Medical Terminology Simplified

Delivery of brief discharges of electricity that pass across the chest to stop a cardiac

arrhythmia and restore normal sinus rhythm; also called defibrillation

A defibrillator is the electrical device used for cardioversion.

Bypass surgery that creates new routes around narrowed or blocked arteries to allow

sufficient blood flow to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle; also called

coronary artery bypass surgery (See Fig. 5–17.)

CABG is performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery

disease. Arteries or veins from elsewhere in the patient’s body are grafted to the coronary

arteries to bypass atherosclerotic narrowings and improve blood supply to the coronary

circulation supplying the myocardium.

Device designed to administer a defibrillating electric shock to restore normal sinus

rhythm

There are two types of defibrillators: automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators

(AICDs) and automatic external defibrillators (AEDs).

Surgically implanted defibrillator that automatically detects and corrects potentially

fatal arrhythmias, such as ventricular fibrillations; also called implantable cardioverter-

defibrillator (ICD) (See Fig. 5–18.)

An AICD is implanted, usually in the chest, in a patient who is at high risk for develop-

ing a serious arrhythmia. It has leads (wires) that go to the heart, sense its rhythm, and

deliver an electrical shock if needed.

Portable computerized defibrillator that analyzes the patient’s heart rhythm and

delivers an electrical shock to stimulate a heart in cardiac arrest

An AED is kept on emergency response vehicles and in public places, such as recreation

facilities, and is designed to be used by trained first-responder personnel or lay people.

Additional Medical Terms • CHAPTER 5 199

cardioversion

căr-dē-ō-VĔR-zhŭn

cardi/o: heart

-version: turning

coronary artery bypass

graft (CABG)

Aorta

Bypass

graft

Left anterior

descending

artery (LAD)

Area of

blockage

Figure 5-17Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

defibrillator

dē-FĬB-rĭ-lā-tĕr

automatic implantable

cardioverter-

defibrillator (AICD)

căr-dē-ō-VĔR-tĕr dē-

FĬB-rĭ-lā-tĕr

automatic external

defibrillator (AED)

dē-FĬB-rĭ-lā-tĕr