Search the HCMA Website for specific HCM related terms, tests, or other results related information:
What are all those abbreviations?
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
Definition |
| ACC
|
American College of Cardiology | An association of cardiologists. |
| AED | Automated External Defibrillator |
Device that detects life-threatening arrhythmias and delivers a shock while waiting for the emergency medical team. Usually mounted on a wall. |
| AFIB | Atrial Fibrillation |
An arrhythmia (Sometimes AF). |
| AHA | American Heart Association |
An association supporting research and treatment for heart diseases. |
| Aflutter | Atrial Flutter |
An arrhythmia. |
| ASA | Alcohol Septal Ablation |
Used to reduce septal thickness, not an ablation for AFIB. |
| AV | Aortic Valve |
A valve in the heart. |
| BP | Blood Pressure |
Systolic (squeeze) over diastolic (relax). |
| CAD | Coronary Artery Disease |
Blocked/partly blocked coronary arteries. |
| COE | Center of Excellence |
HCM specialty center certified by the HCMA |
| CPET | CardioPulmonary Exercise Test |
An evaluation of the cardio-pulmonary system during the stress of exercise. |
| CPR | CardioPulmonary Resuscitation |
Emergency chest compressions to help a person in cardiac arrest until an AED or medical team can restore heart function. |
| CRT | Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy |
A pacemaker is used to coordinate the heart's rhythm. |
| CT | Computerized Tomography |
A medical scan, also called a CAT scan. |
| DCM | Dilated Cardiomyopathy |
The heart muscle becomes weakened and enlarged. |
| DOAC | Direct Oral AntiCoagulants |
Newer drugs that prevent blood clots |
| DVT | Deep Vein Thrombosis |
A blood clot, usually in your leg. |
| ECG/EKG | Electrocardiogram |
A snapshot of your heart's rhythm. |
| Echo | Echocardiogram |
Uses sound waves to measure dimensions of your heart and give moving images of the heart walls and valves. Doppler echo shows blood flow. |
| EF | Ejection Fraction |
The percent of blood inside the left ventricle that exits when the heart pumps. (Sometimes LVEF - left ventricular ejection fraction) |
| EP | Electrophysiology or Electrophysiologist |
Specialty care for heart electrical issues such as arrhythmias.
|
| GDMT | Guideline-Directed Management and Therapy |
The optimal course of treatment for patients in each stage of heart failure. Established by ACC and AHA. |
| HCM | Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy |
Disease of the heart muscle that often involves thickening of the muscle, electrical problems, and problems with the mitral valve. |
| HCMA | Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association |
An association serving the HCM community. |
| HF | Heart Failure |
The amount of blood coming out of the heart is not enough for the body's needs - either because the heart can't pump well enough or it can't fill well enough. Not a heart attack! CHF - Congestive Heart Failure. |
| HOCM | Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy |
HCM with an obstruction of the outflow tract. Blood is harder to pump out of the heart. |
| HR | Heart Rate |
How fast your heart is beating. |
| ICD | Internal Cardioverter Defibrillator |
An implanted device that can shock your heart into a normal rhythm if you are in a dangerous rhythm. SICD is the Subcutaneous version. |
| ILR | Implantable Loop Recorder |
A paperclip-sized device that is implanted under the skin of the left chest that can record and transmit samples of abnormal heart rhythms for up to three years. |
| IVS | Intraventricular Septum |
Muscular wall separating the left and right ventricles of the heart. |
| LA | Left Atrium |
One of 4 chambers of the heart. |
| LAMP2 | Lysosome-Associated Membrane Protein-2 |
Mutation of this gene is involved in Danon disease. |
| LBBB | Left Bundle Branch Block |
A type of heart block common after myectomy surgery. |
| LGE | Late Gadolinium Enhancement |
Contrast used during MRI to better show scarring in the heart. |
| LV | Left Ventricle |
One of 4 chambers of the heart. |
| LVAD | Left Ventricular Assist Device |
May be used while waiting for a transplant. |
| LVH | Left Ventricular Hypertrophy |
Thickening of the muscle in the left ventricle. |
| LVOT | Left Ventricular Outflow Tract |
Where blood exits the heart and where those with HCM may have obstruction - LVOTO. |
| MET | Metabolic Equivalent of Task |
The amount of oxygen used to do a task compared to the amount used while sitting at rest. |
| MI | Myocardial Infarction |
Another way of saying heart attack. |
| MR | Mitral Regurgitation |
Some blood flows the wrong way through the mitral valve. |
| MRI | Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
A medical scan that uses magnets to create a 3D image. |
| MVP | Mitral Valve Prolapse |
The two flaps of the mitral valve don't close evenly, but bulge up into the left atrium. |
| NSVT | Non-Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia | An arrhythmia. |
| NYHA | New York Heart Association |
Organization that classified stages of heart failure. |
| PAC | Premature Atrial Contraction |
An arrhythmia. |
| PVC | Premature Ventricular Contraction | An arrhythmia. |
| PVI | Pulmonary Vein Isolation |
A type of ablation used to treat afib. |
| RA | Right Atrium |
One of 4 chambers of the heart. |
| RBBB | Right Bundle Branch Block |
A type of heart block common after ASA. |
| RCT | Randomized Controlled Trial |
A research design that randomly assigns participants to an experimental group or control group - the main difference between groups is the thing being studied (for example, a medicine). |
| RV | Right Ventricle |
One of 4 chambers of the heart. |
| SAM | Systolic Anterior Motion |
Movement of the mitral valve towards the LVOT. Can cause obstruction of the outflow tract. |
| SCA | Sudden Cardiac Arrest |
The heart stops due to an electrical problem: not a heart attack. |
| SCD | Sudden Cardiac Death |
If a person with SCA isn't treated quickly, they die. |
| SOB | Shortness of Breath |
It feels hard to catch your breath - dyspnea. |
| SRT | Septal Reduction Therapy |
Myectomy surgery, alcohol septal ablation. |
| SVT | Supra-Ventricular Tachycardia |
A group of arrhythmias. |
| TEE | Trans-Esophogeal Echo |
Echocardiogram done with a tube down the throat. |
| TTE | Trans-Thoracic Echo |
Echocardiogram done from outside the chest, the common type. |
| VFIB | Ventricular Fibrillation |
An arrhythmia (sometimes VF) that often leads to sudden cardiac arrest. |
| VO2 Max | Volume of Oxygen Max |
An exercise test with a mask to measure the highest amount of oxygen used during movement. |
| VT | Ventricular Tachycardia |
An arrhythmia. |
| VUS | Variant of Unknown Significance |
A grey area in genetics where the identified gene mutation might or might not contribute to HCM. |
| WPW | Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome |
A congenital heart abnormality that can cause tachycardia and sometimes mimics HCM. |
HCMA 6/2021
