Cardiology

Cardiology (from Greek καρδίᾱ, kardiā, "heart"; and -λογία, -logia) is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart. The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology. Physicians specializing in this field of medicine are called cardiologists. Cardiologists should not be confused with cardiac surgeons, cardiothoracic and cardiovascular, who are surgeons who perform cardiac surgery via sternotomy - open operative procedures on the heart and great vessels.

The term cardiology is derived from the Greek word καρδιά (transliterated as kardia and meaning heart or inner self).

The Cardiac Muscle

Cardiac pacemaker (Electrical system of the heart)

• Electrical conduction system of the heart
  • Action potential
    • Ventricular action potential
• Sinoatrial node
• Atrioventricular node
• Bundle of His
• Purkinje fibers
• Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction)

Basic cardiac physiology

• Systole
• Diastole
• Heart sounds
• Preload
• Afterload
• Kussmaul's signature

A diagram of a heart with an ECG indicator; diagrams like this are used in Cardiology.

Disorders of the heart

Disorders of the coronary circulation

• Atherosclerosis
• Restenosis
• Coronary heart disease (Ischaemic heart disease, Coronary artery disease)
• Acute coronary syndrome
  • Angina
  • Myocardial infarction (Heart attack)

Cardiac arrest

• Ventricular fibrillation
• Pulseless electrical activity
• Asystole
• Sudden cardiac death (The abrupt reduction or cessation of blood flow to the myocardium, leading to death)

Treatment of cardiac arrest

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

Disorders of the myocardium (muscle of the heart)

• Cardiomyopathy
  • Ischemic cardiomyopathy
  • Nonischemic cardiomyopathy
    • Amyloid cardiomyopathy
    • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
      • Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) (Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS))
      • hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
    • Dilated cardiomyopathy
      • Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
      • Tachycardia induced cardiomyopathy
      • Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (Transient apical ballooning, stress-induced cardiomyopathy)
    • Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy)
    • Restrictive cardiomyopathy
• Congestive heart failure
  • Cor pulmonale
• Ventricular hypertrophy
  • Left ventricular hypertrophy
  • Right ventricular hypertrophy
• Primary tumors of the heart
  • Myxoma
• Myocardial rupture

Disorders of the pericardium (outer lining of the heart)

• Pericarditis
• Pericardial tamponade
• Constrictive pericarditis

Disorders of the heart valves

• Aortic valve disorders
  • Aortic insufficiency
  • Aortic stenosis
  • Aortic valve replacement
  • Aortic valve repair
  • Aortic valvuloplasty
• Mitral valve disorders
  • Mitral valve prolapse
  • Mitral regurgitation
  • Mitral stenosis
  • Mitral valve replacement
  • Mitral valve repair
  • Mitral valvuloplasty
• Pulmonary valve disorders
  • Congenital pulmonic stenosis
• Tricuspid valve disorders

• • Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW syndrome)

Congenital heart disease

• Atrial septal defect
• Ventricular septal defect
• Patent ductus arteriosus
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Tetralogy of Fallot
• Transposition of the great vessels (TGV)
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Truncus Arteriosus

Diseases of blood vessels (Vascular diseases)

• Vasculitis
• Atherosclerosis
• Aneurysm
• Varicose veins
• Economy class syndrome
• Diseases of the aorta
  • Coarctation of the aorta
  • Aortic dissection
  • Aortic aneurysm
• Diseases of the carotid arteries
  • Carotid artery disease
  • Carotid artery dissection

Procedures done for coronary artery disease

• Percutaneous coronary intervention
  • Atherectomy
  • Angioplasty (PTCA)
  • Stenting
• Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG)
• Enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP)

Devices used in cardiology

• Stethoscope
• Devices used to maintain normal electrical rhythm
  • Pacemaker
  • Defibrillator
    • Automated external defibrillator
    • Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator
• Devices used to maintain blood pressure
  • Artificial heart
  • Heart-lung machine
  • Intra-aortic balloon pump
  • Ventricular assist device

Diagnostic tests and procedures

• Blood tests
• Echocardiogram
• Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance
• Cardiac stress test
• Auscultation (Listening with the Stethoscope)

Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)

• • QT interval
  • Osborn wave
• Ambulatory Holter monitor
• Electrophysiology study
  • Programmed electrical stimulation
• Sphygmomanometer (Blood pressure cuff)
• Cardiac enzymes
• Coronary catheterization
  • Myocardial Fractional Flow Reserve (FFRmyo)
  • IVUS (IntraVascular UltraSound)
  • OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography)

See also

• Interventional cardiology
• Clinical cardiac electrophysiology
• American Heart Association
• National Heart Foundation of Australia
• List of cardiac pharmaceutical agents

External links

• Cardiology News
• Cardiology in Bangladesh
• European Society of Cardiology
• Cardiology Network
• U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) : Heart and Circulation
• American College of Cardiology
• Virtual Cardiac Centre - information from the field of Cardiology.
• Cardiovascular Physiology - basic concepts in cardiology.
• Preventive Cardiology
• A cardiac atlas using CMR images
• Cardiology PPT