Dictionary for Patient Monitoring & Diagnostics

Arrhythmia (or dysrhythmia)

An abnormal (too slow, too fast, irregular) heart rhythm.

Atrial fibrillation

An abnormally fast heart rhythm caused by multiple wavelets of depolarization moving around the atria in a chaotic fashion.

Atrioventricular (AV) node

A group of cells located in the middle of the heart receiving electrical impulse from the sinoatrial (SA) or sinus node. The impulse is delayed in the AV node before rapidly continuing through the bundle of His to the ventricles.

Atrium (pl. atria)

One of the two upper heart chambers in which the blood piles up before being pumped to the lower heart chambers (ventricles).

Bradycardia

An abnormally slow heart rhythm.

Cardiac arrest

The stopping of the heart beat.

Cardiac arrhythmia

Irregularity of the heartbeat caused by damage to or defect in the heart tissue and its electrical system.

Cardiology

The clinical study and practice of treating the heart.

Depolarization

Contraction of the cardiac muscle.

Electrocardiography/electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)

A recording and graphic reproduction of the electrical activity of the heart.

Fibrillation

Rapid, irregular and uncoordinated depolarizations of heart muscle fibers causing an ineffective pump function of the heart.

Heart attack

A medical emergency that occurs when a blood clot forms suddenly in a heart artery and causes a blockage, usually after the surface of cholesterol plaque in the artery breaks. A heart attack, also called a myocardial infarction, usually produces chest pain and shortness of breath. It may also cause sudden death.

Heart block

Reduced or blocked conduction of the normal electrical impulse spreading in the atria, and from the atria to the ventricles causing a slow heart beat.

Ischemia

Decreased flow of oxygenated blood to an organ due to obstruction in an artery.

Myocardial infarction

(see Heart attack)

Offset concept

Ambu developed this unique design where the lead wire connection point is moved from the centre to the edge of the electrode. This prevents pulled leads from lifting the vital sensor area and ensures a stable, reliable signal even if a patient is restless or there is excessive movement, such as during stress test.

Re-polarization

Relaxation of the cardiac muscle.

Sinoatrial (SA) node

A group of cells located in the right atrium sending out electrical impulses, which trigger the atria to pump blood to the ventricles.

Tachycardia

An irregular or abnormally rapid heart rhythm.

Ventricle

One of the two lower chambers of the heart. Responsible for pumping blood to the lungs for oxidation, and to the body.

Ventricular fibrillation

An irregular heart rhythm caused by depolarizations of the ventricles being independent of each other and at a fast and chaotic rate.

Ventricular tachycardia

An abnormally fast heart rhythm caused by three or more consecutive ventricular beats at a rate being higher than 120 beats/min.

Wet gel/solid gel

The gel in ECG electrodes ensures that there is good electrical contact between the skin and the sensor of the electrode.

Solid gel minimizes epidermal reactions, makes it easy to remove electrodes without hurting sensitive skin, and allows many electrodes to be repositioned.

Wet gel ensures rapid reduction of skin impedance, which helps avoid baseline drift and provides a fast and accurate ECG the first time.