) in the skin and sometimes also in other organs of the body.
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Sleep : The body's rest cycle.
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Sleep apnea: The temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep , often resulting in daytime sleepiness. Apnea is a Greek word that means "want of breath."
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Smooth muscle: One of the three types of muscle tissue in the body (skeletal, smooth, cardiac). Generally forms the supporting tissue of blood vessels and hollow internal organs such as the stomach, intestine, and bladder. So named because of the absence of microscopic lines called "cross-striations" which are seen in the other two types.

Sporadic: Occurring upon occasion or in a scattered, isolated or seemingly random way.
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Stress: Forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. Stress is a normal part of life that can help us learn and grow. Conversely, stress can cause us significant problems.
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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.
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Therapy: The treatment of disease .
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Transforming growth factor: (TGF) One of several proteins secreted by transformed cells that can stimulate the growth of normal cells. Transforming growth factor alpha (TGF alpha or TGF-A) binds the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and stimulates the growth of endothelial cells (cells that line the inside of blood vessels). Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta or TGF-B) is found in hematopoietic (blood-forming) tissue and initiates a signaling pathway that suppresses the early development of cancer cells.
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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.

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.
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