Glossary of Terms

CAD - Coronary Artery Disease - blockages in the arteries that supply blood to your heart muscle.

Exercise testing - a test where you exercise on a treadmill or medication is given to raise your heart rate and your heart rhythm and blood pressured are monitored.

Nuclear Imaging - a test where you receive dye through a vein and a scan is taken of your heart.

Echocardiogram - an ultrasound test of your heart that looks at the strength of your heart muscle and your heart valves.

Ischemia - lack of blood flow, usually due to artery constriction or blockage, that results in decreased oxygen to the heart muscle tissue.

Cardiac Catheterization - a test that involves placing a catheter in the top of your leg and dye is injected directly into the arteries that supply your heart with blood to look for blockages.

Coronary Bypass Surgery - a surgical procedure that involves removing veins from your legs and using them to create "bypasses" around blockages that are in the heart arteries.

PTCA - Percutaneous Translumenal Coronary Angioplasty/Stent - a procedure done by a Cardiologist to open a blockage in the heart artery using a special balloon catheter and sometimes placing a wire mesh called a stent.

MI - Myocardial Infarction (or heart attack) - damage to the heart muscle caused by a blockage in the heart artery that resulted in a lack of blood supply to the heart muscle.

Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X - a group of risk factors that increase your chance of coronary artery disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease (blockages in the leg arteries) or diabetes. See the list below of these risk factors.

• HDL - High Density Lipoproteins (or the "good cholesterol") - helps mobilize the bad cholesterol out of the body.
• Waist - measurement (in inches) around your abdomen measured over your belly button.
• Triglycerides - fats found in the blood that can lead to coronary artery disease.
• Blood Pressure - measurement of pressure of blood against the wall of the arteries. The higher number (systolic blood pressure) is measured when the heart pumps blood, the lower number (diastolic) is measured when the heart relaxes between beats.
• FBS - Fasting Blood Sugar - blood test done after eight hours of not eating to determine how much of a type of sugar called glucose is in your blood.

Apolipoprotein - this is a protein found in the blood that carries fat and cholesterol around the bloodstream.

Total Cholesterol - rough measurement of all the cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein, lipoprotein-a, and intermediate density lipoprotein) in your blood stream.

LDL - Low Density Lipoproteins (or "bad cholesterol") - can build up with other fats in the inner walls of the arteries to cause coronary artery disease.

High Sensitivity C Reactive Protein - blood test that measures inflammation in the body, when elevated it can increase your risk of coronary artery disease.

Obesity - having excess body fat to the extent that your health may be negatively affected. This is determined by your BMI or Body Mass Index. BMI is a number calculated from your height and weight. If your BMI is greater than 25 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is greater than 30 you are considered obese.