Do you know the difference between V.T. and T.V?

Like any exclusive club, heart disease has its own jargon, understandable only by other members of the club, including cardiac care providers.  For example, I remember lying in my CCU bed (that’s the Coronary Intensive Care Unit), trying to memorize the letters LAD or Left Anterior Descending – the large coronary artery whose 99% blockage had caused my MI (myocardial infarction, or the so-called ‘widowmaker’ heart attack).

To help others needing simultaneous translation of this new lingo, here’s a helpful list of some of the most common acronyms you’ll likely hear on the cardiac ward.   

AA – Anti-arrhythmic

ABI – Ankle-Brachial Index

ACE Inhibitor – Angiotension Converting Enzyme inhibitor (a drug)

ACS – Acute Coronary Syndrome

AF or Afib – Atrial Fibrillation

AFL – Atrial Flutter

AI – Aortic Insufficiency

AIVR – Accelerated Idioventricular Rhythm

AMI – Acute Myocardial Infarction

AP – Apical Pulse

AR – Aortic Root; Arrhythmia(s)

AS – Aortic Stenosis

ASA – Atrial Septal Aneurysm; Aspirin

ASD – Atrial Septal Defect

ATP – Antitachycardia Pacing

AV – Atrioventricular; Aortic valve

AVNR – AV Node Reentry

AVR – Accelerated Ventricular Rhythm

BAV – Bicuspid Aortic Valve

BAVD – Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease

BB – Beta Blocker (a drug)

BBB – Bundle Branch Block

BID – Twice a Day

BP – Blood Pressure

BPM – Beats per Minute

CABG – Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

CA – Coronary Artery

CAD – Coronary Artery Disease

CCB – Calcium Channel Blocker (a drug)

CDS – Cardiac Depression Scale

CHF – Congestive Heart Failure

CM – Cardiomyopathy

CO – Cardiac Output

COPD – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

CP – Chest Pain

CQ10 – Co-enzyme Q10 (a supplement)

CRP – C-reactive protein

CTA – Computerized Tomographic Angiogram

CV – Coronary Vein

CVD – Cardiovascular Disease

DIL – Diltiazem (a drug)

DCM – Dilated Cardiomyopathy

DVT – Deep Vein Thrombosis

EAT – Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia

EF – Ejection Fraction

EFA – Essential Fatty Acid

EKG/ECG – Electrocardiogram

EP – Electrophysiologist

EPS – Electrophysiology Study

EVH – Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting

FFR – Fractional Flow Reservoir

HC – High Cholesterol

HCM – Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

HCTZ – Hydrochlorothiazide (a drug)

HDL – High Density Lipoprotein

HTN – Hypertension

ICD – Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator

IHD – Ischemic Heart Disease

INR – International Normalized Ratio

IST – Inappropriate sinus tachycardia

IVS – Interventricular Septum

IVUS – Intravascular Ultrasound

LAD – Left Anterior Descending coronary artery

LAF – Lone Atrial Fibrillation

LAFB – Left Anterior Fascicular Block

LAHB – Left Anterior Hemiblock

LBBB – Left Branch Bundle Block

LDL – Low Density Lipoprotein

LFHB – Left Fascicular Hemiblock

LIMA – Left Internal Mammary Artery

LPFB – Left Posterior Fascicular Block

LQT – Long QT

LQTS – Long QT syndrome

LV – Left Ventricle

LVEF – Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction

LVH – Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

MAP – Mean Arterial Pressure

MI- Myocardial Infarction or Mitral Insufficiency

MIBI – Radionuclide Imaging/Cardiac Perfusion Scan

MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging

MS – Mitral Stenosis

MUGA – Multiple-Gated Acquisition Scanning

MV – Mitral Valve

MVD – Microvascular Disease

MVP – Mitral Valve Prolapse

MVPS – Mitral Valve Prolapse Syndrome

MVR – Mitral Valve Regurgitation or Mitral Valve Repair (aka MR)

NCS – Neurocardiogenic Syndrome

NSR – Normal Sinus Rhythm

NSVT or VTn – Non-sustained Ventricular Tachycardia

NTG – Nitroglycerin (a drug)

PAC – Premature Atrial Contraction

PAD – Peripheral Artery Disease

PAF – Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation; Pure Autonomic Failure

PCI – Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (angiography)

PET – Positron Emission Tomography

PFO – Patent Forman Ovale

POTS – Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome

PPCM – Post-partum cardiomyopathy

PRN – “As needed” – from the Latin “pro re nata”

PSVT – Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia

PT – Prothrombin

PTCA – Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty

PV – Pulmonary Vein

PVC – Premature Ventricular Contraction

PVI – Pulmonary Vein Isolation

QD – Every Day

QID – Four Times a Day

QRS – Ventricular Conductance Time

RA – Right Atrium

RBBB – Right Branch Bundle Block

RCA – Right Coronary Artery

RFA – Radiofrequency Ablation

RHD – Rheumatic Heart Disease

RM – Right Main coronary artery

RNVG – Radionuclide Ventrialography

RSA – Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia

RV – Right Ventricle

SB – Sinus Bradycardia

SBP – Systolic Blood Pressure

SCB – Sodium Channel Blocker (a drug)

SCD- Sudden Cardiac Death

SOB – Shortness of Breath

ST – Sinus Tachycardia

SVT – Supraventricular Tachycardia; Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia

TEE – Transesophageal Echocardiogram

Tg – Triglycerides

TIA – Transient Ischemic Attack

TID – Three Times a Day

TTE – Transthoracic Echocardiogram

TV – Tricuspid Valve

UA or USA – Unstable Angina

VB – Ventricular Bigeminy

VE – Ventricular Ectopy

VF – Ventricular Fibrillation

VLDL – Very Low Density Lipoprotein

VPB – Ventricular Premature Beat

VPC – Ventricular Premature Complexes

VS – Ventricular Salvo

VT or VTach – Ventricular Tachycardia

VTs – Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia

WPW – Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

See also: Cardiovascular Health: Glossary of Medical Terms from Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.

 

Are we missing any important heart acronyms from this list?  Let me know!

Tags: cardiac acronyms, health, heart disease, medical terminolgoy, medicine