Glossary
Terms
C
- Calcium channel blocker
- A type of medication that is a vasodilator and is occasionally used to treat PAH (e.g. amlodipine); also, often used for patients who have systemic hypertension
- Capillaries
- The smallest type of blood vessel, located throughout the body including lungs; the place where oxygen, nutrients, and waste products are exchanged from bloodstream to cells and vice versa.
- Carbon Dioxide
- A gaseous molecule that is one of the waste products generated by the cells of the body.
- Cardiac output
- The amount of blood (measured in liters per minute) being pumped out by the heart.
- Cardiologist
- A doctor who is specially trained in diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- Central venous catheter
- An intravenous line that is placed in one of the larger veins of your body (usually in the chest) to deliver medications
- Cirrhosis
- End-stage liver disease due to scarring; often caused by alcohol or viral hepatitis over many years
- Congenital heart defects
- A defect in the structure of the heart that is present at birth
- Congestive heart failure
- A disease in which the heart is stiff or does not pump adequately causing a back up of blood and fluid.
- Coronary arteries
- The blood vessels that supply oxygenated blood to the heart itself; there are three main coronary arteries.
- Coronary artery disease
- Narrowing of the coronary arteries due to atherosclerosis (build up of cholesterol plaques in the walls of the arteries).
- CT Scan
- A specialized X-ray machine that can provide detailed images of internal organs including the lungs and their blood vessels.