We've been asked to share a post and pin it to the top explaining abbreviations, acronyms and medical jargon that are commonly used in relation to heart and circulatory diseases/heart health.
I hope this helps but if there’s any others we've missed, please feel free to comment below!
Arrhythmia - means an abnormal heart rhythm
ICD - stands for internal cardioverter defibrillator, usually used to identify and treat life threatening arrhythmias.
AF/Afib - atrial fibrillation
CPR - cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Hypertension – medical term for high blood pressure.
DBP - diastolic blood pressure (this is the lowest level of your blood pressure, when your heart relaxes between beats)
Systolic blood pressure - this is the highest level of your blood pressure, when your heart beats and contracts to pump blood through your arteries.
Heart block – a type of abnormal heart rhythm when there is a delay in the electrical conduction system of the heart between the top and bottom chamber.
HF – heart failure
Ischaemic heart disease (or coronary heart disease) - the word 'ischaemic' means there is a lack of oxygenated blood supply to a part of the body.
MI – myocardial infarction (this is the medical term for a heart attack)
ECG - an electrocardiogram is test which records the rhythm, rate and electrical activity of your heart.
Stemi - this stands for 'ST-elevation myocardial infarction' – it’s a type of heart attack. ST-elevation refers to the area of the heart affected on the ECG reading.
SVT - supraventricular tachycardia (this is a condition when the top chambers of your heart suddenly beats much faster than usual)
TIA - transient ischaemic attack (also known as a mini-stroke)
Written by
Helen_BHF
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Thanks for this Helen. I made this point a while back because people get so comfortable with their little world and find abbreviating medical words and terms easier rather than writing the whole word but I don't think it hit the spot with those who are regular abbreviators as they continue to do so without the meaning in brackets. A bit selfish I find it when people do that, as we're only hobby doctors not professionals.
Thanks for the specific acronym meanings, but the meanings still don't make sense to me. Is there a website or leaflet that explains just a little bit more for each definition? thanks!
Hi Jules_peaceseeker , indeed there is! You might want to check out the BHF website, there's some useful pages that explain medical terms you might hear from your doctor.
I must confess that use of all these acronyms without any attempt to explain has put me off using this forum. I start by just scrolling past a post that uses an acronym that I don’t know or doesn’t make sense. Then I realise I’ve scrolled past all the new posts. Finally I think “What’s the point of even belonging to this forum?”
'morning HenryTudor, I joined this forum at the beginning of January this year and I am so pleased I did. Firstly, it makes you realise you are not alone in having problems of the heart. I have better knowledge now reading everyone's posts/advice, sharing their experiences, and everyone is very courteous in their replies. One post recently simply just said to have a nice day and I did. Keep well and take care PK.
Yesterday I did mention about using too many abbreviations and what a co-incidence. Till yesterday I did not know H.F. means although I knew what C>H.F or C.C.F means which stand for congestive heart failure or congestive cardiac failure. Also P.P.M. , a new one, stands for permanent pace maker. I hope I have helped.
I would suggest adding "EF" ejection fraction to your list. This is a site that explains it. my.clevelandclinic.org/heal...
I am not qualified to know if this is an accurate explanation. Thanks for developing this list. I started having heart issues in 2017 and am still learning all the abbreviations and jargon. It can be very frustrating. When I search Health Unlocked, EF doesn't show up. Chris
My own suggestion, rather than adding more acronyms here, is that if people put the acronym into their favourite search box with the word Heart, the correct response usually come up
but the problem really is that many of us (i'm guilty too) think that any acronym that they know is also known to everyone else - actually we should never assume that!🌺
Helen could you please tell me what a chad is ? I’ve never heard it mentioned before and it is mentioned twice in Q&A in Af as having a chad of 1 . Thank you for your help and support .
I have in the past raised the issue of abbeviation. That should be discouraged because there are so many new things coming in. Even health professionals like me and others find it hard to interpret some of the abbreviations used in this forum. Hospitals also discourage use of abbreviation. H.,A. is often used in place of heart attack. It does not take long to write in full as opposed to short cut. I see you have mentioned CA meaning coronary arrest. As far as I know people generally interpret CA as Cardiac Arrest. What does coronary arrest mean. Does it mean angina or chest pain as a result of block in one of coronary arteries?
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Heart attack with no clear cause? 
Palpitations
Fast heart rate?
Storm in a teacup.
