angina, Prinzmetal Chest pain due to a coronary artery spasm, a sudden constriction of one of the vessels that supply the heart muscle with blood that is rich in oxygen. This spasm deprives the heart muscle of blood and oxygen. Treatments include beta-blocker medications and nitroglycerin to open up the coronary arteries. Also known as…
angina Chest pain due to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the heart muscle. The pain is typically severe and crushing, and it is characterized by a feeling of pressure and suffocation just behind the breastbone. Angina can accompany or be a precursor of a heart attack.
angiitis, allergic granulomatous See ChurgStrauss syndrome.
angiitis Inflammation of the walls of small blood vessels. Also known as vasculitis.
anger An emotional state that may range in intensity from mild irritation to intense fury and rage. Anger has physical effects, including raising the heart rate and blood pressure, as well as the levels of adrenaline.
aneurysm, venous A localized widening of a vein.
aneurysm, thoracic An aneurysm of the largest artery in the body, the aorta, involving that vessel in its course within the thorax (chest). Because of the volume of blood flowing under relatively high pressure within the aorta, a ruptured aneurysm of the aorta is a catastrophe. See also aneurysm, abdominal aortic; aneurysm, aortic.
aneurysm, saccular An aneurysm that resembles a small sack. A berry aneurysm is typically saccular.
aneurysm, miliary A tiny, millet-seed–sized aneurysm that tends to affect minute arteries in the brain and, in the eye, the retina.
aneurysm, fusiform An aneurysm that is shaped like a spindle and widens an artery or a vein.
aneurysm, dissecting An aneurysm in which the wall of an artery rips (dissects) longitudinally. This occurs because bleeding into the weakened wall splits the wall. Dissecting aneurysms tend to affect the thoracic aorta. They are a particular danger in Marfan syndrome.
aneurysm, cardiac An outpouching of an abnormally thin portion of the heart wall. Cardiac aneurysms tend to involve the left ventricle because the blood there is under the greatest pressure.