Pinned Post For Abbreviations

[MichaelJH]

There has been another request for a list of abbreviations used by in our cardiac world. I think it would be a good idea if a pinned post was set up for easy reference. I have responded previously but the abbreviations soon scroll off the bottom.

[d4dave]

It would be far easier if people just typed the full description in the first place instead of using the abbreviation. Even if they only did that the first time they used it in their post (the full description followed by the abbreviation in brackets) it would avoid readers having to use a separate list to 'decode' the contents. The same issue applies in a lot of different industries and it is a good standard to follow.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to d4dave]

Overall I agree and this is the technique I employ for both internal and external documents in my work, e.g. Structured Query Language (SQL). There is, however, a need for a glossary as people are often copied in on letters with numerous abbreviations, e.g. my LAD is both my coronary artery and offspring!

[SarahBrealey_BHF]

Dear Michael

Thanks for this suggestion. You might like to know that we are in the process of creating a guide to medical terms which will be published on the Heart Matters website soon - I will add a link here when it is published. It is aimed at explaining medical jargon generally, not just abbreviations. At the moment it does not contain every abbreviation you might come across, but we aim to add to this over time and I would be glad to have any suggestions as to what else it should contain.

Best wishes

Sarah Brealey (Editor, Heart Matters magazine)

[SarahBrealey_BHF]

Here is the Heart Matters page I mentioned, which we hope will be helpful.

bhf.org.uk/heart-matters-ma...

Feel free to get in touch if you want to suggest other terms or abbreviations to include. You can email [e-mail] with your suggestions.