Chest Pain in Heart Attack Chest pain associated with a heart attack (myocardial infarction) is often described as tightness, pressure, squeezing or crushing chest pain. It is usually central, located just behind the breastbone (retrosternal chest pain, breastbone pain) on the anterior surface of the chest. In a patient at >> Read More ...
What is Heart Failure? Heart failure refers to the syndrome that develops as a result of the heart’s inability to pump out enough blood to maintain an adequate blood circulation. In heart failure, the cardiac output is reduced and as the condition progresses, the body’s tissues become filled with fluid. This >> Read More ...
What is Atherosclerosis? Atherosclerosis is the disease that is a result of progressive narrowing and hardening of the arteries. Atherosclerosis arises as a result of plaques building up on the inner lining of the artery wall. These plaques are also known as atheromas or atheromatous / atherosclerotic plaques. As the >> Read More ...
What is atrioventricular dissociation? Atrioventricular (AV) dissociation refers to the condition of the heart where the heart chambers do not work in a synchronous manner but contract independently The heart is a four-chambered organ made up of two atria at the top and two ventricles below it. The left and right atria >> Read More ...
What is a cardiac tamponade? Cardiac tamponade is a condition where the accumulation of fluid around the heart hampers its filling and circulation of blood. The fluid that collects around the heart can either be blood, serous tissue fluid, pus or lymph with fat droplets. Sometimes a solid mass or even gas can restrict the >> Read More ...
What is Prinzmetal’s angina? Prinzmetal’s angina is cardiac pain caused by an inadequate blood supply (ischemia) as a result spasm of the coronary artery. It is just one type of angina pectoris – heart pain caused by the inadequate flow of blood to the heart muscle. The coronary arteries carry oxygen-rich >> Read More ...
The heart beats throughout life to circulate blood across the entire body. There may be some variation in the heartbeat from time to time. Sometimes it may beat faster whereas at other times it may be slower. This is not always an abnormal heartbeat if it is temporary and occurs under certain circumstances. For example the >> Read More ...
Blood is constantly flowing through the heart. The right side of the heart receives low oxygen blood, sends it to the lungs for oxygenation and the left side then pushes out this oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. However, the quantity of blood and the time over which this happens also matters. The heart has to be >> Read More ...
The heart muscle, known as the myocardium, constitutes the bulk of the heart wall. It is responsible for the pumping action of the heart which serves to distribute blood throughout the body. The heart is functioning throughout life, although its activity may increase or decrease during different periods of cardiac demand. >> Read More ...
