All those pesky Abbreviations and jargon which creep in.

Terminology

Apologies that it doesn't line up but I have no idea how to fix it - it looks fine in my version 😂😂😂

Addenbrookes    Huge teaching hospital in Cambridge, UK.

AFA                      Afib Association. They run a helpful on-line forum but with many opinionated, and often ill-informed,  regulars.

Atrial fibrillation (AF or AFib) and Atrial flutter                                        

                            two different types of heart arrythmias.

A&E                     UK’s Accident and Emergency department (same as ER in USA)

Bpm                    Heart Beats per Minute

Cryo-                  suffix meaning icy cold or frost.  In this case Cryoablation is where the burns (which form the scars to disrupt the irregular rthythms) are cause by ice

DCCV                  Direct Current Cardioversion. 

Basically, they stick pads on you and zap you with electricity.  This stuns the heart so much it stops beating.  Hopefully, it then restarts beating (otherwise you are in BIG trouble) and, better still, it beats with a proper rhythm (NSR).

ECG                An electrocardiogram.  A reading of the heart's                                 rhythms.  I believe they call it an EKG in the US?

Electrocardiologist (EP)    

A specialist in the electrics of the heart (think

electrician to the normal cardiologist’s plumber!)

Flecainide          an anti-arrythmia drug.  A major side-effect is its tendency to cause further arrythmias.  One of the only drugs I seem to tolerate well. 

GP                    UK family doctor (General Practitioner)

Hereditary Haemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT)

Inherited disorder which affects blood vessels. Can be anywhere in the body but most commonly see as nose bleeds, which can be severe.  Can also affect lungs, digestive tract, brain and liver.

HR                       Heart Rate

IV flec            Intravenous flecainide, administered in a hospital                                 setting to restore NSR

NSR                     Normal sinus rhythm - what most people have! It's doing what it should, a nice regular lup-doop sound.

Papworth           Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge.  The UK’s premier Heart and Lung facility.

PIP                       Pill-in-the-Pocket.  A pill to be taken when you go into Afib as an emergency measure.  Sometimes does the trick and gets you back into NSR

TIA                       Transient ischaemic attack (mini-stroke)

Transoesophageal Echocardiogram (TOE)

Basically a miniature echocardiogram which goes down your food pipe and allows the medics to check for a clot inside the heart from the other side from the Echocardiogram on the chest.       

TTRMP               I made this up!  Time To Recovery Medical Profession 

TTRRL                I made this up too! Time To Recovery Real Life! 

 WSH                   West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds – my local hospital. 

111                      UK’s non-emergency medical advice line

999                      UK’s emergency services line (though you can also call 911 and 112 due to the influence of the USA and Europe)


 

 

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