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